Suunto 7 Smartwatch Suunto ditches their proprietary multi-sport GPS platform in favor of Wear OS, making their newest product a full-fledged smartwatch.

We’re big fans of Suunto’s line of sports watches, with their robust build, extensive functions, and reliable performance. Plus, they don’t look half bad for a digital timepiece. This has made them popular with many athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, although you will rarely see them worn as an everyday watch. The Suunto 7 wants to change that.

Suunto watches, much like those from Garmin and Polar, rely primarily on their multi-sport GPS functions, along with a variety of first-party apps, to make the case for their users. And there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when they deliver some of the most useful functions out there for runners, hikers, and other athletes. For their newest timepiece, though, the outfit is embracing the modern smartwatch technology, ditching their proprietary platform in favor of Google’s popular Wear OS, potentially making the timepiece a much more attractive option to a wider demographic of users.

The Suunto 7, of course, continues to stick to its multi-sport roots, coming with activity monitoring for over 70 sports, along with an integrated GPS and wrist-based heart rate sensor. It can also connect to popular services like Strava, TrainingPeaks, and Endomondo, so you can easily transfer training records, making it easier to see your progress on a larger screen. That means, it fully retains its traditional functions for athletes, all while giving you a whole new ecosystem of apps that allow the watch to do so much more.

Naturally, maps continue to be an integral part of the smartwatch. For this model, you can download offline maps with full terrain details, trails, and contour lines, allowing you to easily find your way, whether you’re navigating a new city or a forest-covered backcountry. It also has built-in heat maps for different activities, allowing you to easily find popular routes nearby for running, swimming, and cycling. All this, of course, on top of support for all other map-based apps on the Wear OS platform, making this extremely useful for your travels and adventures.

The Suunto 7 has a 50mm case that’s made from glass-fiber reinforced polyamide, with a stainless steel bezel and a scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass cover, ensuring the watch is rugged enough to handle the rigors of the outdoors.  It’s shock-proof, dirt-proof, and water-resistant up to 50 meters, ensuring can keep it on, whether you’re crossing a river or hiking in the rain, with large physical buttons allowing you to easily interact with the watch even when your fingers are covered in mud and can’t use the touchscreen.

It has a battery rated at up to 48 hours of operation, although that goes down to 12 hours if the GPS is constantly on. Since it uses Google’s wearable platform, it gets access to Google Assistant, Google Play, and Google Fit, along with all the apps and watch faces available on the Play Store. Other details include an AMOLED screen with 454 x 454 resolution, an onboard altimeter, and support for 24/7 activity tracking.

The Suunto 7 comes out January 31, priced at $499.

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