Suunto is a popular Finnish company that manufactures sports watches and dive computers. The Suunto 7 and Suunto 9 are two of their latest smartwatch models aimed at athletes and adventurers.
But with different features and price points, which one is right for you? Here’s a detailed comparison of the Suunto 7 Vs. Suunto 9 to help you decide.
A Brief Comparison Table
| Feature | Suunto 7 | Suunto 9 |
| Smartwatch OS | Wear OS by Google | Custom Suunto OS |
| Battery Life | Up to 2 days smartwatch, 12 hrs GPS | Up to 170 hrs GPS battery |
| Sports Modes | 70+ modes | 80+ modes |
| Tracking | GPS, GLONASS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| Display | 1.39″ AMOLED, touchscreen | 1.9″ memory LCD touchscreen |
| Water Resistance | 50m | 100m |
| Smart Features | Notifications, Google Assistant, Google Pay, apps | Limited notifications only |
| Price | $499 | $599 |
Overview And Key Features
The Suunto 7 was released in 2020 as Suunto’s first smartwatch running Wear OS by Google. It combines fitness tracking capabilities with smartwatch functions like notifications and apps. Key features include:
- Built-in GPS for tracking runs and rides without a phone
- Continuous heart rate monitoring
- Sleep tracking and adaptive training guides
- Offline outdoor maps with breadcrumb navigation
- Google Assistant, Google Pay, and access to Google Play apps
- 50m water resistance
The Suunto 9 was released in 2018 and runs Suunto’s own Suumto OS. It’s designed for athletes and aimed at ultra runners, hikers, and triathletes. Key features include:
- Durable composite glass display with sapphire crystal lens
- Up to 170 hours of battery life in GPS training mode
- Built-in barometer, compass, and altimeter
- Continuous wrist-based heart rate monitoring
- In-depth training analysis and physiological metrics
- 80+ sport modes with detailed metrics
- Route navigation and back-to-start features
- 100m water resistance
So in summary, the Suunto 7 offers smartwatch capabilities while the Suunto 9 is focused on advanced sports tracking and ultra long battery life.
Design And Display
The Suunto 7 has a slim and lightweight stainless steel casing that comes in five different color options – black, white, sandstone, all black, and moss green. With a 1.39″ AMOLED touchscreen display, it has excellent brightness even in sunlight. The display is made from sturdy Gorilla Glass with an anti-fingerprint coating.
The Suunto 9 has a bulkier composite polyamide casing suited for rugged use. With just three color options (black, white, and orange), its look is more minimalistic and sporty. The scratch-resistant display uses sapphire crystal glass over a 1.9” transflective Color Memory LCD touchscreen. This provides good sunlight readability without draining battery.
So in terms of design, the Suunto 7 has a more stylish smartwatch look while the Suunto 9 priortizes durability and battery efficiency with its display.
Battery Life
Battery life is a major difference between the two watches. The Suunto 7 offers only up to 2 days of use in smartwatch mode or 12 hours of GPS tracking when used as a sports watch. Charging the battery from 0 to 100% takes about an hour and a half.
The Suunto 9 delivers much longer battery life of up to 170 hours with GPS tracking, thanks to intelligent battery modes that adjust GPS fix intervals. Even in full “Performance” GPS tracking mode, it can last up to 40 hours. The device charges from 0 to 100% in just under two hours.
So if you need a sports watch for ultra long events or multi-day hikes, the Suunto 9 is the clear winner for battery life. The Suunto 7 has sufficient battery for most users but lags behind for endurance athletes.
Tracking Modes And Accuracy
With GPS, GLONASS and a barometric altimeter built-in, the Suunto 7 provides accurate real-time pace, distance and elevation data for over 70 sport modes. These include running, cycling, swimming, yoga, hiking, rowing, gym workouts and more. There is also an adaptive training guide to optimize workouts.
The Suunto 9 offers over 80 sport modes with detailed metrics and training effect calculation. Its tracking uses GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS systems for highly accurate pace, distance and 3D speed. There are also advanced performance metrics like running power and heat and altitude acclimation. Route navigation, back-to-start and pace guidance make it ideal for ultra marathons and long trails.
For tracking accuracy, the Suunto 9 edges out with support for additional satellite systems and more detailed performance metrics targeted at endurance athletes. But the Suunto 7 has all the essential tracking features for most sports.
Also Read: Comparison Between GizmoWatch And Apple Watch.
Smartwatch Features
As a smartwatch running Wear OS, the Suunto 7 offers useful features through Google’s ecosystem. You get notifications for calls, text, calendar events and app alerts. Google Assistant allows voice commands to set reminders, start workouts, control smart home devices and more. Google Pay on the watch facilitates cashless payments. Offline outdoor maps from apps like Komoot provide breadcrumb navigation for hiking and biking without a phone. There is also a music storage option to play tracks during workouts via Bluetooth headphones.
The Suunto 9 has limited smartwatch capabilities as it runs on custom Suunto OS. There are basic notifications for calls, messages and calendar alerts. But advanced smartwatch functions like contactless payments, voice assistant and offline maps are missing.
For a fitness smartwatch with connectivity features, the Suunto 7 is the better pick over the purely sports-focused Suunto 9.
Comfort And Wearability
With a slim design and lightweight 50g casing, the Suunto 7 is comfortable for all-day wear including sleeping. The default soft silicone strap can be swapped out for any standard 20mm band. At 13.6mm thickness, it slips easily under sleeves and cuffs.
Despite the larger size, the Suunto 9 is still lightweight at 81g. The durable textured silicone band and polyamide case offer a comfortable but rugged feel. The watch is a bit thicker at 15.3mm but has a smaller lug-to-lug length for better fit on narrow wrists. Those with smaller wrists may find the Suunto 7 more comfortable.
Both watches have a 5ATM rating making them suitable for swimming and showering. But the Suunto 9 offers double the 100m water resistance compared to the Suunto 7’s 50m rating.
Apps And Software
As a Wear OS smartwatch, the Suunto 7 syncs data to both the Suunto App and Google Fit. The Suunto app tracks activity summary and history, exercise plans, and community group challenges. Google Fit adds nutrition, weight and journal tracking. With Google Play Store access, popular third party apps like Strava, Endomondo, Komoot, Spotify and more are also available.
The Suunto 9 uses the Suunto App for iOS and Android to track activity, create training plans and join challenges. But there’s no third party app support apart from syncing with Strava and TrainingPeaks. The SuuntoPlus platform offers additional training insights, heatmaps and route imports through a paid subscription. But the overall app ecosystem is limited compared to the Suunto 7 and Wear OS.
So if you want a wider selection of health, fitness and outdoor apps on your watch, the Suunto 7 is better in this aspect.
Also Read: Comparison Between Suunto 9 Peak Pro and Garmin Fenix 7
Price And Value
The Suunto 7 costs $499 USD, positioning it as a premium smartwatch. For the price, you get a stylish multi-sport GPS smartwatch with Outdoor watch functions and Wear OS capabilities. It offers solid value with long term support from Google’s ecosystem.
At $599 USD, the Suunto 9 is targeted at serious athletes and professionals. The advanced metrics, ultra long battery and rugged build make it ideal for ultra endurance events and expeditions. So the higher price tag reflects its niche value for hardcore outdoor sports use rather than general smartwatch functionality.
Overall the Suunto 7 offers better value for most consumers who want both smart features and sports tracking. But committed athletes can justify spending more for the top-end performance and battery life of the Suunto 9.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Suunto was acquired by Amer Sports in 1999 and operated under their umbrella alongside brands like Salomon, Arc’teryx and Wilson. But in 2019, Amer Sports was acquired by Chinese conglomerate ANTA Sports. Under ANTA, Suunto continues to design and manufacture sports watches and dive computers as an independent subsidiary brand.
Suunto has maintained its core expertise in sports tracking technology while expanding into smartwatches with the Suunto 7 launch. They aim to blend advanced fitness metrics and battery performance with smart features and app connectivity. With resources from ANTA, the future looks promising for Suunto to keep innovating.
With a 50mm diameter casing and 13.6mm thickness, the Suunto 7 is at the larger end for a smartwatch. It may look oversized on very slim wrists. But the rounded edges, lightweight build and short lug-to-lug length give it a low profile on the wrist.
For most average to large sized wrists, the Suunto 7 should fit well. The AMOLED display maximizes the watch face area while minimizing the bezel for an efficient footprint. While not the most compact, the size is typical for a sports-focused smartwatch with GPS built-in. It all comes down to personal comfort – try it on in person if possible.
Both Garmin and Suunto make high-accuracy sports watches relied on by professional athletes. In independent testing and customer reviews, there is no consensus on which brand is more accurate overall. Accuracy depends on the specific sensors and tracking technology used in each watch model.
At the high end, Garmin’s Fenix series and Suunto’s 9 series offer multi-band GPS tracking for improved pace, distance and trajectory data. They also have similar heart rate sensor accuracy. You’ll get reliable metrics from the latest watches of both brands.
One difference is that Suunto relies more on wrist-based heart rate while Garmin has additional chest strap integration for ultra precision. But for most users, optical wrist heart rate is accurate enough during training and racing.
The Suunto 9 is better for hardcore athletes and endurance sports like ultra marathons or multi-day events. The ultra long battery life, rugged build and advanced performance metrics make it ideal for extreme training.
But for versatility as both a smartwatch and sports watch, the Suunto 7 is the better pick. With the connectivity, apps and convenience of Wear OS by Google, it can seamlessly transition from work to workouts. The stylish design also makes it great for everyday wear.
So the Suunto 9 edges out for pure sports functionality while the Suunto 7 strikes the best balance for a fitness smartwatch. Go with the Suunto 7 if you want both style and sports tracking on one device. But pick the Suunto 9 if you primarily want an ultra high-end training watch.
Also Read: Is Polar Vantage V2 Better Than Garmin?
Conclusion
The Suunto 7 is the better all-rounder smartwatch for athletes who want both fitness tracking and smart connected features. With GPS, continuous heart rate monitoring and Wear OS functionality, it seamlessly blends sports and smartwatch capabilities. The stylish design, AMOLED display and comfortable fit also make it great for daily wear.
Serious endurance athletes and professionals who want the most advanced metrics and battery life for ultra marathons, long trails or multi-day events should go for the Suunto 9. With up to 170 hours of GPS tracking, it’s built for ultra performance. The rugged design also better withstands harsh environments. But it lacks the connectivity and apps of a full smartwatch.
So weigh your needs for smartwatch functionality versus advanced sports tracking and battery when choosing between the Suunto 7 and Suunto 9. For most users, the Suunto 7 strikes the best balance with its sports-smartwatch hybrid capabilities. But the Suunto 9 won’t disappoint if you need maximum tracking performance for ultra endurance activities.
The Suunto 7 and Suunto 9 deliver top-notch sports tracking in different packages. The Suunto 7 combines fitness metrics with smartwatch capabilities in a sleek Wear OS package. For advanced metrics and ultra long battery in pure sports watch, the Suunto 9 is engineered for endurance athletes.
Evaluate your priorities between smart connectivity and intense training needs when choosing one of these excellent Suunto options for an active lifestyle.