Suunto Race Music
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@brechtvb yeah, but the earbuds do not decode mp3-files but some AAC stream or similar. So the watch has to decode MP3, convert it into an audio stream that it has to transmit to the earbuds… yeah you can do all this in software, but it is way better if the SoC can do it…
That said, I think I read that the SoC is the same as in Garmin watches. Garmin does it, so possibly the SoC is capable of doing this…
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@isazi “You’re probably right, but which chipset does Suunto use in the Race and Run? I’ve heard that the chipset in the Race is the same as the one Garmin uses — or is that only for GPS?”
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@Rayfox no idea about what Garmin uses, but Suunto Run has the best (highest accuracy with lowest power consumption) GPS chipset in the market. It is the Sony chipset, that is also in the other high end Suunto watches.
t6, S6, Elementum Terra, Ambit 3 Sapphire, Spartan Ultra Copper, Traverse Alpha, S7 Graphite LE, S9B Ambassador, S9P Granite Blue Titanium, S9PP Titanium Sand, Vertical All Black, Race Titanium Charcoal,
Race S All Black - TI Canary - Titanium Courtney -
@Egika said in Suunto Race Music:
the best (highest accuracy with lowest power consumption) GPS chipset in the market. It is the Sony chipset, that is also in the other high end Suunto watches
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@Egika Yes, but what about the main chipset(CPU) model/type i Race/Race S — that must be what determines whether music playback is possible, right?
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@Rayfox Correct.
But apart from not knowing it in detail - what would this knowledge help anyone.
Suunto’s product managers will know and will evaluate the feasibility for us
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@Rayfox I know what Suunto uses, not what Garmin uses, so I am of no help here
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@Egika said in Suunto Race Music:
@Rayfox Correct.
But apart from not knowing it in detail - what would this knowledge help anyone.
Suunto’s product managers will know and will evaluate the feasibility for usThis is where I hope that, at the time the Race and Race S were designed, there were already future plans for the Run as well. Then when the music feature was designed for the Run, it would have been done so with the plan to backport it. In other words, a long term plan to add music to multiple devices, and it just took time to get it all worked out which is why Run gets it first.
Otherwise, it makes Suunto product managers seem a bit unfocused, in my mind, as the current lineup of Run to Race/Race S is weird as some might have conflicting desires in features — guess one needs to go to Garmin or elsewhere if you want music and maps on the same device. I’d at least expect the music feature to come to a Race / Race S hardware successor, but that’s not likely to happen this year.
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@raven I personally don’t think that offline music was in the scope for Race S during specification.
Race S belongs to a product line that was started with S9PP (and continued with Vertical, Race and Race S).
S9PP was introduced in October 2022, so it was planned maybe in the year 2021.Since there is no data transfer possible with the cable, I doubt that this is possible anyway. I think this has been discussed already in this thread. Just to add: BT is definitely waay to slow to transfer music files to the watch.
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@Egika said in Suunto Race Music:
@raven I personally don’t think that offline music was in the scope for Race S during specification.
Race S belongs to a product line that was started with S9PP (and continued with Vertical, Race and Race S).
S9PP was introduced in October 2022, so it was planned maybe in the year 2021.Since there is no data transfer possible with the cable, I doubt that this is possible anyway. I think this has been discussed already in this thread. Just to add: BT is definitely waay to slow to transfer music files to the watch.
In online reviews, Chase the Summit used bluetooth to upload music and confirmed it in the comments, as I noted six days ago in this thread. Also isn’t wifi available? My contention is as the Race S can download large map files without being wired to a computer, other files are possible. The compelling hardware argument is if the Race S chipset cannot decode MP3 which has not been established only postulated.
I have hardware/software experience in another industry, and typically roadmaps extend a few years out, and in my experience, this kind of planning seems weird. If it’s true that music was not considered until the Run’s feature set was designed, I would have pushed for that to be delayed until a more appropriate product, i.e. a theoretical Veritcal 2 — start it with the more expensive models then have the feature trickle down to lower ones.
As it is today, if I has not bought the Race S just a few weeks earlier, I’d be a bit perpelexed on deciding between Run and Race S. While I enjoy having maps as a feature, I’d honestly use music more. Combine that with the Run having the feature of “flipping” the UI to accommodate my left-handed dominance (which I do think will come to Race S), I’d likely have bought the Run despite being able to afford the Race S, or perhaps even more strongly consider Coros or Polar if I thought their lineups made more sense.
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@raven as no one from Suunto is here to comment on Suunto’s planning and product development, I think this discussion is not bound to go anywhere
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@raven the comment on using BT to transfer files into the watch is just wrong.
Maybe there is a misunderstanding:
The files are sent to the watch using a USB wired connection.
What happens over BT is the setup of playlists out of the files already in the watch.And I agree with isazi: this is either going in circles or nowhere. It is an academic discussion.
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@Egika Someone from Suunto should correct Chase the Summit then. Given he had the watch, tested the feature, and was asked a direct question about it, one can see where I get the conclusion it’s possible. I actually agree he may be mistaken, as he only shows organization as you say, and other reviewers use the desktop connection.
Even on the Run that seems a bit “weak” though; I’m someone who uses an iPad and iPhone 95% of the time and rarely use a desktop computer. Many people these days don’t use a full on computer often or may not have access at all. Can the run be wired connected by USB-C to an Apple or Android phone to transfer music files? Years ago I had a Garmin 910XT that required a computer (with ANT+ dongle even). These days requiring a computer seems short-sighted, regardless if the feature is backported to other watches.
Others may be more concerned about the lack of integration with streaming services like Spotify; I can understand the problems of getting that accomplished, but moving files from phone to watch without a wired connection should not be overly difficult in 2025. As one example, Apple Watch can transfer easily enough; not only the Music app, but I’ve used the podcast app Overcast to send podcasts with no wire between phone and watch.
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@raven I used the charging cable to transfer music from a tablet to the watch, but could not find any way to do it via Bluetooth.
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@isazi said in Suunto Race Music:
@raven I used the charging cable to transfer music from a tablet to the watch, but could not find any way to do it via Bluetooth.
Thanks for confirming! Is that also true of the Suunto Aqua headphones? Does it also requires a wired connection to a computer?
https://us.suunto.com/products/suunto-aqua-light-reef-blue
Looking at that page, I see the following:
“ Unlock the full potential of the Suunto Aqua Light with Suunto app. This app allows you to dial in all aspects of your headphones, from music storage and management to button customization, and more.”
It only shows a phone app — is there a Suunto app for the Mac? This makes me think one could load music with just the phone app. I don’t see anything on that page that says the Aqua requires a computer to load music to it by a wired connection.
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@raven both devices, Aqua and Run, connect to a USB host device as virtual drives (USB mass storage device).
Thus you can also use other devices, like phones or tablets, if they support external USB drives.
