Suunto Race 2 General Discussion

[dombo]

maybe run was developed by completely different team than race2. I’m suunto user since spartan sport wrist hr baro (with very first release of new software…). then 9baro. luckily I skipped 7. now I wait with my vertical and popcorn

[raven]

@dombo said in Suunto Race 2 General Discussion:

maybe run was developed by completely different team than race2. I’m suunto user since spartan sport wrist hr baro (with very first release of new software…). then 9baro. luckily I skipped 7. now I wait with my vertical and popcorn

Yes, it makes sense if there’s a completely different team, but why not share info between teams and have solutions where two groups are not solving the same problem independently. It’s not that the original Race had the perfect charging cable; let’s accept that as fact. A new cable is required. Why not design one cable to be used for all watches going forward, or at least until enough time has passed a revision makes sense. As it is, the Run and Race 2 teams both “solved” the problem of the Race charging cable independently; this is wasted effort and looks amateurish to me.

[maszop]

@raven said in Suunto Race 2 General Discussion:

As silly as it is the Run can do things the Race 2 cannot, it would be worse if the Race 2 couldn’t do things the Race could.

Apart from playing music locally, Suunto Run doesn’t offer much more than Race/Vertical.

Walls of text, and you still haven’t grasped the basic idea. The Suunto Run is a different line of budget watches that allows for such experiments with unfinished (not even a half-baked) and heavily stripped-down software. Once the software currently in the Suunto Run matures enough, it may (but doesn’t have to) make its way into the Race/Vertical 2.

I don’t know Suunto’s plans, so I’m not particularly excited about this. In fact, I’m glad that this time Suunto didn’t release a watch with poor and seriously underdeveloped software, as was sometimes the case in the past.

[Brad_Olwin]

@maszop said in Suunto Race 2 General Discussion:

@raven The software in the Suunto Run is definitely not superior to the Suunto Race/Race 2. It’s quite the opposite. It’s currently unsuitable for any more advanced watches.

I like aspects of the run firmware and do not like other aspects. I would not want the Run firmware on the Race2

[sky-runner]

@Brad_Olwin said in Suunto Race 2 General Discussion:

I have not seen any issues with GPS accuracy but most of my testing is in Colorado and not typically GPS challenging.

Sounds good! Let’s wait for more feedback from users. The terrain in PNW where I live tends to be challenging for GPS because mountain slopes are densely covered with tall evergreen trees such as Douglar Fir, Hemlock, Red Cedar, etc. I found Race to be clearly more accurate than the last generation of Garmin watches, such as Enduro 3, and equally accurate to the previous generation of Garmin watches such as Fenix 7 Pro.

I am tempted to buy Race 2 in REI to test it if I get it in a place with a good return policy such as REI. Maybe I should become a beta tester because I tend to report a lot of issues, but I am not sure how to apply.

[Juan Christoferson]

@raven I think Suunto Run is meant to target the Chinese Market where it has different needs and requirements (e.g. Suunto Run has Alipay in CN market, dunno whether SR2 has the capability or not). I presume they are using different codebase which has the ability to run offline music and the v2 OS does not yet support offline music without major overhaul.

V3 OS is targeted to more purist and beginner level where the capability of customization is limited to allow the OS to run more efficiently. It’s a cost thing. Maybe Suunto will have more smartwatch capability for the V3 and there will be 2 distinct models, who knows.

[Hari Seldon]

@2b2bff it’s no surprise to me if they keep changing and with R2 it’s seems they’re find the right way. Already the Run HR performs really well. What “worries” me the most is the amount of different sw versions in circulation, something difficult to maintain (time, resources, quality of sw)…

[VoiGAS]

@Hari-Seldon DCRAINMAKER is describing it like the Race 2 has the necessary HW to support future functionality and that is what Suunto is planning.
So the release of the watch itself is just the first step, SW changes will follow. Thats why it is currently just an small update, but the HW generations will start to drift away from each other I would suppose.
That could mean that Race 2 will get a (parallel developed) version 3 when it is ready - and the others not.
At least for me that would make sense

[Tieutieu]

As main utmb sponsor, Suunto couldn’t miss this event to launch new products. Considering that most of market is no using Suunto’s, even if FW is the same for now than SV, SR, SRs, it’s not a big deal.
The SR2 is awesome and will seduce new customers, and FW updates will certainly come quickly.
And we, « old users », are pleased to see that our watches are still updated.
Perfect move IMHO.

[timecode]

I noticed a subtle topo background on Race 2 when scrolling through menu. Is that really there or are my eyes just playing with me? If yes, would love to have it also on the first Race … which I guess wont happen : )

[v.sacre]

@Tieutieu Nakan.ch tolds the same.
We won’t do a full review right now as he expect some new software later
https://www.nakan.ch/wp/2025/08/27/suunto-annonce-la-race-2-tous-les-details/

[VoiGAS]

@timecode Looks funny, but wastes energy (battery and developers) in my opinion. I would prefer less eye candy (like this, badges, watch faces,…) and more focus on the performance

[timecode]

@VoiGAS maybe yes, but I like such small details.

[isazi]

@raven said in Suunto Race 2 General Discussion:

The charging cable from the Run is a piece of crap? That’s the last revision they just did a few months ago, and the Race 2 differs from that. My point is the Run and Race 2 should have the same charger, given they have been released near each other and likely one design is superior to the other.

The charging cable for the Run is worse than Race 2, yes

[Tieutieu]

@VoiGAS about « performances », I was waiting for only one thing : rep counter and 5sec bip to next step, for structured workouts.
Now that it’s been implemented to SV and SRs, I don’t thing I miss a lot of things.
For the rest both my SV and SRs are perfect
Better OHR is off course a plus, but for zonesense and intense activities I use HR belt, so…

[Highlands]

@Tieutieu I think so as well. But I’m not sure I’ll manage to avoid buying the SV2

[Tieutieu]

@Highlands SR2 is to close to me to my SV, and I also own the SRs, so for me I wait for SV2.
Going for SR2 in my case would lead me to use it only regarding features, but i love my SV and like very luch my SRs (both made in Finland).
I still hope SV2 could be made in Finland for some models (personnalisation maybe ?)

[Mi_chael]

@Tieutieu

On Race with latest firmware.

With internal structured workout , there isn’t a bip and/or vib at the end of the rep but there is a count of the rep.

With SuuntoPlus structured workout, there is a bip and/or vi. At the end of the rep but there isn’t a count of the rep.

I use a lot internal structured workout because i forget often to create a SuuntoPlus workout in advance.

I hope Suunto will fix that !

[martintrail]

Right after it hit the market, I tried out the Race model. I was thrilled with the new display, faster user interface, nice design, etc. I just wanted to try it out. But then I found out that I couldn’t turn the crown with gloves on in winter, and what’s more, the crown stopped working in freezing temperatures. I quickly went back to the Vertical model, which I have no problems with under any conditions. So even though the RACE is a beautiful watch, it’s just not for me. It’s simply a matter of hardware. I’m looking forward to the Vertical 2, whether it comes out now or later. I just hope that in addition to AMOLED, a MIP version will also be available. Maybe there will be a great titanium solar version with MIP and AMOLED in steel. We’ll see

[Highlands]

@Tieutieu I wonder if by tomorrow Suunto will have dropped the SV2 bomb