Suunto Software update Q2 (2.56.18) - July 14th, 2026 - Vertical 2 and Race 2

[maszop]

@sky-runner That’s the problem with small screens – like on watches.

Either the font and symbols are too small, or if they’re made bigger, they end up cluttering the map.
That’s why sometimes less is more.

[VoiGAS]

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos I didn’t mean to criticize the number of updates or the time it takes. Its just about the expectations a customer normally has when a product is still on sale. At least in my experience a “sunset process” starts with end of sale, then a defined time period support (eg 12 month) and then end of support. And as both watches are on sale I concluded that they cannot or should not be end of support. But that aligns with the Suunto communication, so all good.

[VoiGAS]

@Egika what @raven said

[maszop]

@VoiGAS I see it like this: 9PP (partially), Vertical 1, Race 1, and Race S were more or less from the same generation, so they basically received similar updates. After the release of Vertical 2 and Race 2, which are a newer generation, those older ones now require a completely separate – side branch – of updates.

So it’s obvious they won’t be released at the same time as the main branch for Race 2 and Vertical 2 – there will be two completely independent software series.
That’s why it’s a bit surprising to see people acting surprised that older watches aren’t included in the major update.

[elbee]

@maszop said:

@VoiGAS I see it like this: 9PP (partially), Vertical 1, Race 1, and Race S were more or less from the same generation, so they basically received similar updates. After the release of Vertical 2 and Race 2, which are a newer generation, those older ones now require a completely separate – side branch – of updates.

So it’s obvious they won’t be released at the same time as the main branch for Race 2 and Vertical 2 – there will be two completely independent software series.
That’s why it’s a bit surprising to see people acting surprised that older watches aren’t included in the major update.

If they just use 1 firmware for all watches there wouldn’t be a problem with releasing at different times.

They just have to build for certain watches with some features disabled (depending on hardware)

That’s what Apple does for their watches. But if I look around, Apple may be the exception. Maybe Coros does a better job, Garmin certainly doesn’t.

[maszop]

@elbee said:

@maszop said:

@VoiGAS I see it like this: 9PP (partially), Vertical 1, Race 1, and Race S were more or less from the same generation, so they basically received similar updates. After the release of Vertical 2 and Race 2, which are a newer generation, those older ones now require a completely separate – side branch – of updates.

So it’s obvious they won’t be released at the same time as the main branch for Race 2 and Vertical 2 – there will be two completely independent software series.
That’s why it’s a bit surprising to see people acting surprised that older watches aren’t included in the major update.

If they just use 1 firmware for all watches there wouldn’t be a problem with releasing at different times.

If the hardware is radically newer – and everything suggests it is – then it’s better not to keep a single main software branch for very different hardware. Of course, I don’t know for sure how it works with Suunto, but to me it would make a lot of sense.

[elbee]

@maszop

What makes you think the hardware is radical different?

A new heartrate sensor? That just has the same api. Same for gnss chip.
A different processor? With the same instruction set.
Even the screen isn’t a problem.

Things like calculate sleep score, detecting a track, hrv, every thing else isn’t dependent on ‘radical” different hardware.

[raven]

What I’d like is to see would be updates continuing until there’s “two succeeding generations,” that is for Race 1, continue updates until an eventual Race 3. So there’s always the “current gen” obviously supported, and “most recent previous gen,” also supported.

And my particular argument for the Race S is there is no replacement yet, as I don’t count larger devices to fill that role. Likewise, for the Suunto Run, if it was announced “no more updates” for it, that would seem weird to me, despite being a budget watch, and yes, I know it runs a separate OS but I always thought the Run was a weird device to start with.

Now it may be the attitude at Suunto is more “once the replacement is released, don’t focus on the last one,” and while it’s not my preference that would be fine. I’d just like to see disclosures on this in the support pages so people know what to expect.

I believe at Polar, there’s one OS for Vantage M3, V3, Grit X2 and X2 Pro, maybe some others. As I understand, they all have same capabilities and it’s hardware differences that differentiate them. I prefer this (and Apple’s) way of doing things, grouping several watches under one OS that mostly do the same things across devices, and at the time I got Race S with other options being Race and Vertical (Run did not exist yet), I was under the mistaken impression it was a similar situation. Then Run came out doing its own thing, and I saw that as a one-off experiement, but now I don’t really understand the overall update philosophy.

[Gunnar]

@elbee damn, no one told this the Suunto engineers and managers. Now we must suffer this shitty support and products. Must be the right time for you, it is your chance now, to start a new sports watch business. I will back your startup.

[szleslie]

@maszop I agree 100%. These screens are too small to display that much info—not to mention route planning and finding addresses. A phone is much more convenient for that. Unless someone really needs these functions right now, in that case, they should buy a device that has this function now.

maszop This is not for you below.

Sarcasm on (One type of the typical complainers, who allegedly spend their free time high up in the mountains climbing on weekends. It’s night, -25°C, blizzard, no food, no water left, all mates are dead and the only navigation option back to civilisation is a sport watch on their wrist. They need ultimate navigation, rerouting, route planning, perfect off route warning and mind-reading functions immediately—right now. How dare a company not fulfil all their wishes? It’s a lifesaver, as they say. Instead, they should take a proper device like a GPSMAP as their main navigation device, an inReach as a backup, and additional power banks—not just these recreational gadgets.) Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Sarcasm off.