Suunto App a giant leap backwards!

[Chocksta]

Re: Share your experience with the Suunto app here!

Hello. I am new to the forum and I’m not sure if I am posting this correctly but I will no doubt be informed if not.

I am afraid that I am seriously disappointed with Suunto App. I have been using it now for about 6 months and There are many areas which are still a mile away from the quality of Movescount!!! I am seriously considering going back to movescount if I am able to do so such is my disappointment. Please let me elaborate.

Analytics:

My Suunto Spartan Ultra (the don-corleoni of watches in my humble opinion) records untold amounts of information using the paired sensors: Heart rate via chest strap, bike speed and cadence via suunto bike sensor and power via powertap hub. From my efforts the watch records everything right down to my R-R interval, and all this information is synced to the app. In Movescount I could overlay graph upon graph to analyse everything I wanted; from altitude to epoc to vo2 max to power etc, etc. None of this is available in Suunto App. All you get is a Strava-esk display of a host of numbers and 3 graphs…not as good as Strava and a mile away from the analytical ability of Movescount. I would even go as far as stating my fabulous Spartan watch is seriously let down by Suunto App!!

Routes:
Planning.

When you create a route in Suunto app (sports tracker) it appears very similar and is certainly straightforward. It is only once you have created the route and synced it to the watch for use does it become apparent that there is a load od data missing…where’s all the Altitude data? Nowhere to be found! You plan a route in South Wales going past Pen-Y-Fan (the highest mountain in South Wales); total ascent…0 feet!! And this is the same for any route that is created using Suunto App/Sports Tracker. No matter where you go the total ascent is 0 feet; total descent is 0 feet. You look at the profile graph of the route on the watch and it is like a ruler flat. This is not the case with Movescount where all altitude data is synced on to the watch allowing you to see an altitude profile on the watch during use, which in turn enables you to gauge your effort so that you don’t blow up too early when there’s loads of climbing still to come.

Routes:
In use:

I have already spoken about the altitude information…or lack of it using Suunto App so I will move on to my final massive gripe! Whilst using the route navigation on the watch I am sick to the back teeth of seeing the message ‘You have arrived at the destination’…er, I still have 20 miles to go: You have arrived at the destination…19.5 miles still to go…and repeat again and again. There appears to be no correlation to how far there is to go until the finish (ie. the distance appears to be totally random) but there is one significant problem; I am nowhere near reaching my destination and with this information constantly appearing on the screen with an audible alert, it is infuriating!

So in conclusion; after using Suunto watches for over 20 years and always being so happy with the progress and development, along with the direction that Suunto have taken with their products and development, this is a major disappointment and as I have already stated a giant leap backwards. I will definitely go back to Movescount at the earliest opportunity if that is possible and I will continue using Movescount for the foreseeable future as it is a far superior product that my fantastic Suunto Spartan Ultra deserves.

[sartoric]

Hi @Chocksta
If you search the forum you’ll see that most of the problems you’re pointing out were already identified as bug/unexpected behavior and will be solved in future releases, especially those related to routes.

Most of the missing data should be added too.

Are you using the latest beta or the official version? iOs or Android ?

If you want to keep using MC (until mid 2020) check this too : https://forum.suunto.com/topic/668/parallel-use-with-mc-app/5

[Chocksta]

@sartoric Thanks for your reply. I have only joined the forum today as my frustration got the better of me.
I am using the latest official IOS version but I have to use Sports Tracker on my MacBook and use the Suunto App to sync as Suuntolink no longer seems to work.
I have not seen the previous posts regarding these issues and I am glad that it is not just me that has highlighted these issues. The problem for me is that this transition has been going on for about a year now and yet these issues are still there without any improvements. I am aware that these things take time and it is tricky to find bugs in amongst lines and lines of code but it feels like a change in direction, moving away from a high quality bespoke software suite in favour of a less thorough product which appears to be a bit of a “jack-of-all-trades” and trying to mimic Strava, and it is for these reasons that I am sceptical that the quantity and quality of analytical data within Movescount will be transferred across to Suunto App…sorry, Sports Tracker. I hope that I am wrong and that Suunto continues to be at the cutting edge of sports watch design AND analytics.

[sartoric]

@Chocksta
Well … let’s start saying that Sport Tracker website is not the web version of Suunto App even if you have (or at least it seems you have) all your moves and data there. You’ll find this remark in several discussions around here

That said, here it is an example of “already discussed bug”
https://forum.suunto.com/topic/1657/planned-route-strange-altimetric-profile-and-waypoint
This bug should be already fixed (or almost fixed) in the last Android beta version, unfortunately I don’t know about iOS ver.

[Chocksta]

@sartoric Hello again Sartoric. You are indeed correct. Sport Tracker website is not the web version of Suunto app…as there is no web version as the discussions highlight. Why users would have to vote for this as a feature request is ludicrous. I (like many other people) am not a slave to my mobile device and whilst the modern smartphone is extremely capable, there is no competition with the display capabilities of a computer and I would opt for the web version every time other than when out and about, and it would appear that the majority of users feel the same.
I also read the post you sent as a link regarding strange altitude profile and waypoint. It would appear that different people are getting different problems as my profile is dead flat with no up or down at all so I look forward to seeing how the various fixes pan out.
As I said in my original post, I have used Suunto watches for 20 years + and the reason I have been an avid Suunto backer is the quality of the hardware that they produce. The watches have been incredible and it is important to say that for the last 18 months using the Spartan Ultra, this has remained the case with the watch performing fantastically and I have no regrets continuing to use Suunto products. Why would I shoot myself in the foot and opt for an inferior product over an issue around an app! It is just frustrating that when the software side appeared to be moving forward with such detailed info and data, there seems to have been such a regression which ultimately undermines the capabilities of a £600 premium sports watch! Still, patience is a virtue I suppose so fingers crossed we end up with a setup that is an improvement on the seriously capable Movescount

[Dimitrios Kanellopoulos]

@Chocksta hey! I hear you! I ask for a second chance by joining the Beta journey of the app. https://testflight.apple.com/join/DJyDC5SU

IF that does not help or improve the feel of the pace that the app is going we can discuss again and I honestly mean that I prefer to see happy people than propose to stick with a app/brand/platform .

[Chocksta]

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos Hello Dimitrios. Thank you for your response. I will definitely take you up on your offer of joining the beta testing for the IOS app. Whilst I have been quite forthright with my opinions around the whole transition from Movescount, the time it is taking just to catch up with the quality and quantity of the data available within the web version of Movescount and the issues around route planning, it is driven by my pleasure and enjoyment in using such a fantastic watch (Spartan Ultra) and my desire to prevent such a quality device being failed by the surrounding software that should only enhance it. Lets see how things move forward

[suzzlo]

@Chocksta another idea for web solution (while we wait for a Suunto one) could be use Runalyze. Please give it a try, it’s not MC, but you can see tons of data and it’s free

BR

[surfboomerang]

@suzzlo Runalyze is indeed a great website. Especially now they use the Suunto API (still beta). The automatic sync is very fast, but not flawless yet. My speed diagrams are messed up and I get corrupt gpx/txc files when I try to export the activity.
Older activities I recorded with my Ambit 3 peak and imported manually are working perfect in Runalyze.

I already contacted Runalyze support. Let’s see what they will find.

[mipapo]

@surfboomerang Hey - I think I’ve just respond to your support mail at RUNALYZE. I haven’t found that activity with the 103km/h via API, but I need it to debug that problem. We do the best we can

[Dimitrios Kanellopoulos]

@mipapo there he is finally.!

[surfboomerang]

@mipapo thanks for the reply! I noticed it ended up in my spam box

I will reply on the mail with some additional information and other cases that show the same behavior.

Thanks for investigating

[Chocksta]

*** Update ***

OK. I thought that I would post an update to my original post. I was quite vociferous in my dissatisfaction with the transition to Suunto app and it is only fair and proper that I recognise some of the improvements that have been made.

So I joined the Beta program after the invite from Dimitrios and there are definitely fixes to some of the glaring issues that I pointed out. The map routing is definitely much improved within the Suunto app and the amount of ascent is shown. I am not convinced that the ascent information is correct but I will monitor that and report back accordingly, but the route planning within the app is pretty good so that is a definite plus.
I will see tomorrow if that annoying bug of “you have arrived…” is still there, which will in turn isolate whether this bug is down to the app or the watch firmware so I will report this back on the bugs page once I have a clearer idea.

There appears to be a few extra capabilities and graphs to the analytics within the app although still nowhere near the comprehensive collection and display capabilities of Movescount and the constraints of such a small screen is inevitably part of the problem. I haven’t had much of an opportunity to take a look at Runalyse yet but I will have a look so thanks for that Mipapo. The Sports Tracker site simply doesn’t cut it, both in the route planning and analytics aspects, and in my opinion all it does is highlight the fact that the lack of a complete Suunto web based version is a glaring mistake and it shouldn’t really be left for other people to plug that gap. Ultimately I stick to my feelings that there is no point trying to out-strava Strava, especially as Strava does what it does so well. That’s not to say that people shouldn’t have the choice of using an alternative piece of analytic software because they prefer the layout or the data available is more what they are looking for, but what is the point of a manufacturer developing such a great watch that gathers such a huge amount of information…and then disregarding all that capability and not allowing that data to be utilised; madness!

As always, I appreciate that everyone has their own opinions and I am more than happy hearing what people think. Ultimately it feels that everyone is aiming for the same thing and that is to keep Suunto products at the top of the tree and working well which can only be good

Until next time

[Dimitrios Kanellopoulos]

@Chocksta great feedback! I bow!

[Chocksta]

Brethren.

As I promised, I have been trying out the routing elements of the current version of the Suunto app (beta version 1.6.0 (6801) and Spartan Ultra Firmware 2.5.18) and I am posting my latest findings and feelings.

Before I get into it I must highlight something…the “you have arrived at your destination” notification that was going off every couple of minutes and doing my head in…hallelujah! Bye, bye and good riddance. It was so annoying and appears to have been resolved so there is one definite plus. Unfortunately there seems to be the introduction of another couple of small glitches which I think I should post on the bugs topic.

Anyway; routes! I said I was going to test them both in the planning and use, and to assess the accuracy of the altitude/ascent data. I planned 3 different routes and the numbers and conclusions are as follows:

Route 1; Planning on Suunto App = 6.41 miles with 502 feet of ascent.
Riding the route - 6.37 miles and 468 feet of ascent.

So the difference between theory and real life is 0.04 miles and 34 feet of ascent. I would go so far as to say that is pretty much spot on really; well done Suunto.

Route 2; Planning on Suunto App = 10.5 miles with 927 feet of ascent.
Riding the route - 10.5 miles and 954 feet of ascent.

So the difference between theory and real life is 0.00 miles and 27 feet of ascent. I would go so far as to say that is pretty much spot on as well!

Route 3; Planning on Suunto App = 28.5 miles with 2035 feet of ascent.
Riding the route - 28.6 miles and 887 feet of ascent.

So the difference between theory and real life is 0.1 miles but 1148 feet of ascent incorrect. This is clearly not very good but let’s keep this real. the route was along an old disused railway line which meanders its way through rolling hills and valleys and parts of the route would have been artificially raised or lowered to create a fairly level and even route. If you look at all of the contour lines etc. then I reckon that it is probably pretty close and so I think I will have to accept that this is not the best route to use for this test (or am I getting soft lol). So, despite my criticisms of this app, there are definite improvements so far and I am prepared to say that the ascent data for the route planning is, on the whole, pretty spot on.

I will continue to keep an eye on all of these points but for now things are definitely on the way up.

Keep up the improvements please Suunto

Word!