Is there still demand for a modern MIP endurance watch?
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To add one more thing, there’s been some talk about how the top finishers at this year’s London Marathon all wore relatively old, entry-level, mostly MIP watches.
Not that marathon and road running is Suunto’s wheelhouse, but this points to the fact that there are many athletes who just need a watch to track the basics.
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@duffman19 I have a very unpopular opinion about this - the more serious you are about sports, the less you care about having the latest tech, etc. I’ve seen some people who shout and complain about everything do almost nothing, just track occasional walks. Different people have different priorities I guess.
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@OutdoorMan said in Is there still demand for a modern MIP endurance watch?:
the more serious you are about sports, the less you care about having the latest tech, etc
It depends, but yes, there are certainly a lot of excellent runners (that’s my bubble) that use older watches. Garmin FR 735, Fenix 6 and so.
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@2b2bff I think you are correct. There are a ton of people out there that use older tech. There are the early adopters, the tech insane and those that just do the work with what they have and that means Fenix 5s, 745s and even old Coros watches.
That is not to say that I agree that if you are serious about sports you care less about tech. I think it is very individual.
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Hence the phrase…
All the gear, no idea
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Yes AMOLED looks great indoors but for long outdoor use I still think MIP has a place. On watches like the Suunto 9 Peak Pro or older endurance models, the always-on readability and battery behaviour just feel more natural for hiking, ultra runs, biking, etc. You glance at it and the information is simply there without the “wake up” feeling AMOLED often has. I d definitely be interested if Suunto released a modern MIP endurance watch again, especially if it kept the cleaner/tool-watch style instead of chasing smartwatch aesthetics. For me the biggest points would be battery life, sunlight readability and lower distraction in daily use. Weight matters too, but I’d still take slightly heavier hardware over another bright AMOLED panel I need to baby during long trips.
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Went from Race S to Apex 2 Pro because of MIP…
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@suuntastic infused to have a forerunner 55 which is low end in the end. But what puzzles me for even the high end watches have low resolution and small screens.
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@brechtvb said in Is there still demand for a modern MIP endurance watch?:
But what puzzles me for even the high end watches have low resolution and small screens.
Because there are simply no MIP displays available that are high resolution or larger than 1.4". Furthermore, even if someone tried to produce a high resolution MIP display it would have a low contrast and look awful. This is a physical limitation of the technology. There has to be a tiny lens and color filter in front of every pixel, and that is difficult to scale to a higher resolution.
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@sky-runner
I think the resolution is fine as it is with V1.
only because there are higher resolutions on the market doesn’t mean we must implement them in watches.
I find even the map very good to read with its topographic details -
It is difficult to say exactly, but the main problem with MIP or AMOLED visibility in fill sun is probably not the technology, but maybe the sapphire vs traditional glass?
I dont know…
Today I compared Coros Nomad MIP/glass vs Vertical 1 MIP/shappire in the forest and I think Nomad has better experiences of visibility because of to much sun reflects on V1 with shappire:
my original post:
