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

[raven]

@Egika said:

@VoiGAS Are you implying, that a model should not be sold, when there will be no feature additions for it later on?
As there is a Vertical 2, it automatically makes Vertical the last generation before this model. If Vertical 3 arrives (no idea if and when), Vertical 2 and 1 will both the the generation before this.

In my opinion, the users of this forum are a small and rather special fraction of Suunto users. Most people buy it and use it without the expectation, that there must be new things added 4 times a year.

I do think for some people there’s a sense that currently sold devices continue to get firmware updates.

For example, over at Apple, some users were dismayed to learn that the forthcoming watchOS 27 will “only” support Series 9 and later, Ultra 2 and later, and SE3 and later. Other models that had been getting updates, despite not being sold for years, will now only get more critical security style updates and not new features.

All the models that will discontinue support haven’t been sold for at least a year, but Apple Watch users have had the expectation their models continue getting updates for several years, so “only” having a year or two of updates has upset them. This is likely an extension of phone culture, where currently sold phones also get updates regularly.

Meanwhile, over at Garmin, they have a harder to follow approach for updates. It seems models released within the last year or two get updates, and in recent years there’s now a common code base for this to happen easier, but Garmin sells tons of older models that no longer get updates. Typically though, one can point to a newer model of the same line that is the “update candidate” so while a Fenix 7 can be bought today and won’t get updates, the Fenix 8 is also available and that one does get updates.

However, Garmin’s scattershot approach at making dozens of models and keeping them around forever is a major reason I ignored them and went to Suunto when I got my Race S. I’m hoping that there will continue to be updates for it, partially as there’s no replacement for it at that size and Race 2 and Vertical 2 are too large for me. Even if there was though, as I’ve only had the Race S slightly over a year, it feels far too soon to be considering an upgrade.

Now I get one buys a watch (or anything else) for what it can do today and not for what it might be able to do in the future, so when updates come to an end I think it’s silly to be too upset about it. I get things cannot be supported forever. I do think it’s good to have stated policies on a support page for people to reference so they have the right expectations when they buy. For example, looking at the US Suunto store at the moment there’s this page:

https://us.suunto.com/pages/software-updates

This links to each watch’s current updates. Selecting Suunto 9 Peak Pro (a model still sold on the store), it says “going forward, no additional feature updates or software updates are planned…” This I think is sufficient warning to a new buyer. There is no similar warning for the first Vertical or my Race S, suggesting both are candidates for continued development. I think a nice additional would be guidance on what to expect for every watch; i.e. if the policy is “we plan to do updates for X years after first release” then have that stated somewhere.

Again, for myself I try to follow a policy of “buy something for what it does today, not what it can do tomorrow” but in a world where people have many types of devices like phones, ebook readers, game consoles, etc. have updates that happen after one buys it, it’s an easy expectation to have that “if it’s being sold as new, it’s getting updates.” So simply having support documentation saying what to expect can be useful for people to not get the wrong idea (of course, this assumes people do their research and check these support pages).

[sky-runner]

I don’t know if others have already commented about the map labels. Unless I am missing something, there is no way to adjust the font size. Currently the font is so tiny that it is extremely difficult for me to read it even when I am sitting still. And if I am on the move - forget about it. It is a bit easier to read on the Dark map theme, but borderline impossible on Light and High Contrast themes.

If Suunto developers went through all the trouble of adding this feature, having an option for larger fonts would greatly expand the feature accessibility for older users.

[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.