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    Preference for a 3- or 5-Button Configuration?

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    • TrailEyesT
      TrailEyes Gold Members
      last edited by

      In the Vertical reviews from DC Rainmaker and Chase the Summit, I was a little taken aback that amid the generally positive comments they made, they both mentioned that they wish the Vertical had a five-button configuration. đŸ€”

      Now, CtS mentions often that he’s a “Garmin” guy, and DCR very likely has prediliction toward Garmin devices too (though he does stay more neutral than CtS). So I assume that their comments were really just them projecting their Garmin/Fenix preferences (or their muscle memory) onto the new Vertical. However, I don’t ever remember them really complaining about this with watches like Coros’ Vertix, so the complaints seem to be a bit of a stretch and lacking in an appreciation of individuality.

      So, my question is: If it were entirely up to you, do you prefer a 3- or 5-button configuration?

      Mind you, this is not an official survey or anything; just something I’m curious about. I definitely prefer the 3. When I use the 5 Peak with 5 buttons, I find I have a tendency to hit those fourth and fifth buttons by accident (though with no touch screen on the 5 Peak, I understand the need for more buttons). Not to mention that a 3-button configuration looks and feels cleaner. I also like the long-press “back” function, again, as something that helps to reduce accidental presses.

      Suunto Vertical / 9 Peak Pro / 9 Baro / 5 Peak / Vector
      -----------‐-----------
      Trail Runner / Hiker / Kickboxer
      Instagram: @rytipps

      freeheelerF EgikaE tazidenT EzioAuditoreE Brad_OlwinB 7 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • freeheelerF
        freeheeler @TrailEyes
        last edited by

        @TrailEyes
        3 🙂

        freeheeler switched to flipflops

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • EgikaE
          Egika Platinum Member @TrailEyes
          last edited by Egika

          @TrailEyes same for me. I like the 3 button configuration. long and short presses plus touch screen are perfect for me.
          The idea of a rotating bezel (came up when people first saw the notches in Vertical bezel) or a rotating button to quickly scroll though menus, lists or adjust the zoom is appealing though.

          t6, S6, Elementum Terra, Ambit 3 Sapphire, Spartan Ultra Copper, Traverse Alpha, S7 Graphite Limited Edition, S9B Ambassador, S9P Granite Blue Titanium, S9PP Titanium Sand, Vertical All Black, Race Titanium Charcoal

          TonyGT mikekoski490M 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 2
          • tazidenT
            taziden Silver Members @TrailEyes
            last edited by

            @TrailEyes for me 3 buttons + touchscreen is perfect, especially with S9P/S9PP where they are quite “hidden” and contribute to the minimalist design.

            S9PP

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • freeheelerF
              freeheeler @TrailEyes
              last edited by

              @TrailEyes
              sorry, my answer was very brief 🙈
              I prefer 3 buttons with intuitive and memorable logic and touch for non-glove activities/seasons. I also like buttons that I can press with at least softshell or medium hardshell gloves and I’m not the biggest fan of fiddly stuff

              freeheeler switched to flipflops

              TrailEyesT 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • EzioAuditoreE
                EzioAuditore Silver Members @TrailEyes
                last edited by EzioAuditore

                @TrailEyes 3. They are Garmin users hence the 5 button preference since they are used to it. When I had the f6 I found the layout so confusing that I wanted to throw the watch away immediately. Even polar’s vantage has better button mapping 🙂

                Suunto: Vertical (Titanium Solar Sand), 9 Baro (Ambassador Edition), Spartan Ultra (Copper Edition), Ambit 2, S6

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • v.sacreV
                  v.sacre Silver Members
                  last edited by v.sacre

                  3 buttons definitively, more aesthetic !
                  Rotating button, I really don’t like what have been made by Coros for example


                  A3S | S9B | S9P | S9PP | Suunto Vertical Ti
                  Suunto Wing

                  EzioAuditoreE EgikaE 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • EzioAuditoreE
                    EzioAuditore Silver Members @v.sacre
                    last edited by

                    Oh and do not get me started on the quality of the button press (maybe off topic) but every button on garmin has different click feedback
 that’s what cheep components do!

                    Suunto: Vertical (Titanium Solar Sand), 9 Baro (Ambassador Edition), Spartan Ultra (Copper Edition), Ambit 2, S6

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • EgikaE
                      Egika Platinum Member @v.sacre
                      last edited by

                      @v-sacre Coros’ (or in general competitors’) implementation of things should not be the benchmark.
                      The benchmark should be usability

                      t6, S6, Elementum Terra, Ambit 3 Sapphire, Spartan Ultra Copper, Traverse Alpha, S7 Graphite Limited Edition, S9B Ambassador, S9P Granite Blue Titanium, S9PP Titanium Sand, Vertical All Black, Race Titanium Charcoal

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • TrailEyesT
                        TrailEyes Gold Members @freeheeler
                        last edited by

                        @freeheeler Nothing wrong with being a man of few words 😀

                        Suunto Vertical / 9 Peak Pro / 9 Baro / 5 Peak / Vector
                        -----------‐-----------
                        Trail Runner / Hiker / Kickboxer
                        Instagram: @rytipps

                        freeheelerF 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                        • TonyGT
                          TonyG Silver Members @Egika
                          last edited by TonyG

                          @Egika I have had the Coros Apex Pro, and the rotating button on that got gunked up with fine silt (work in intertidal sediments) and refused to turn, took only one outing in that environment to convince me that rotating buttons were not suitable for me 🙂 I currently use a Garmin and 5 button or three doesnt bother me either way so long as the UI can navigated with ease, if I had to Pick then Three with Touchscreen as per Suunto solution.

                          Garmin Fenix 7SS & 945 | S9Peak | Coros Apex Pro (gave away) | S9Baro | SSU (Gave away) | A3Peak | Observer (Gave Away) | TC3
                          IOS App

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • freeheelerF
                            freeheeler @TrailEyes
                            last edited by

                            @TrailEyes
                            đŸ»

                            freeheeler switched to flipflops

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • Ɓukasz SzmigielƁ
                              Ɓukasz Szmigiel
                              last edited by

                              The only thing I miss from my S5 after switching to S9PP is being unable to cycle back screens during the workout. This is insane when having an active navigation, 3 screens and an S+. The way I used to operate S5 is by having the most useful data screen as the last one before the navigation, which allowed me to simply switch +1 or -1 for most of the time. I can’t do this with S9 series.

                              3 buttons is fine but I’d like Suunto to come up with a solution to this particular problem while having only 3 buttons.

                              S9PP 2.30.32

                              F aroo7A 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 2
                              • DMytroD
                                DMytro
                                last edited by

                                What some other people mentioned: dedicated ‘back’ button and switch to rhe previous screen in workout would be nice. Hence, 4 buttons for me I guess.
                                Or, what I’d prefer even more is a rotating crown, like Coros has. That opens up the other two buttons to be ‘select’ and ‘back’. If the crown is also clickable, then even more functionality would fit.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • F
                                  Freezer Bronze Member @Ɓukasz Szmigiel
                                  last edited by

                                  @Ɓukasz-Szmigiel @isazi in the current 3 button configuration a “medium” long press of the middle button could be used to move back a screen (up until you hold the button long enough to enter options).

                                  Ɓukasz SzmigielƁ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                  • Kurt68K
                                    Kurt68
                                    last edited by

                                    3 👍 😀

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • Ɓukasz SzmigielƁ
                                      Ɓukasz Szmigiel @Freezer
                                      last edited by

                                      @Freezer I was also thinking about double click. But that would interfere with instances of clocking three or four times in a row.

                                      But holding for back is not a bad idea. There’s an animation running when you hold the middle button. It could be redesigned to show what action a hold would trigger.

                                      S9PP 2.30.32

                                      André FariaA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • AndrĂ© FariaA
                                        André Faria Bronze Member @Ɓukasz Szmigiel
                                        last edited by

                                        5 button for me

                                        Suunto Ambit 3 Peak|Garmin FR965|Garmin Edge 1040 Solar|iOS

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • isaziI
                                          isazi Moderator
                                          last edited by

                                          I do not have a strong preference for buttons, but I would not give up on touchscreen. Since moving to the S9B I realized that for many things a touchscreen is more convenient than buttons.

                                          Watch: Suunto Vertical (titanium solar canyon)

                                          Blog: isazi's home

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • northeast_trekkerN
                                            northeast_trekker Bronze Member
                                            last edited by

                                            I have used watches with 3 button plus touchscreen (Suunto Spartan and S9B) and 4 buttons (S7) and 5 buttons no touchscreen (Wahoo Rival) and I can definitely say although I think the 3 button approach works for the traditional Suunto sports app UI with breadcrumb navigation, I much prefer the 4 or 5 button approach. Having that extra button or two helps in some very tangible and practical ways esp when you introduce maps and the zoom functionality that becomes that much more information-giving.

                                            • dedicated backlight button is very nice, adds options for user to have more control over the watch

                                            • dedicated back button is just nice when you don’t want to swipe screen. on older 3 button devices I never used the long middle button hold.

                                            • adding a 4 or 5 button layout adds ability for hotkeys. whereas current 3 button really limits because long hold of upper right is dedicated to a soft reset, middle button hold is (or was in old UI) dedicated to a quick menu start.

                                            I agree with the reviewers, Suunto needs to add more buttons to compete and open up their UI to be more flexible esp now with maps. having to long hold to zoom out seems like a pain compared to how S7 worked with map zoom.

                                            HighlandsH 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                            • HighlandsH
                                              Highlands @northeast_trekker
                                              last edited by

                                              @northeast_trekker I find the 5 buttons layout better for my personal needs. I use the touch when working with the maps.

                                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                              • Dimitrios KanellopoulosD
                                                Dimitrios Kanellopoulos Community Manager
                                                last edited by

                                                3 by far.

                                                Community Manager / Admin @Suunto
                                                Creator of Quantified-Self.io
                                                youtube.com/c/dimitrioskanellopoulos
                                                https://instagram.com/dimitrioskanellopoulos
                                                https://www.strava.com/athletes/7586105

                                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                                • Dimitrios KanellopoulosD
                                                  Dimitrios Kanellopoulos Community Manager
                                                  last edited by

                                                  Like every time I try to use a 5 button watch I am like WHY?

                                                  Community Manager / Admin @Suunto
                                                  Creator of Quantified-Self.io
                                                  youtube.com/c/dimitrioskanellopoulos
                                                  https://instagram.com/dimitrioskanellopoulos
                                                  https://www.strava.com/athletes/7586105

                                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
                                                  • mikekoski490M
                                                    mikekoski490 Bronze Member @Egika
                                                    last edited by mikekoski490

                                                    @Egika I had the rotating crown on the Coros Vertix 2 and it was only ok at first but after awhile was a bit of a pain. It has to be unlocked to work of course so it doesn’t inadvertently scroll, so to do any functions you had to press it in for 3 seconds first, THEN scroll. It would be like if Suunto buttons were always locked, and you had to hold one of them down for 3 seconds every time to use the watch. đŸ€·

                                                    EDIT: I meant rotating crown not bezel (changed above)

                                                    Past Suuntos: X-Lander/Observer/T6/X9/X10/X6HR/CORES/Ambits/Spartan/9P/9PP Ti/Vertical Ti

                                                    Current: Suunto Race Ti

                                                    Past other GPS watches: Polar Vantage V; Garmin 6X Pro Solar; Coros Vertix 2

                                                    Suunto App running on Sony Xperia 1 ii/Android 12

                                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                                    • Brad_OlwinB
                                                      Brad_Olwin Moderator @TrailEyes
                                                      last edited by

                                                      @TrailEyes It is hard enough to remember what the 3 buttons do after running a full day and night
.5 are impossible. I would end up stopping my race or worse.

                                                      Vector/T6c/Ambit 3 Peak/S5 Copper/S3/S7 Ti/S9 baro Ti/S9P Ti/S9PP Ti/Vertical Ti/Race Ti/Wing

                                                      C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
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