One weekend and several bugs as well as missing features with the Race - I am sad

[wmichi]

Maybe an Apple Watch (or Wear OS device) on the second wrist could be an option? This way you could have the best of both worlds - sports and smartwatch stuff. I bought an older used AW when my son was born. I wanted to be available for my wife during training, so that I don’t miss important messages or if something happened. At that time I had a Polar and notifications didn’t work so well on this device. It’s weird at first to run around with two watches, but it works. Of course it costs money, but second hand AW (SE) + Race can be cheaper than a Vertical.

[bre ja]

@Egika
Wow , that is fast!
Unfortunately mine is lagging, at least for now.
20231110_210413.mp4

[pilleus]

This topic has actually about 1.9k readings or views, more than other topics. Seems to be stuff, that is interesting people.

I do not understand, why @Olaf-Gottschalk is threatened with a ban or voted with -1 …

And the answer to buy a smartwatch and not a sports watch is strange. A lot of smartwatch stuff is integrated in Suunto watches as sports watches. No doubt. Music controls, sleep tracking, messages, burned calories and more.

If I read the topic about problems with sleep tracking, nobody says, buy a medical device to track your sleep, this is a sports watch.
If I read the topic about problems with HRV, nobody says, take a phone app, this is a sports watch.
If i read the topic about problems with maps and turn-by-turn navigation, nobody says, take a paper map or a navigation device, this is a sports watch.

But If somebody shows problems you can read in this topic, the opener of the topic will be ridiculed and evaluated negatively.

I want to wear the SV as my all day watch and for me it is strange too, to have an empty message from WhatsApp showing a grey and empty square. Happened two times this evening. No great problem, but it’s not state of the art. And Suunto watches are state of the art as I read again and again in this forum.

That’s why it would be fair to take all topics equally seriously, even if some people don’t need it.

Thanks for reading, enjoy your watch and be smart or sporty!

[wmichi]

@pilleus I can only speak for myself, but I take this topic seriously. But what could anyone here do to help? Suunto watches don’t support emojis currently. Period. If you absolutely need this, buy Garmin or whatever other brand handles notifications better. If you don’t want another brand, you could have a dedicated smartwatch on your other wrist. That’s what I meant in my previous post. If Suunto’s smart features are not enough, but you still want to have a Suunto sports watch, you simply need another device. It sucks, it’s a workaround, and expensive, depending on what you buy. Third option is to contact support, raise a feature request (this won’t be the first asking for emoji support) and to simply wait for Suunto to handle emojis correctly. I don’t see any more options in this regard.

[ChrisA]

@pilleus said in One weekend and several bugs as well as missing features with the Race - I am sad:

I do not understand, why @Olaf-Gottschalk is threatened with a ban or voted with -

I think the criticism is not so much about that it’s articulated, but the frequency of it and especially the way it’s done (e.g. by using capital letters) I think everyone agrees, that emoticons would be a nice thing to have and that’s a fair thing to ask for (while I would prefer other things to be addressed first e.g. more customizable watch faces).

[A Former User]

@pilleus said

I do not understand, why @Olaf-Gottschalk is threatened with a ban or voted with -1 …

Indeed, the best way to keep people away from this forum. In all posts of this user I’ve never read anything wrong or bad, just an upset user with his own reasons! Farewell.

[David l]

@MiniForklift didn’t you know that all military orders are executed on the ?

Sorry, couldn’t help myself

[David l]

@bre-ja this was one of the reasons I wasn’t too keen on the Epix pro - the lag was very similar to this.

[altcmd]

From what I am reading, @Olaf-Gottschalk is looking for something perfect. Alas, aren’t we all? But the difference lies in the emojis - never knew this would be a deal breaker. It’s like if one is out on a long run and you suddenly get a emoji from your boss, and you don’t know what it is. Because this one little emoji is so critical to be read on a watch that you forgot you had a phone. Like @GiPFELKiND you too need a maybe a few

Jokes aside, get an Apple Watch and just deal with charging it everyday if emojis are so important to you. Until you find some other deal breaker there too.

[Brad_Olwin]

I think it inappropriate to downvote unless there is an obvious intent to ridicule someone. I think we all need to remember that English may not be a first language and language as well as cultural differences may increase difficulties in communication. Let’s keep this friendly and helpful here and respect each other. @Olaf-Gottschalk I have not downvoted any of your posts and I agree with you about emojis as I would like having them too.

But I would rather have first

1. Zoomable route profile with color for grades
2. Offline maps and offline routing on SA to transfer to watch when I have no cellular.

[altcmd]

@Brad_Olwin while English might explain some differences, I don’t think the use of ALL CAPS is an excuse. This kinda gives away the intent and purpose of the message that was intended. Just my two cents!

[jjorgemoura]

@mikekoski490 Totally agree.
I want my Suunto watch to be a Sport watch, something that I can trust during an ultra race that can take up to 48 hours non stop (e.g. a mountain 100miler). By trust I mean: don’t crash, records everything correctly, battery don’t die unexpectedly or give incorrect values, battery that lasts the entire duration in one go or with just a short charge to top up, navigation + maps and that give me accurate values/metrics (pace, avg page, distance, elevation, etc). This needs to be 100% guaranteed and should be the core focus.

For everything else, I have a smartphone and/or a smartwatch.

I don’t want or need my Sport watch to do what I already have in my Smartwatch. I don’t want or need my Sport watch to play music, have payments (NFC), have my Parkrun barcode, make calls or display notifications. I wan’t and need a trustworthy sport watch to help me at 3am in the middle of nowhere. Note that all ultra races require (or should, for security reasons) that you run with a smartwatchsmartphone* and, depending on distance/duration, with a power bank.

Of course it would be awesome if the Sport watch support other sport related features, such as the HR, HRV, sleep tracking, nutrition alerts or race notes (as recently added as S+), etc. But I see this as a non-essential.

I often see some people buying a proper full featured, top of the line, Sport watch just to go to the gym or a 5/10 Km around the block or local park. It’s like having a 500HP SUV or 4x4 to do the school run in a city.

* I meant smartphone instead of smartwatch

[wmichi]

@jjorgemoura I see it the same way as you. A sports watch needs to excel at sports tracking and everything related to sports, so also sleep tracking, hrv, (resting) hr. For me everything else is nice to have. If I had to choose between music on the watch (Spotify) and something like out of target zone alerts for structured intervals, I would always choose the intervals.

[David l]

@jjorgemoura I can’t afford two watches (and wouldn’t want a second) and I want it to count my steps everyday, allow me to walk the Annapurna circuit as well as ‘that’ 5k in the park, see messages rather than have to get a phone out to look at (but not whilst running as I don’t take my phone). I don’t want to have to take cash or a card with me when I’m out on a long run - NFC is present so why not use it?

Also, are you sure that you have to have a smartwatch on a race? Pretty certain the last couple I’ve done require a mobile fully charged.

As for comparing it to cars, what’s wrong with having a Porsche as your run around?

[BrunoH]

@jjorgemoura said in One weekend and several bugs as well as missing features with the Race - I am sad:

I often see some people buying a proper full featured, top of the line, Sport watch just to go to the gym or a 5/10 Km around the block or local park. It’s like having a 500HP SUV or 4x4 to do the school run in a city.

I confess, I am one of those 5-10 km walk guys. In September I surprised myself by making a personal record of cycling over 30 km. I am old (54), I am fat and I have epilepsy and bad joints, which originates from an autoimmune disease and from the overweight of course. My VO2Max is “very poor”.

The reason why I bought a 500HP Suunto watch is the Suunto analytics. I am a data analytics consultant myself and Suunto App figures and statistics somehow appeal to me and keep me in motion. I managed to drop 8 kilos with Vertical this summer and I consider it was worth every penny. With the intelligent Suunto Coach I might be able to exercise more efficiently. I wish I could enter my individual goals and targets and Coach would act like a personal trainer… So far Coach has advised me to concentrate on certain HR zones and I am happy to have those recommendations.

While I can’t ever do ultra-anything I can still enjoy long peaceful trips into deep Finnish forests. Kind of like small-time adventures for me.

[wmichi]

@BrunoH Congratulations to your achievements! It doesn’t really matter at what level someone is doing sports. If someone thinks a sports watch helps in reaching training goals or living a healthier lifer in whatever way, it’s the right decision to buy such a device. Better a 500 HP Suunto than a 500 HP 4x4 SUV. It’s healthier and better for the environment.

[jjorgemoura]

@David-l said in One weekend and several bugs as well as missing features with the Race - I am sad:

Also, are you sure that you have to have a smartwatch on a race? Pretty certain the last couple I’ve done require a mobile fully charged.

Sorry, you’re right, it was a typo. I meant phone/smartphone. Post updated.

Apologies for the car example, maybe not a great analogy.
What I was trying to say is that each product has its purpose and a main target audience. Some have a much broader purpose, others have a more narrower scope. Frequently, products fail in trying to excel to a wide range of features. Jack of all trades, master of none.
Personally, I like to do my homework, check what might be a good product to fulfil my needs under my $ constraints, and be conscious that there are no miracle products (something that fulfil all my needs at a very low cost).

When I started running a few years ago, my requirements for a “watch” was to be able to play music/podcast offline because I didn’t want to take the phone with me due to size and weight. I bought an AW and I tracked my activities using Strava (watch app). This was a great setup to me (GPS, HR, navigation, etc) and it may be even better now with the AWU (design, battery, features, shame it’s very expensive).

It was only when I ran 1h15 with a powerbank in my hand to charge my AW during a 100Km race that I decided, ok, it’s time to search for a proper Sport watch. A couple of days later I bought a second-hand S9B, that is still is my current watch (my first and only sport watch to date).

Nowadays, I run with an old small iPhone SE (1st gen) to have the same music/podcast and I’m happy with that setup because my needs have changed significantly in last 5 years, since I’ve started running. I don’t want or expect my next Suunto watch (probably a SV or SR) to support music, I can live with that. However, I would not expect or tolerate them to fail in the middle of a race.

[jjorgemoura]

@BrunoH It’s great to hear that running and a Suunto has helped and motivated you during your journey, in achieving your goals. That’s great, congrats.

When I started running, in late 2018, I had a BMI value classified as “obese” for almost 20 years. Running has also helped me focusing in my health and was a central factor in some life change decisions.

Apologies for the car example, maybe not a great analogy. What I tried to say was that when we have a need, we should do some homework, check what might be a good product to fulfil our needs in order to manage expectations and be conscious that meeting all our wishes will be almost impossible because we end up always wanting 1 more thing. You found a product that is helping you and you are 100% satisfied with it. That’s perfect.

Your reply made me think in another thing though. Your focus was more in the Suunto App, not so much in the device. Thus, what might be Suunto’s plan/roadmap for a more mid-level watch (S5P replacement), at a lower price point ($150), while using this new “platform” used by the S9PP, SV, SR?

[BrunoH]

@jjorgemoura said in One weekend and several bugs as well as missing features with the Race - I am sad:

Your focus was more in the Suunto App, not so much in the device.

I was happy with my S9B, but I just had to upgrade when the maps were introduced.

[David l]

@jjorgemoura I totally see your point, as you say everyone looks for different things in an exercise watch. Like you, my BMI is just over into obese though I do believe it’s a very poor indicator buts that’s a whole other discussion!

SR is nearly perfect for me - light, fits under a cuff of my shirt, torch is good, GPS and battery great, mapping great.

Running is my life if you asked my wife, predominantly for social aspect and trying to keep the weight normal, which includes a weekly jaunt to a different parkrun with 4 friends. I normally drive as we have around 100 within 45 miles from us, they buy the tea and cakes at the bakery.

I do use the watch to help with targets, of which Boston qualifying is now the last one on my list (sub 3:20 hours though probably need 3:14 to guarantee a place).

I like the fact that the Race doesn’t store music - as a running coach, I see so many people with headphones in/on both ears, and the majority lose a lot of awareness of everything around them (just my opinion).

I can’t believe you ran with a power pack for the AW leads everywhere!