Editor’s Note: Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) and Baselworld 2020 are canceled but that hasn’t stopped watch brands large and small from debuting their new wares. To stay on top of this year’s best new watch releases, visit our tag page.
Suunto is known for its robust sports watches, dive computers and precision instruments — they’re trusted by professionals worldwide, on mountaintops and beneath the waves, but they’re less well known and less visible walking down the street in a major city. The recently announced Suunto 7 proposes to change all that.
The 7 purports to combine the best of Suunto’s sport and instrument watch features with modern smartwatch technology powered by Google’s Wear OS. Compatible with both iOS and Android-powered phones, it features free offline outdoor maps, one-button access to 70+ sport modes, customizable faces and straps, and common smartwatch features such as access to to-do lists, incoming messages and calls, quick payments and other notifications.
Watch Now: Suunto 7 First Look
Now geared toward both the dedicated athlete and the city slicker, the new watch downloads offline maps and “heatmaps” (maps that show the best running, swimming and cycling locations in a given area) automatically when connected to Wi-Fi and charging. This way, if you decide to leave your phone behind or don’t have network access, you can still navigate your way around a new city or go for a run and find your way home.
Wear OS from Google brings access to endless apps, Google Pay, activity tracking from Google Fit and more. With physical buttons for easy access to different functions when wearing gloves, scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass and a bright, high-resolution touch display, the Suunto 7 is shaping up to be the perfect watch for the active traveler. Best of all, it’s got a 12-hour battery life in GPS Tracking Mode or a 48-hour battery life in smartwatch mode — plenty to get you through a full day of exploring a new city anywhere in the world.
Preorders for the new Suunto 7 at $499 are open now, with a full release to select outlets scheduled for January 31st.
Before buying a smartwatch, there are few vital things to know as well. Read the Story
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