Suunto 7 is First to Get Big New Wear OS Update

During the #11WeeksOfAndroid series leading up to the launch of Android 11, Google detailed one of the first big updates to Wear OS in some time. They told us that the update would improve performance (CPU boost of 20%), simplify the pairing process, add support for the Snapdragon Wear 4100, and well, not much else. Today, it looks like Suunto is the first Wear OS watchmaker to push that update.

Labeled Wear OS H-MR2 and Suunto PXDZ.200824.005 for the Suunto 7, I was able to load the new update onto my review unit. I’m not sure I can tell if there is anything new on the Wear OS front here, as there could be a Wear OS app update needed along with H-MR2. I’ve been looking for most of the day and it just looks and acts like the Wear OS I’m so familiar with.

Suunto did detail some new features they’ve added. There is a new low power always-on sport display, route creation within the Suunto app that can be synced to the watch, battery-saving GPS mode (it’s labeled “Good” and uses FusedTrack), and popular starting points to help you find places to start workouts.

New Features:

• Route navigation: Create your own route, use tracks from other services or select a popular trail in the Suunto app. Sync the route to your watch and start navigating.
• Low power always-on sport display: Your display stays awake all the time while you exercise, using only a minimal amount of battery. See all your training data without having to raise your wrist to activate the display.
• Battery-saving GPS mode: By selecting “Good” location accuracy, your Suunto 7 consumes less power by acquiring location only every 10 seconds. When running or cycling, FusedTrack™ is used to improve tracking quality. FusedTrack™ is a technology that combines movement data with GPS data to deliver more accurate tracking in lower GPS recording intervals.
• Popular starting points: Check out popular starting points in the Suunto app to find new starting points for your exercises. When synced from Suunto app to your watch, the popular starting points are visible on the heatmap on your watch as small dots.

Enhancements and fixes:

• Wear OS H-MR2 by Google.
• Various other bug fixes, language translation improvements and performance optimizations

I did disconnect the Suunto 7 I have and paired it to a new device (Pixel 4 XL) to see if the onboarding process had changed at all. None of the screens were different, but it may have been slightly faster than usual. Or that could just be my brain hoping it is.

Either way, good job, Suunto!

// Suunto