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The apps, web tools and syncing
- Makes you use two apps to access all features
- Poor syncing
The Suunto 9 is compatible with not one but two apps, the new Suunto app and the older Movescount app. During setup you’re prompted to use the new app which is a little odd because this app, that previously worked exclusively with the more fitness-oriented Suunto 3 Fitness, is unsurprisingly more geared to general health and fitness rather than performance.
Confusingly the apps both have different features and capabilities. The new app is far more fitness focused, displaying data such as steps, sleep and calories burned, alongside your recent exercises. You can set a weekly training goal in minutes.
Movescount caters a little more to the hardcore training pursuits, letting you dive into detail for all of the training sessions you’ve clocked with your Suunto 9.
You’re prompted to use the new Suunto app for setup even though it feels like it’s the opposite end of the spectrum to what the Suunto 9 caters for.
And there are big gaps in the new app, for example, you can’t use it to sync data with third-party services such as Strava, while Movescount can. Movescount, however, doesn’t log or display all the activity, sleep and calorie data that the new app does.
Even more irritating is that the two apps don’t sync to each other and to be honest it’s baffling why Suunto has made two relatively poor apps instead of one good one.
When it comes to post-run syncing we had trouble getting our data off the watch with both apps. A little green icon should appear on the watch face to tell you when it’s syncing, but we were forced to go through the rigmarole of pairing the watch from scratch on more than one occasion.
This isn’t the first time we’ve had this with Suunto devices and a quick Google search will show we aren’t alone.
During at least one run, when we ended the run the watch completely froze during an automatic attempt to sync with the apps. It’s moments of unreliability like this with the software and syncing that are the most frustrating thing about Suunto.
They’re close to making a brilliant watch but it’s let down by bad apps, poor syncing and random bugs that you shouldn’t have to deal with in a £499/$599/AU$899.99 watch.
Verdict
From its durable design to its near endless fitness features there's a lot to like about the Suunto 9, but its incredible battery life is the real star.
We really wish Suunto would sort out its sometimes baffling menus and controls and that there was one brilliant partner app instead of two mediocre ones, but they're small complaints compared to everything the Suunto 9 does right.
You’ll pay a premium for it but then there aren’t many watches that let you go big for this long before it’s time to go home.
Who's this for?
If you’re an ultra runner or an endurance sport lover who often takes on multi-day events or single runs, rides, kayaks or adventures that last for 24 hours or more – basically, if you go long, hard, high, or extreme or all of the above – then then this is a watch for you.
That said, there’s a fairly good argument to say that if you pursue your sports passion for up to 120 hours a week, you like a rugged statement design and don’t mind a bulky watch, you can also benefit from the ridiculously good 5-day battery life.
Should you buy it?
There’s a lot to love about the Suunto 9 and this is undoubtedly one of the most capable multi-sport watches we’ve seen, but it’s hard to get away from the £499/$599/AU$899.99 price tag.
You’ll need to be very serious about your sport, or hate charging your watch so much that you’ll happily shell out for the convenience of only really having to put this on charge 52 times a year.
First reviewed: August 2018
