The Suunto 7 is a real eye-catcher – and not necessarily in a positive sense. After all, the smartwatch from the Finnish manufacturer is one of the models with an expansive case that does not cut a good figure on every wrist. Nevertheless, the Suunto 7 proves that first impressions can be deceiving, as we found out in our test.
We put the smartwatch through its paces and found out to what extent the chunky design hides a usable and money-saving piece of hardware for tech enthusiasts and athletes.
In this article
Technical details
| Screen size | 1,39 inches |
| Wrist material | Silicon / Rubber, Plastic, Synthetic leather |
| Size watch case | 50 mm |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth Smart, WLAN, BEIDOU, GLONASS, QZSS |
| GPS | Yes |
| Battery life | up to 2 days |
| Supported systems | iOS, Android |
| Water resistance | up to 50 meters |
| Display | AMOLED |
| Sensors | Heart rate monitor, |
| Microphone included | Yes |
| Speaker included | Yes |
A rather chunky design
The Suunto 7 turns out to be plenty chunky visually, as mentioned earlier, while also being unmistakably identifiable as a smartwatch with its classic watch design and four side control buttons. Suunto sells the watch in four different color variants, including plain black, black with a lime-colored strap on the inside, black with a partially copper-colored case, and white with a partially rose gold case.
The white and rose gold variant looks quite extravagant compared to the rather plain black versions. Otherwise, however, the Suunto 7 offers no major visual surprises.
Also suitable for outdoor use
The Suunto 7’s case is made of fiberglass-reinforced polyamide, while the AMOLED display’s glass is made of shatter- and scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass. Both performed well in our test and the display remained free of scratches despite heavy outdoor use and sports activities. The watch can also withstand immersion in water up to 50 meters deep, but we still do not recommend using it as a dive watch because it is not designed for that. Normal swimming is possible with the Suunto 7, though.
In addition to the watch itself and the silicone strap, the Suunto 7 (check out the Suunto shop) comes with a charging adapter with USB-C port and an additional wrist strap. We found the wristband to be very comfortable due to its flexibility – it stretches well, which is why we were able to put the watch on and take it off pleasantly quickly during use.
Easy setup even for beginners
When we start the Suunto 7 for the first time, the watch takes us straight through a simple setup process. We select the watch’s language and then connect the Suunto to our smartphone, on which we have previously installed the Suunto app and Google’s Wear OS, according to the instructions.
The watch then explains how to operate the display via gesture control in a short tutorial and familiarizes the user with the most important functions. This also makes it very easy for first-time smartwatch owners to get a quick start with the hardware.
Apps and features based on WearOS
Why develop your own smartwatch software when Wear OS is available? Suunto apparently thought the same and equips the watch directly with Google’s smartwatch operating system.
We will therefore refrain from a comprehensive description of the Wear OS features here, which those interested can read in our article about smartwatches with Wear OS for under 200 Euros. Just this: The Suunto 7 displays incoming messages and calls via Wear OS, has a stopwatch, an alarm function, and a pedometer.
We can adjust the settings of the Suunto 7 in the Wear OS app and change the look of the watch face, among other things. Clicking on the watch takes us directly to the Suunto app, which allows detailed activity tracking.
The Suunto app itself displays the collected tracking data and offers a comprehensive overview of training sequences, such as running distances covered, including heart rate and altitude measurements. Additionally, you then need Google Fit to see the details on normal activity, more on that in the next section.
Activity tracking is a bit cumbersome
As expected, the Suunto 7’s activity tracking works intuitively and smoothly. However, for all tracking needs, in addition to Wear OS and the Suunto app, we also need to install Google Fit on our smartphone and link it to the smartwatch. We can set specific activity goals in Google Fit, such as activity minutes (duration of physical activity) and cardio points (increase during strenuous physical activity), and view progress directly on the watch.
Google Fit also measures heart rate, steps and kilometers traveled, and calories burned. We can view the measurement results both directly on the watch and in the smartphone app. In addition, we can perform breathing exercises via Google Fit – this works directly via the Suunto 7, which measures our pulse.
Convenient: The watch and the smartphone app synchronize automatically, which means that if we forget our watch somewhere or leave the smartphone at home, the other device transmits the distance covered and other data to the watch or smartphone. This means we are always up to date on both devices.
Those who want to do without Google Fit have to live with cutbacks, because the Sunnto app offers extensive workout tracking (see below), but no pedometer or heart rate recording.
Practical help when training
The Suunto 7 is suitable in some design variants as a decorative object, but under the hood hides a real sports watch. The Suunto app complements Google Fit with various options for comprehensively tracking your workouts and setting specific training goals. Alternatively, we can link the watch with other sports services like Strava, Endomondo and TrainingPeaks.
One press on the upper right control button of the watch is enough to call up the Suunto training menu. Here we can choose one of over 70 different sport modes.
Creation of a training plan possible
The Suunto app also allows you to set a weekly training duration, which can be set in 15-minute increments between one hour and 25 hours per week. The app then prominently displays on the home page how long we have already trained for that week.
Once we have recorded a workout, the app provides a detailed overview of the training result and summarizes heart rate, duration, distance, steps, calories, altitude measurement and other data. If you like, you can have the data for individual laps prepared in increments of one, five and ten kilometers. This provides athletes with a very comprehensive overview of their own training success, allowing a detailed analysis of athletic performance.
Google Pay and Google Assistant
The Suunto 7 supports cashless payments with Google Pay. Like all other Google services, Google Pay is excellently integrated into the smartwatch’s functions and can be accessed simply by pressing a button via the watch’s menu. The payment worked without any problems.
Besides Google Pay, we can operate Google Assistant with the Suunto 7 via voice control. If we swipe to the right on the watch, the corresponding menu appears, which shows us the time, date and weather data. We issue a voice command by pressing the microphone. We can also activate a timer or send text messages.
Notifications and battery life
If we swipe up on the Suunto 7, the smartwatch displays all current notifications that have arrived on our smartphone. Tapping on the associated message calls it up in full and allows further operating options, for example, replying to a Whatsapp message. A round white circle on the watch’s main screen also indicates when we have received one or more unread notifications.
The manufacturer specifies the Suunto 7’s battery life as up to two days in normal smartwatch mode and up to 12 hours in training mode with GPS. This is in line with our test experience: The watch lasted around 36 hours while we used it both as a normal smartwatch and during training.
This does mean that we have to charge the Suunto 7 frequently when it is in daily use. However, the charging time via the included USB cable is less than an hour – a still bearable value.
Compared to other Wear OS devices, the runtime is comparatively normal. Combined with the mediocre sleep tracking, you should get into the habit of taking the watch off and charging it overnight.
Conclusion
Yes, the Suunto 7 belongs to the upper class among smartwatches in terms of price – but you notice that at every turn, and in a positive sense. The Finnish manufacturer delivers an almost perfect overall package with the Suunto 7, which satisfies both sports enthusiasts and technology enthusiasts who want a smartwatch that shows its quality on the outside.
The watch’s operation always works smoothly, and it remains intuitive and fluid throughout sweaty activities. The extensive tracking options and excellent build quality round out the coherent impression, which is only marred by the fact that we have to install several apps to use the watch’s full range of functions.
There are also weaknesses in battery life and sleep tracking. Those who come from the sports watch corner will be disappointed. It might be worth taking a look at the Garmin Venu 2 or even the Huawei Watch Fit.
