Unboxed: Suunto 7 Smartwatch – Triathlete Friendly?

The brand new Suunto 7 is a color touchscreen smartwatch that’s meant to bridge the divide between lifestyle (think Apple Watch) and hardcore athlete (think Garmin Forerunner 945). Boasting a profile that’s thinner than the burly Garmin Fenix 5, but with a large watch face, the Suunto 7 is unique in that it’s one of the few smartwatches to embrace WearOS, Google’s response to Apple’s iOS. This means incredible integration with Android products, but still is said to play well with Apple. At first glance, this could be a great watch for triathletes looking to wear a watch from the gym to the office, but it’s not all gold.

Check out our video below for the full unboxing (along with a few special goodies that don’t come standard), or scroll down for some quick takeaways.

First Impressions

$500, Suunto.com

What I Like About The Suunto 7

1. The beautiful color touchscreen really makes you want to use this watch, and WearOS integration looks great for Android die-hards.
2. For the size of the watch face, a fairly slim profile that actually looks good outside of the gym.

What Makes Me Worried With The Suunto 7

1. This is a big one: A lack of triathlon or multisport functions makes this a huge question mark for anyone looking to do bricks or race with the watch from start to finish. A software update could change this, however.
2. A lack of external device support. As of now, the Suunto 7 can only use built-in on-wrist heart-rate monitoring—no chest strap support. Though less troublesome, the Suunto 7 also doesn’t support cycling or running power meters currently.

Final Thoughts

1. The Suunto 7 is one of the better-looking smartwatches for serious athletes looking for lots of flexibility and good data.
2. The lack of multisport and external support could be a dealbreaker for a lot of triathletes. Let’s hope Suunto updates this.