Review: The Suunto Race S could be the ultimate small-wrist outdoor watch
by Chandraveer Mathur · Android PolicePicking up a new fitness tracker presents unique challenges because great do-it-all smartwatches are irresistibly competitive in pricing, and the market for them is bigger, too. However, a few brands aren't sellouts — ahem… Fitbit — and stick to making purpose-built fitness wearables for sports people and outdoor adventurers. Suunto is a prime example, making dive computers for, well, pro divers, and now catering to triathletes and track stars with the Race series. Its latest addition to the lineup is the Race S, a scaled-down version of the original Race. I used it every day for over a month to determine if Suunto trimmed anything besides four millimeters off the case diameter, and let's just say the results are promising.
Staff pick
Suunto Race S
8 / 10
The Suunto Race S is more than just a scaled-down Race because it packs better sensors and all the same sports tracking modes we have come to love. But it costs just $350, undercutting the competition by a decent margin. If you're looking for a smaller wearable that's more tracker than a watch without using a ring, the Suunto Race S has your back.
Pros
- Sturdy with premium materials
- Extensive workout tracking
- Syncs with other fitness apps
- Bright display
Cons
- Worrisome battery life
- Lacks background sync
- No cellular version
Price, availability, and specs
The newest addition to the catalog
Suunto's Race S is priced at $350, cheaper than the $450 stainless steel Race, also undercutting similar options from Garmin and Polar. Availability is mostly steady on the Suunto website and Amazon. The Race S retains a lot we loved about the vanilla Race — including sensors, customizable exercise watch faces, charging contact location, 22mm-wide strap, accurate GPS, 32GB of offline map storage up from the Race's 16GB (only the titanium Race has 32GB), and the bright display with auto-brightness.
However, you will lose out on a few features with the cheaper model, namely 50m of water resistance instead of 100m, lower battery life, and Gorilla Glass instead of sapphire crystal. But those are just the differences on paper.
Specifications
Case size
45mm
Case Material
Glass fibre reinforced polyamide with steel bezel
Display
1.32” AMOLED
Display resolution
466x466 pixels
CPU
Not specified
RAM
Not specified
Storage
32GB
Battery
Up to 13 days, 7 days in smartwatch mode
Cellular connectivity
No
Wi-Fi connectivity
Yes
Connectivity
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
Yes
Health sensors
Wrist heart rate, pulse ox
Dimensions
45 x 45 x 11.4 mm
Weight
60g (2.12 oz)
Strap size
125-175 mm
Colors
Black, Powder Gray, Powder Pink, Gravel Gray, Power Orange, Power Blue, UTMB World Series
Price
$350
ATM Rating
5ATM
Location services
GPS
Always on display
Yes
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What's good about the Suunto Race S?
Not basking in its bigger sibling's glory
From the get-go, this watch has new packaging and feels different to wear. If you're built lean and have a smaller wrist or just appreciate less bulk, the Race S feels better on the wrist than the Suunto Race. You'll appreciate the snappy tactile buttons and the digital crown for their premium feel. The haptics are jarring but switched off from the factory, unlike the alert sounds.
Read our review
Suunto Race review: Purpose-built to perfection
A true fitness tracker in a smartwatch world
The supplied strap looks cool with gravel particles floating inside, but it feels a tad stiff, which could be due to its layered construction. However, the buckle is color-matched to the PVD-coated steel case, which survived several hard knocks. Even the display is solid, with Gorilla Glass protection and an automatic brightness sensor that ensures legibility in bright daylight, too. An anti-reflective coating would've gone a long way, though.
With build out of the way, there's an important detail that isn't apparent at first glance. Although you will miss features from the Race, Suunto has managed to improve the smaller watch. For instance, there's a new optical heart rate sensor, a more reliable pedometer algorithm, a snappier UI, a tenfold increase in the offline map zoom capability, and display settings that auto-adapt to the selected sports mode.
Together, the improved capabilities deliver astounding value for the asking price, especially when compared to the steel Race. I loved that Suunto now lets me see stats when workouts are paused, and how turn-by-turn navigation still shows the map instead of taking up the whole screen. The other features I loved on the Race, like customizable watch faces for every sport and the massive list of supported sports, are still intact.
As for data tracking, I'm happy to report it has been largely accurate, with the pedometer algorithm showing the biggest improvement by eliminating ghost steps from when you're waving your hands. Other tracked metrics like sleep, heart rate, and blood oxygen were within 5% of the measurements of clinical equipment I had access to. That doesn't mean you should substitute the watch's data for medical tests, but it won't be a letdown after long hikes.
What's bad about the Suunto Race S?
So much, so good, but it doesn't last
While we are on the subject of accuracy, it is worth mentioning the lack of passive sync with the companion smartphone app. You need to do it manually every time after a workout. Thankfully, the watch delivers reminders when a sync is due.
Although the Race S nails the exercise tracking, the smaller case can only accommodate a smaller battery. In my tests, it lasted around a week with heart rate and sleep tracking. However, even if you're just a morning jogger, you'll need a charger handy for mid-week replenishment.
Firmware updates also take a while and any watch usage interrupts sync immediately. That said, the software isn't a gross letdown. Suunto packs in several useful watch faces with multiple configurable complications. There's little else to dislike in the Suunto Race S; it's a great watch in a good size.
Should you buy the Suunto Race S?
Know what you're getting into
It's evident the Suunto Race S is a pro-tier fitness tracker that happens to look like a smartwatch, making comparisons to a Pixel Watch and similar options a moot point. If you're okay with that and looking for good alternatives in the $500 range, which is even lower than the titanium Race, the Race S punches well above its weight.
However, you might be better off with a one-time investment in the larger model for better battery life alone. That might prove invaluable on longer hikes into the wilderness where you need offline maps and GPS to last. The size of the smaller watch might alone be enough to turn a blind eye to the fistful of limitations.
Staff pick
Suunto Race S
8 / 10
Suunto's smaller Race makes a compelling case for itself in the small smartwatch space, with a laser focus on fitness and reliability (if you can keep a charger handy). The wearable also sports enhanced sensor hardware and can integrate with external devices and fitness apps of your choice. You couldn't expect more for $350.
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