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Suunto 9 – gets GLONASS, more firmware stuff for the SPARTANs too

Suunto 9 Review
That was a 100mile MTB ride and a 13 mile run the next day…ouch

Suunto have just updated the Suunto 9 model with the ability to enable/disable GLONASS on its new Sony GNSS chip.

Firmware details: suunto.com

The GLONASS enablement is squirreled away in the navigation menu, which is slightly unusual. Perhaps Suunto only see it being worth using in scenarios related to navigation rather than sports performance (ie distance and pace reporting). I’ll probably test it and see as I have the COROS APEX to do the same with which, coincidentally, has the same Sony GNSS chip (same as the Polar Vantage too).

SPARTAN Firmware has also been updated and you get all of the goodies below:

  • New notification at the end of the week showing you a quick summary of your training.
  • When you set a general target for an activity, you can now follow your progress in real-time during the activity via progress bar on your first
  • You are now able to add HR zones and graph views in custom sport modes.
  • You can now easily reject or answer calls from your Spartan.
  • Sleep data insights for each of the past 7 days are now available in the watch.
  • New watch face showcasing weekly training vs your goal and battery level remaining.
  • Hebrew can now be selected as a language in your Spartan.

I’d not used the Suuntos for a few months and revisiting them it was pleasantly surprising to see the once-spartan menus now looking much more feature-packed.

Edit: PS the new firmware give MUCH better accuracy I reckon

 

GPS Accuracy : Sony : Suunto, Polar & COROS

 

 

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12 thoughts on “Suunto 9 – gets GLONASS, more firmware stuff for the SPARTANs too”

  1. Please do test it! I’m poised to pounce on a Suunto real soon now, especially if I can get a good black Friday deal on a Spartan Sport, but might yet be tempted by the 9 if its gps performance has improved since you last reported on it. Looking forward to hearing your results!

    1. you sound like my partner 😉
      will try to do today. it’s cold.
      actually i re-did the s9 last week, data files are in dropbox but i have not yet updated the results (or even looked at them) superfically it looked the same.

    2. Would be interesting to see – e.g. on Garmin switching off Glonass helped with the quality of track in some cases – and if this is permanent issue with that system it may affect other vendors using Sony GPS chip.

  2. I own the Suunto 9 Baro but I am not sure whether to keep it or not. Maybe you can help me with my issue. I am just a runner, no triathlon ambitions. A watch should fulfill following criteria for me:

    1. Long battery life. I want to start with ultrarunning – but I guess it will take a bit until I participate in a 100k+ run. So battery life for 24 hours with 1s GPS tracking should be enough for a while.
    2. Correct pace/distance/cadence are very important to me – working on my running technique all the time…
    3. Good app/software for running analysis. The current Movescount / Suunto App solution right now really bugs me. I want my data synced with trainingpeaks, since Movescount and the Suunto App are not that great regarding running analysis. And I still cannot understand it why you need a PC in 2018 in order to update your watch firmware…

    The GPS accuracy of the S9 is improving and I think Suunto will manage this issue soon. But I really doubt they will come up with a nice Suunto app soon. Will I be more happy with a Polar Vantage V and their software, or maybe a Garmin FR 935?

    Many thanks in advance!

    Best regards
    Marcel

    1. I mostly like the S9
      if you are keen on technique then look at RunScribe and keep the S9. pace distance and cadence from that will be near-perfect. The runscribe metrics will give you LOTS more technique insight.
      In terms of the performance analysis then FLOW is better than CONNECT or MOVESCOUNT. AS you know TP is a level above that. I don’t like ANY of the smartphone apps.

      S9/PVV/935 + STRYDorRUNSCRIBE should sort you out. 6 combos there! I think you need to find excellence for each of the areas you are looking and choose the pods rather than aiming for excellence for all areas from the one watch

      1. Thanks for the quick response. So you would not switch to the FR 935 instead of Suunto 9 (knowing all issues Suunto has right now with its 9)?

      2. ohr on both S9/935 are not acceptable to me
        RS/STRYD on either is acceptable to me.

        what else is wrong with the Suunto 9 that bothers you? it’s prettier and better made.

  4. Hi
    Anyone know what is directly link to Sunnto 9 firmware ?
    Can anybody share some information (section firmware ) from file library.xml located at %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Suuntolink\
    I need it for reverse engineering.

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