The Suunto 9 is a sports watch designed with over 80 sports mode as well with predefined intelligent battery modes that can last through prolonged usage. The watch is also equipped with FusedTrack technology which has a more accurate tracking data in the event of weak GPS signal.

Design
The watch measures 50mm in height and in width, with a thickness of 16.8mm and weighs 81g. It is definitely big, thick and certainly has some weight to it thanks to the construction of the case made from glass fibre reinforced polyamide with a stainless steel bezel around the sapphire crystal glass screen. On the left, there’s a tiny speaker to notify any notifications with a beep tone. There are 3 buttons to navigate the watch’s user interface. The touch screen has a pretty good outdoor visibility and doesn’t require the LED backlight to illuminate it unless the surroundings are not very well lit. The screen features a colour display, unlike high end smart watches like the Apple Watch or the Samsung Gear which can be turned on with a touch on the screen or push of any of the buttons. The back of the watch features the heart rate sensors which have a slight bump and the charging port above it has 4 pin contact points and two long deep grooves which help to align the magnetic charger. The strap of the watch is made of silicon and can be swapped easily.

Features/UI
Suunto speaks proudly of the intelligent battery modes feature that can be found in this watch. There are 3 different predefined modes, Performance, Endurance and Ultra, and a Custom mode. Each predefined modes allows the battery to last for at least 25 hours and not more than 120 hours from a full charge. There are some compromises that need to be made when using any of these modes.

The GPS tracking is most accurate in Performance mode and least accurate in Ultra mode.  FusedTrack combines movement data from the watch’s motion sensors with the GPS data for more accurate tracking. It is automatically activated in Endurance and Ultra mode. The display stays on for both Performance and Endurance mode but turns off after 10 seconds in Ultra mode and requires you to push any of the buttons to turn the display back on. The Performance mode has the brightest display followed by Endurance with the brightness set to 20% and 10% in Ultra mode. Vibration and Bluetooth is switched off in Ultra except for the other 2 modes. The Custom mode allows you to set your own mode while exercising.

The heart rate sensor continuously tracks and displays the data in a graph in the watch. The watch features a barometer to measures atmospheric pressure and an altimeter to measure the altitude. The barometer can detect the drop in atmospheric pressure, which is a sign for a possible storm, and sound the storm alarm if it’s activated. This is especially useful when you are exercising outside where there is hardly a place to take shelter. Information such as the surrounding temperature, time to sunrise and sunset at your location are available in the watch.

The Bluetooth connectivity allows you to pair to a smartphone, sensors and PODs such as the Suunto Foot Pod Mini. The Suunto app is available for download from Google Play and App Store to sync the watch and keep logs of training, daily activity and sleep. In addition to that, the watch can receive incoming call alerts and mobile notifications. However, you can only dismiss the notification using your smartphone and can’t attend calls from the watch despite having a built in speaker.

Verdict
The Suunto 9 could use a better calibration process of the GPS and optimization on the user interface for a smoother experience. The watch is available in black and white colours.