First Look at Suunto Race 2: Trail Watch Finally Smoothens Up!

Suunto recently introduced the Race 2, almost two years after the original Suunto Race. We were quite impressed with the first model for its battery life and value for money, and we had the chance to use the Suunto Race 2 a few days before its official release.

While we prepare our detailed review, we offer our first impressions in this hands-on overview of the Suunto Race 2.

Suunto Race 2Design, Screen, and Sensors

The Race 2 has slimmed down slightly. The case still measures 49 mm, but its thickness has reduced from 13.3 mm to 12.5 mm. The stainless steel model has shed 7 grams to now weigh 76 grams, and the titanium case is lighter by 4 grams, now weighing 65 grams.

The case’s edges are less pronounced than in the first version, making the Race 2 resemble the smaller Race S model that was released in June 2024. This also means that the bulky “Suunto” engraving on the left side of the first model is no longer present on the Race 2. However, the familiar two buttons and the rotating crown specific to the Suunto Race watch family are still there.

While the press release doesn’t reveal much, it states that the Race 2 “supports the most accurate optical heart rate sensor to date from Suunto.” We will test this sensor and provide our findings and conclusions in our full review.

From our preliminary tests, the GNSS lock is relatively quick, which hasn’t always been the case with various Suunto watches in recent years. Indeed, the Race 2 quickly made me forget the extreme slowness of the GNSS lock that my Suunto Vertical often suffers from.

The Amoled touchscreen maintains the same resolution of 466 × 466 pixels but has increased from 1.43″ to 1.5″. The bezels are thus thinner, and the result is impressive.

The brand does not specify if the brightness has been improved. It should at least be on par with that of the Suunto Race. From my perspective, the Race 2’s screen was very generous during my first few trail outings in full sunlight — though not as bright as the latest Garmin Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970.

Suunto Race 2Interface and Application

In terms of smoothness, the Race 2 is much closer to the Race S than to the original Race. This means that the watch finally includes a processor worthy of the name. The slow and frustrating interface of the Suunto Race was one of the few downsides we had noted.

The Race 2 is therefore pleasant to use: menus scroll quickly and smoothly, and each click promptly triggers the desired action. The zooming in and out on the map is once again remarkably smooth. While there is still a bit of a micro-delay when scrolling from the watch face to the menus for the first time, the watch now demonstrates impressive fluidity, comparable to Garmin and Apple Watch models.

Unfortunately, the Suunto Race 2 still takes a long time to synchronize with the app. The app itself has undergone a significant redesign a few weeks before the launch of the Race. We will detail the changes in our full review, but it’s good to know that it continues to evolve in the right direction — starting from one of the best foundations in the industry.

The watch interface itself mirrors that of the latest Suunto models. In just a few days of use, we’ve also noticed some minor yet welcome tweaks:

• a long press on the complications of the default watch face automatically leads to the dedicated menu;
• the name of the external sensor (like a heart rate belt, for example) is finally displayed during connection;
• the number of the interval is (finally too) displayed during an interval training session.

Suunto Race 2Battery Life

The Suunto Race 2 displays roughly the same theoretical battery life as the Suunto Race, namely up to 16 days in watch mode or up to 55 hours in the most precise GNSS mode — multi GNSS and dual frequency.

Note that the battery life of the original Race model, released in 2023, had won us over.

Our first real battery test (still ongoing) has seen the battery of the Race 2 go from 100% to 48%:

• over 5 days of use;
• with just under 7 hours of sports in the most precise GNSS mode;
• wearing the watch all day and night;
• with SpO2 measurement activated during the night;
• without the Always On mode activated.

If these results seem weaker than during our test of the Suunto Race (the original), we will look into this in detail during our complete test of the Suunto Race 2.

We should also mention the new charger, which is better designed than Suunto’s last attempts, which were indeed unconvincing.

Suunto Race 2As You Can See, No Major New Features

The comparative spec sheet of the Race and Race 2 didn’t amaze us. It’s a gentle hardware evolution, with a lighter and thinner case, and a more powerful processor.

So, fans of Garmin models with a flashlight should calm down: the Suunto Race 2 sticks to the basics. We’ll also have to wait for LTE connectivity, contactless payments, or calendar display.

The Race 2 does not offer local music storage, even though this feature is available on the Suunto Run, which is sold for half the price. Strange and unfortunate. The new Suunto Wing 2 earbuds, launched alongside the Suunto Race 2, however, can connect to the watch to announce real-time data — pace, heart rate, etc.

The watch’s software also hasn’t seen any major new features. While the Race 2 includes the new track running mode introduced with the Suunto Run, we are surprised by the absence of the marathon mode, also launched on the Suunto Run. It’s strange once again.

The brand does state that its Race 2 offers 115 sports modes, including 22 new ones, but without more details — whereas Coros emphasizes developing true “niche” profiles like climbing and fishing.

In its press release, Suunto took care to note that the “processor (…) offers smoother performance and scalability allowing for the addition of future features via updates.” However, nothing particular at the launch of the watch.

Finally, the maps on the Race 2 still need to be downloaded via the app, using the same long and tedious process. No evolution here — even though we still very much appreciate using said Suunto mapping.

This mapping also does not evolve: no routable integration or street name display.

Suunto Race 2A Slight Price Increase

The Suunto Race 2 is available from its announcement date — starting August 27, 2025 — priced at 499 euros for the stainless steel version and 599 euros for the titanium variant. That’s 50 euros more than the two versions of the first Suunto Race.

Without any price reductions, the Race 2 therefore positions itself against the Coros Apex 2 Pro, Coros Pace Pro, and other Garmin Forerunner 570 models.

A minimum of 499 euros for the Race 2 is also the current price of the most accessible version of the Suunto Vertical. It will also be interesting to see if the brand will keep the first model of the Race alongside the new Race 2. Our full review will compare these different models.