You've probably come across last year's feature-packed Suunto Ambit 3 Run if you were searching for a premium sports watch that goes beyond the average Fitbit Blaze.
Now, it looks as if that it could be worth holding off on buying. The versible sports watch company has just announced a new model, dubbed the Suunto Spartan Ultra.
The new "Ultra" moniker suggests serious skills and durability. That looks to be exactly what it will offer, starting with the fact that the Spartan Ultra is water resistant to 100 meters, includes glass fiber reinforced polyamide casing, and protects the screen with sapphire crystal glass.
There's also grade5 titanium or stainless steel bezel along with a durable color touchscreen. Suunto claims this offers wide viewing angles and good visibility in bright sunlight, which is a huge issue even for the best fitness trackers out there.
Track everything
The Spartan Ultra is touted as being able to able to survive even the most extreme of sports. That's good news because it'll give you reason to use all of its advanced sensors and tracking capabilities.
It includes GPS, heart rate measurements, guided route navigation, barometric altitude tracking, a digital compass, 'competitive' battery life and dozens of preset sport modes. It can be set to track everything from cycling and swimming to snow sports, so you're going to want to keep it strapped to your wrist.
Even when you're not actively exercising, it continues to track you just like a daily activity tracker. You won't get robbed of the more leisurely paces you make thanks to a steps count, calories burned and time spent active.
It sounds comprehensive, but hopefully it's not as complex as the Ambit 3 Run. Suunto claims the interface of its website and app is being simplified too, so that bodes well for this sequel.
Either way, you'll have to be serious about your sports to justify buying one, as the Suunto Spartan Ultra starts at US$699 (around £480/AU$940), rising to US$799 (roughly £548/AU$1074) for a titanium model and with an extra US$50 (£34/AU$67) on top of either of those if you want a heart rate monitor.
You've got a little while to save though, as the Spartan Ultra watch release date isn't until August.
