What Remains for Suunto Ambits & Traverse? Updated Digital Service Transition Plans

Suunto just published an update about their “digital services transition,” a.k.a. the death of Movescount. There are interesting points in it for owners/users of legacy devices…

“Legacy devices”? Read, old watches.

If you still use an Ambit, Ambit 2 or Ambit 3 (Sport, Run, Vertical, whatever) or a Traverse, this really concerns you.

A Note for Suunto Spartan and Suunto x (3, 5, 9) Users

If you are using a newer Suunto, either of the Spartan or of the new ‘numbers’ series, the new communication doesn’t really address you.

Its main point for you: Switch to the Suunto app (rather than Movescount app) if you haven’t already; forget about the Movescount web platform and link your Suunto app to www.quantified-self.io* for long-term trends and deeper analysis.

[* Quantified-Self is not from Suunto, but built by a person who has since gone on to work for Suunto.

Its integration with the Suunto app is great, all the way to history import of your activities from the Suunto app, to which you can transfer all your Movescount data.

We’ll need to talk about this Q-S tool; let me just say here that it’s insanely powerful. And free, and not just for Suunto devices.]

The Updates for Ambit and Traverse Owners

Removal of the Movescount App

The Movescount App, Suunto now announced, will be removed from the app stores by December 18, 2019:

As mentioned in our April communications, we will remove the Movescount App from Google Play and App Store, we target this to be completed on December 18, 2019. After this time, users that have the app on their phone may continue to use it, but the service will no longer be maintained, and if you change phones or delete the app, it will no longer be available for download.

https://www.suunto.com/en-gb/Content-pages/digital-service-transition/

So, if you keep it on your phone, you can still use it, but you can’t download it from an app store anymore. And of course, there won’t be any new developments, bug fixes, anythings.

The disappearance of the Movescount app also means that the Ambit 3 will lose its workout planner.

Moveslink2 / Suuntolink

So far, Ambit and Traverse watches synced with Movescount (mainly, if it isn’t an Ambit3 that could do wireless sync via Bluetooth through the Movescount app – which is disappearing), through the Moveslink2 program on a computer…

Moveslink2 and Suuntolink: By summer 2020, Suuntolink will replace Moveslink2, offering our Ambit and Traverse owners a renewed service experience.  Suuntolink will be the connection to Suunto app and access to new and incremental benefits from our partner ecosystem. We will keep everyone updated with more details to ensure moving to Suuntolink, and taking Suunto app into use, is as easy as possible.

https://www.suunto.com/en-gb/Content-pages/digital-service-transition/

By the sounds of that, the old watches will sync via USB cable (as now), just with Suuntolink instead of Moveslink2 and sending the data to the Suunto app rather than Movescount.

And from the Suunto app, data can be sent to ever-more partners, which is how Suunto apparently wants its users to dive deeper into data, get it all collected in more than one place, etc.

Movescount on the Web

Somewhat contrary to earlier fears – and then again, exactly like those – the Movescount web platform will also disappear. At least as an analytics platform:

Suunto Movescount.com (web service):  Our web service will continue to evolve in 2020. We will no longer call it Movescount and its role in our services will be to enable key functionality (including watch settings, routes and sport mode customization) for Ambit (1, 2 and 3) and Traverse family watches only. We are planning these web-based updates for the second half of 2020 and will keep everyone updated on the changes coming. No changes are happening right away.

https://www.suunto.com/en-gb/Content-pages/digital-service-transition/

Whatever the non-Movescount on the web will be, it will not be called Movescount, it will not serve as an analytics platform for sports data, and it will not be for the newer watches (Spartan and Suunto 3, 5, 9).

For Ambit and Traverse watches, however, whatever it changes into will provide access to watch settings, sports mode customization, and routes.

We’ll have to see how these develop then; they will (have to) sync via Suuntolink, USB… but then, that’s basically how that works now, just with Movescount and Moveslink2.

Will routes only be imported from a GPX created somewhere else, though? Or will the route planning tool remain?

Will there be a link between the route planning tool in the Suunto app and the routes on this no-longer-Movescount so that routes can be created in the app (even if they can get onto legacy watches only via USB cable-sync through Suuntolink on a computer)?

These questions still remain.

Advice?

What are you to make of this?

Well, if you haven’t already given up on Suunto because you were unhappy they are changing anything (I did hear people who complained in such ways), then these updates on the transition sound like you’ll not really need to do anything.

Use Movescount and the Movescount app as long as you can and want to.

Get ready to switch – or switch already, if you have an Ambit 3 or Traverse that can sync with a smartphone – to the Suunto app.

Just know that, at the moment, a switch to the Suunto app means the loss of the workout planner (i.e., the tool for phased workouts / intervals for the Ambit 3) and, rather more importantly, of route functionality.

(The current Suunto app does not sync routes to the Ambit 3 or Traverse. It looks like it accepts the “Transfer to watch” setting, but just doesn’t transfer… and the announcement here leaves it unclear whether this will come or only work through Suuntolink syncing.)

Frankly, the best advice seems to be to get a Suunto 5 or 9, import all your data into the Suunto app, and not use anything else – read, Movescount – anymore at all…

7 responses

  1. Hans Avatar
    Hans

    I don’t get where is going Suunto. New watches with less functionality than the old ones, the new app is not worth for analysis, no POI, no structured intervals, no drills in swimming, no ant+, no web analysis.. I don’t see a good future for this watches at least they release a new watch and better service in the web. The Fenix 6 is far far away from suunto.. and Polar is getting better, Coros is keeping up with better watches.. I’m very sad as Suunto fan.

    Do they listen? The users are screaming about all this.. but looks like they don’t care.

    1. Structured intervals won’t come; better routes with a return of waypoints, I very much hope will come.

      It’s… tough. I’d love to defend Suunto; I know that they are listening and do care; but there certainly are issues. There are issues with all the companies and all the devices, but Suunto isn’t looking too good in comparison to the others, indeed.

      1. verdoux Avatar
        verdoux

        Hello,

        first, i would thank you for you website.
        Are you sure of abandoning “Structured intervals” ?
        I like my Ambit 3 and i hope the Suunto app will propose this function.

        Thank you for your answer

        Pierre

        1. My apologies for not having answered sooner. Yes, I am sure, unfortunately. There was an answer in one of the Facebook groups around Suunto watches that discussions about structured workouts won’t be accepted anymore because it’s a feature that won’t be coming (so that it would just use up valuable space to keep discussing it).

  2. Dennis Avatar
    Dennis

    Hi gerald maybe you dont know the answer but how is it possible that suunto doesn’t release models hardly anymore while new companies like coros already have 4 models Or even polar and certainly garmin
    It used to be the best watches but now even on forums people do not talk about them anymore
    The have to release in order to survive
    Any news
    Thanks dennis

    1. At the same time, as soon as something new is released, people complain that the existing products were now obsolete… :/
      From that point of view, it’s good that the Suunto9 and Suunto5 just got (the beginning of) an interesting new feature in SuuntoPlus.

      The Polar Ignite is basically just another stripped-down version of the Vantage. Garmin can’t be compared, they are so much bigger. Coros… I was going to disagree and argue that they haven’t been that fast, but actually, they are.

      Anyways, going by prior practice, I’d get concerned if there were no news at the CES.

  3. Shaun Avatar
    Shaun

    Well I will not buy another Sunto watch. I cannot defend them in any way as it looks like they might take the reason I bought the watch. I’m quite happy to send it back to them with a bill.

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