Apple Watch Series 12 vs Suunto Race
Our pick: Suunto Race takes it — 87 vs 84.
Both are strong — the call comes down to what you prioritise:
- Apple Watch Series 12 — You're on a Series 9 or older and want the most accurate wrist heart rate Apple has made, plus a readiness score you can use to steer clients' training, with no subscription.
- Suunto Race — Buy it if you want a big, bright AMOLED multisport watch with strong dual-band GPS, maps and multi-day battery for far less than a Garmin Forerunner 965.
Apple Watch Series 12
The new Health Sensing System is the real upgrade: heart rate every five seconds, far more frequent HRV and a daily Readiness score, with testers finding it close to a chest strap. Battery is still rated at 24 hours and the design is unchanged, so Series 11 owners can skip it.
Suunto Race
The Suunto Race is the best watch Suunto has made in years: a bright 1.43-inch AMOLED, accurate dual-band GPS and genuinely huge battery life, all launched well below Garmin. Now selling around 320 EUR (down from a 449 EUR RRP), it is one of the best-value AMOLED multisport watches you can buy. The catch is software: the Suunto app and on-watch OS feel slower and thinner than Garmin Connect, the wrist heart-rate sensor is only so-so, and recovery/sleep metrics are noisy. For runners and outdoor athletes who want a big screen, maps and long battery without paying Garmin money, it is an easy recommendation.
Compare side-by-side
| Apple Watch Series 1284Scorefrom€434Review → | Suunto Race87Scorefrom€319.16Review → | |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | — | — |
| Battery life | — | — |
| Screen | — | — |
| Sleep tracking | — | — |
| Recovery / HRV | — | — |
| Subscription | — | — |
| Water resistance | — | — |
Prices are our researched reference points.
Affiliate disclosure. We may earn a commission from links on this page. It never affects the Sqwod Score — scores are set by the methodology, not commission.