With the Spark, Suunto steps away for the first time from the bone conduction that built its audio reputation (Wing, Sonic) and goes for classic air-conduction open-ear earbuds. Launched on 8 April 2026 at 149 euros, they add cadence and head posture tracking right inside your ears. Two independent field tests, one Swiss and one American, confirm genuine comfort but flag the same real-world limits.
The Suunto Spark drops bone conduction for a more conventional open-ear design, with a clear jump in sound quality confirmed by two independent testers in Switzerland and the US. Comfort and battery life are convincing, with up to 36 hours including the case according to Suunto. But overly sensitive touch controls and use in strong wind or under a beanie remain weak spots documented by both tests.
Since launching the Wing nearly 3 years ago, Suunto has stuck exclusively to bone conduction for its sports headphones: Wing, Sonic, the two Aqua variants and now the Wing 2, all neckband designs. The Spark switches both technology and format: two true wireless earbuds using classic air conduction, still open so you hear what is going on around you, but promising better sound than bone conduction can deliver.
At RunMorph, we see this switch as a direct answer to a well-known weakness of bone conduction: it struggles to reproduce deep bass. The Spark also brings sport features Suunto has never put in an earbud before: cadence tracking, running technique analysis based on ground contact time, and head position monitoring while you train.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | 149 € (France), $179 (United States) |
| Weight | 9 g per earbud, 76 g with the case |
| Technology | Open-ear air conduction, triple hybrid transducers |
| Audio codec | LHDC 5.0 Hi-Res up to 96 kHz, Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Earbud battery life | 7 to 7.5 h per charge depending on the source |
| Total battery life with case | 32 to 36 h depending on the source |
| Water resistance | IP55 (sweat, rain, dust) |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4, pairs with 2 devices at once |
| Controls | Customizable touch controls (single, double, triple tap, long press) and head gestures |
| Colors | Black, white, coral orange |
| Availability | Since 8 April 2026 |
| Data point | What the sources report |
|---|---|
| Earbud battery life alone | 7 h in the American field test, 7.5 h in the Swiss field test: a minor gap, most likely down to the volume and EQ settings used |
| Total battery life with case | 36 h claimed by Suunto and repeated by the mainstream press; 32 h measured by the Swiss tester, based on "one earbud charge plus three case charges" |
| "All-day comfort" | Confirmed in daily life and on the run by both testers, but one of them reports clear discomfort under a winter beanie, as the loop gets pressed against the ear |
The Spark uses a hybrid system with several transducers per earbud: a balanced armature driver for the highs, a large dynamic driver for the bass, and an anti-leak transducer that limits sound spilling outward to keep your listening private. It all supports LHDC 5.0, a Hi-Res codec rarely found on sports watches, so in practice the quality gain is limited to compatible smartphones and computers rather than the GPS watches themselves.
On the sport side, the Suunto app lets you set a target cadence between 120 and 200 steps per minute with a built-in metronome, turn on a mode that tracks cadence, ground contact time and vertical oscillation in real time, and get voice prompts for pace, heart rate, distance and laps straight from a compatible Suunto watch. There is also a neck mobility test to assess flexibility and range of motion.
The Swiss tester from nakan.ch used the Spark for a full week, on every run and in daily life. The verdict: flawless comfort and fit, even with glasses or a cap, sound quality clearly ahead of bone conduction even if the bass stays limited by the open design, and hassle-free compatibility tested with a Garmin Forerunner 970, a Coros Pace 4, an Apple Watch Ultra 3 and a Suunto Run. The only real regrets: no onboard storage for music on its own, and discomfort under a winter beanie.
Meanwhile, the two American testers from a US running review site are just as positive about comfort, describing it as almost unnoticeable on the run, with a fit that shows zero risk of falling out. They agree with the Swiss take on sound quality and praise the dual-device connection. Their main reservation is cycling: the open design lets wind and traffic noise drown out the music in some conditions, a flaw they do not notice when running.
Watch out, flagged by both tests: the touch controls are so sensitive that simply adjusting the earbuds, pulling back a hood or brushing them by accident can trigger an unwanted action (skipping a track, launching a voice call). Both testers recommend a light touch and careful setup in the Suunto app, which itself displays a warning about it.
Documented limitation: the open-ear design leaves your music exposed to ambient noise. On the road or in town at moderate volume, both testers stay aware of traffic, which is exactly the point. But on a bike in the wind, or near noisy equipment (gym, machines), the sound can be partly drowned out. The Spark is also uncomfortable under a beanie, contrary to what the Swiss tester hoped for when switching from the Wing neckband design.
| Criterion | Suunto Spark | Suunto Wing 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | Air conduction, true wireless earbuds | Bone conduction, neckband |
| Sound quality (bass) | Better bass reproduction, open design | More limited bass, bone technology |
| Under a beanie | Uncomfortable, loop pressed against the ear | Also awkward according to feedback, but thinner band |
| Battery life | 32 to 36 h with the case | 30 h in total with built-in power bank |
| Price | 149 € | Higher positioning, expedition range |
| Criterion | Suunto Spark | Shokz OpenFit 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Open-ear air conduction, titanium loop | Open-ear DualBoost, ear hook |
| Dedicated sport features | Cadence, running technique, head posture | No built-in coaching features |
| Price | 149 € | 189 € |
| Watch ecosystem | Native integration with recent Suunto watches | Independent of any watch ecosystem |
Pros
Cons
The Spark connects to any standard Bluetooth device and is not locked into the Suunto ecosystem. The Swiss tester paired it without any trouble with an iPhone, a MacBook, a Linux computer and Garmin, Coros and Apple watches. The advanced voice coaching features, on the other hand (pace, heart rate and distance read out in your ear), require a recent Suunto watch.
At RunMorph, our take is a convincing first open-ear earbud that fixes the most common complaint about the brand's bone conduction headphones without giving up the comfort that made their name. The cadence and head posture features are a modest bonus rather than a selling point on their own, but they come at no extra cost on a product that is already solid on comfort and battery life. The overly sensitive touch controls are the top thing to fix in a possible version 2.
To structure your cadence sessions and track your progress over time, check out our 10K training plans.
The Suunto Spark nails its switch to air conduction without losing what made Suunto headphones strong: comfort and safety outdoors. At 149 €, it stacks up well against pricier open-ear rivals like the Shokz OpenFit 2, as long as you can live with touch controls that need work and do not expect to wear it under a beanie in winter.
How much does the Suunto Spark weigh?
9 g per earbud and 76 g with the charging case, about 13 g more than a pair of AirPods Pro 2 in their case according to a direct comparison by one tester.
What is the Suunto Spark's battery life?
7 to 7.5 h per charge depending on the source, and 32 to 36 h in total with the case, the gap coming from real-world measurements (32 h) versus Suunto's claimed figure (36 h).
Does the Suunto Spark work with a Garmin or Coros watch?
Yes for audio and touch controls, tested and confirmed with a Garmin Forerunner 970 and a Coros Pace 4. Voice prompts for pace and heart rate in your ear, however, require a recent Suunto watch.
How much does the Suunto Spark cost?
149 € in France ($179 in the United States), available in black, white and coral orange since 8 April 2026.