Suunto, a Finnish watch and dive instrument maker, sells the $179 Spark as a wrist tracker alternative, and the open ear form factor (earbuds that sit outside the ear canal) is where the real trade offs begin.
A runner at the trailhead faces a small gear audit every time: watch or phone in the pocket, earbuds or bone-conduction headset, sometimes all three. Suunto's new Spark earbuds are pitched as a way to leave two of those behind. The Finnish sports-watch and dive-instrument maker has released four audio products in the last five years, and the $179 Spark is its latest attempt to convince runners, cyclists, and hikers that audio on the ears can do the job a wrist or pocket tracker used to do, according to WIRED's review of the Suunto Spark.
The Spark is an open-ear earbud, a category worth decoding for anyone who has not shopped in this corner of the headphone market. Open-ear audio sits outside the ear canal instead of sealing it, usually resting on the ear with a flexible hook. That keeps ambient sound audible, which is why runners and cyclists like the form factor for safety. It is distinct from bone conduction, which Suunto used in earlier products and which sends sound through the skull, and from traditional in-ear buds that block the ear canal. The move from bone conduction to a true open-air design is the form-factor change that defines this product in WIRED's hands-on review.
The replacement pitch is straightforward: if the Spark can capture the heart-rate, pace, and motion data a fitness watch handles, and stream it to a phone app, then a runner could go out with just earbuds and skip the wrist display. WIRED's reviewer framed it as a chance to leave the tracker at home for runs and rides, though the same review notes that the Spark does not replicate every sensor a watch provides. That is a hypothesis, not a measured result, and it is worth holding onto as the trade-offs come into view.
The headline strengths are the form factor and the comfort story. WIRED found the Spark secure enough for long runs, with sound quality and wind performance that worked outdoors. The fit is the part the review is most confident about, and it is the part that matters most for a product meant to live on the head for hours at a time.
The weaknesses sit in the software and the controls. Several of the Spark's extra modes are locked behind Suunto's companion app, which means a buyer does not get the full feature set out of the box. The head-gesture controls, which let a runner nod or shake to change tracks, are described as inconsistent. And the Spark lacks the LED safety lights that Suunto ships on its higher-end Wing headphones, a real omission for cyclists and trail runners who train near traffic in low light.
WIRED rated the Spark a 9 out of 10 and called the buds a new go-to workout pair, though that verdict is a single reviewer's subjective take rather than an objective benchmark. The "perfect pair for runs and rides" framing in the source title is generous, and the more useful question for a buyer is whether the trade-offs match their actual habits.
For a runner who already wears a fitness watch and likes the data on the wrist, the Spark is a supplement, not a replacement. For someone who finds the wrist display redundant on easy days and wants a single device that handles audio and basic tracking, the case is stronger, especially if the app-gated features and the missing safety lights are not deal-breakers. The form factor is the real win here, and the rest of the package is good enough that the decision comes down to which compromises a buyer is willing to make.