Hammerhead Karoo 2 release date, price, and tech specs

Note: We’ll update this article whenever new information becomes available. It was published on June 19, 2020, and last updated October 16 (orders delayed).

Karoo 2 is Delayed

Welp. Last month we presented evidence that the Karoo 2 was extremely likely to be delayed, and our prediction turned out to be correct. It’s unfortunate for all the people who’ve pre-ordered the device, and if you’re reading this page then chances are you’re one of them.

With nothing to do but wait it out, this seems an appropriate time to draw a line under this page. We won’t be updating it further or following whatever delays and hardware issues come next. If you’re sticking with your pre-order, thanks for reading so far, and we hope it’s worth the wait when it arrives!

Before you leave, we have a couple of related articles coming up that might be of interest. We’ve learned a little about Garmin’s upcoming Edge 530 Plus and Edge 830 Plus devices, so we’ll be creating a preview page like this soon. We’re also wrapping up our guide to the best bike computers for 2021.

Pre-Orders Are Open

Well then. Pre-orders are now open for the Karoo 2, and we have a lot of details about… well everything. It’s going to take a while to update this page. Here are the top-level ordering details:

It costs $399
You can pre-order for a $99 deposit
It ships in ~~October~~ December… maybe

And here’s their Karoo 2 page with all the details. We were mostly right about everything.

Hammerhead have revealed sparing details so far about their new Karoo 2 cycling computer. But what little they’ve said can tell us a lot…

GCN’s brief first look at the Karoo 2 gives us imagery of the device and its interface, but also reveals enough for us to get some definitive answers about the elusive device.

When Will the Karoo 2 Be Available to Purchase?

August 21: Hammerhead announced that pre-orders would open next week. So between August 24-30. Our guess would be Monday or Tuesday – though note that Thursday is often when tech products are released, and Hammerhead sticks to this structure with their software updates.

Once you’ve pre-ordered, you’re probably in for a wait. We previously speculated six weeks, which puts you in the first week of October for getting the Karoo 2 on your handlebars. After the long pre-order delays on the original Karoo, Hammerhead will likely want to keep the time between pre-order and delivery short this time… That, or it’s a sign to expect a lot of delays.

Hammerhead says 2020. So within the next six months or so. It’s not likely to suddenly release overnight: as a small company, they’ll almost certainly take pre-orders. Until that happens, launch is not imminent. Sorry. Hey, we were right.

July 22: Good news, the pre-order listing has now appeared on Hammerhead’s site, albeit only briefly. It’s likely to return soon. This is a guess, but we imagine the Karoo 2 will be available about six weeks after pre-orders open – that’s probably mid-late September.

How Much Will the Karoo 2 Cost?

$399. That’s our best guess. Since it’s replacing the original Karoo, it should be about the same price. We have, however, speculated that it could be the same price as the Garmin Edge 1030 Plus ($599).

July 22: The Karoo 2 appeared overnight in Hammerhead’s store, listed at $99. Don’t get too excited though – the URL slug includes the word “preorder,” so $99 is likely the deposit on the device. This listing has now been removed.

Can I Upgrade From the Karoo 1 to the Karoo 2?

Yes. That’s what the email to Karoo 1 users says. Scroll up to read it. There are no details so far, but an “upgrade program” suggests more than “transfer your data to your new device.”

We’d guess some kind of trade-in program, or perhaps a discount code. Will their offer rival the money you’d get from putting your Karoo on eBay? Probably not at current prices. But we’ll see.

How Much Does the Karoo 2 Weigh?

GCN says Hammerhead told them the Karoo 2 is 33% lighter than the original Karoo, which was a ridiculously heavy 186 grams. The Karoo 2 will weigh 125 grams. Roughly.

How Big is the Karoo 2?

The Karoo 2 will be 40% smaller than the, frankly, huge Karoo. It’s hard to extrapolate exact measurements from this, unfortunately: the Karoo 2 looks to be a different shape and it’s, of course, a three-dimensional device. So we don’t know exactly where the size has been lost.

But we do have pictures to guess from. And a man’s hand to measure against. And its weight. And, if you read the next section, you’ll find that we think we know the screen size.

Considering all this, plus a little guess work, we think this size difference sounds more or less like the size difference between the Garmin Edge 1030 (and Garmin Edge 1030 Plus) and the Karoo. We’d wager that the Karoo 2 will be about the same size as the Garmin Edge 1030.

How Big is the Karoo 2’s Screen? What Resolution is the Karoo 2’s Screen?

The Karoo 2 has 28% more pixels per inch (PPI) than the original Karoo. The original Karoo had 229 PPI, so the Hammerhead Karoo 2 has 293 PPI.

Then we get into guess work. Or as we call it, investigative journalism. Inguesstigative journalism? No.

See, Hammerhead sent out a “future hardware” survey last year. The one we got asked us about a 4″ screen, but others reported receiving a survey asking about a 3.2″ inch screen. And that’s the screen size that makes sense on the smaller Karoo 2. The Karoo 2 will have a 3.2″ screen.

And finally, the Karoo 2’s resolution is 480×800. A recent Hammerhead blog post compared screenshots from the Karoo and the Karoo 2. The Karoo screenshot resolutions were 480×640, the same as the Karoo’s display, and the Karoo 2’s were 480×800.

What Features Does the Karoo 2 Have?

All indications suggest it will have the same software as the original Karoo. But we don’t know everything that’s coming to the Karoo between now and the time the Karoo 2 is available. Will it just be design changes, or something bigger, like an app store?

Beyond that:

It has a beeper
We know what the UI looks like
Strava Live Segments
The same navigation and maps
Expect a SIM slot again (speculation)
Phone tethering (speculation)
App store (speculation)

What’s the Difference Between Hammerhead Karoo and Karoo 2?

The Karoo 2 is smaller than its predecessor (40% smaller)
It is also lighter (33% lighter)
Its screen is also smaller (3.2″ diagonal)
But its smaller screen does have a higher pixel density (293 ppi)
It has a different screen shape (thinner)
It has an audio beeper/speaker
Its button placement is different (symmetrical on the lower half of the device)
It may have one fewer button
It will almost certainly have phone notifications

Will the original Karoo Still be Supported?

Hammerhead says yes. Their design blog demonstrates that the UI will be near identical. But hardware differences do exist, including a beeper and new button placements. Seemingly, the Karoo 2 has one fewer button than its big brother too. That means developing for both devices won’t be a case of pushing the same software simultaneously.

Based on that, will the original Karoo be supported forever? We’d guess not. But we don’t know what that cut-off point will be, nor the point at which the Karoo 2’s features reach a level that ghettoizes the original Karoo.