Alex Rainert, writing for Medium, about using a Garmin Running Watch during a race:
During the race this past Sunday, being able to glance at my wrist for Current Pace/Average Pace/Distance whenever I wanted was fantastic (Note: I’ve found both the Garmin and the apps to have varying degrees of accuracy for distance covered). Seeing my live Heart Rate and Heart Rate Zones (coming via chest strap) also helped me know how hard I was exerting myself and when there might be a little more for me to give, even if I felt totally gassed. Finally, the fast & slow pace alerts were a total gamechanger as they provided actionable, contextual information in real-time, allowing me to make adjustments that saved seconds in the moment and crucial minutes over the course of the race.
This is a testament to one of the many health and fitness-related products you’ll be able to replace with an Apple Watch. Given that Apple Watch is a software and sensor platform, it can evolve to closely map to a user’s needs. The Garmin Running Watch is a stake in the sand, a product with a fixed design. What it does, it does very well, and will likely continue doing that job, and just that job, as long as its battery holds out.
The Apple Watch is limited only by the sensors it carries or connects to. Two things we know will be trackable with the combination of iPhone and Apple Watch are heart rate and distance traveled. Presumably, as the Apple Watch evolves, more sensors and, therefore, more health data will be added to the mix. The question is, who will control the access to that data?
From the quoted paragraph above:
I’ve found both the Garmin and the apps to have varying degrees of accuracy for distance covered
This is something I’ve heard from users of iPhone distance tracking apps, as well. Every app used (including Apple’s Health app) reports a widely varying measure of distance. Two different apps will give you two different measures of how many steps you took today, for example. This problem has a number of possible causes. Apps use different algorithms to calculate steps taken. Different sensors might differ in accuracy or, perhaps, require tuning to adjust to different stride lengths.
As reader Robert Davey points out, Apple bottlenecks this data via the CoreMotion framework. The question is, are developers not aware of the framework (I was not, as is evidenced by my original post)? Are they using it inconsistently? Incorrectly?
This is a quality control problem. As more sensors are added to the iPhone and Apple Watch, this problem will only get more complicated.
This is precisely what CoreMotion already does. It would seem that apps giving different values are either trying to calculate it themselves, or are using the framework incorrectly.
See CMMotionActivityManager for more information: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/CoreMotion/Reference/CMMotionActivityManager_class/index.html
Agreed, that is one path. But what about sensors on Apple Watch? Seems to me a higher level framework is what’s needed.
I’ve not played with the WatchKit properly yet. I was expecting the data it records would be fed into HealthKit and accessed by other apps from there. https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/HealthKit/Reference/HealthKit_Framework/index.html
The Apple Watch should be able to replace running watches and fitness bands for most people, doing for watches and fitness bands (etc) what the iPhone did for phones, music players, and point and shoot cameras.
The Apple Watch, initially, only needs to be as good as the device that it replaces. There is evidence that Apple’s sensors in iPhones already collect better data than fitness bands. (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/11/fitness-bands-less-accurate-than-smartphones-counting-steps)
So, even if accuracy is a problem, Apple already is ahead of its competitors.
To preface, I would describe myself as a serious fitness enthusiast, not a professional athlete.
As a long time user of Garmin products, both for running and cycling, I decided it was silly for me to carry, what amounted to, two computers with me at all times. I sold all of my Garmin products and switched to displays that reflect the data I need from my chosen iPhone app, to include all of the details noted by the quoted author above. I use the Wahoo Fitness RFLKT+ on the bike ($130 vs $330 for Garmin) and the Magellan Echo Fit on the wrist when running ($150 vs $399 for my Garmin). They both work with my existing HR straps, cadence sensors, etc.
My hope is the Watch will come to replace even more items that I use, in time. I think an external display may still be necessary for cycling – looking at one’s wrist for data all the time would be both inconvenient and not safe.
I use Pedometer++ and have noticed different step counts recorded by it and HealthKit App. Sometimes it’s close and sometimes it’s pretty far off in both steps and floors/flights climbed.
I’m hoping the watch’s step and heart rate measurements are more accurate. Even more consistent would be welcomed.
“bottlenecks”
is the wrong word to use.
Do you want Apple to give developers access to raw data of sensors.
Come one, are you crazy.
All sensors have calibration issue.
All sensors have signal vs. noise problem.
data needs to be filtered.
all the measurement are then interpreted to either step or run, etc.
Watch contains a heart rate sensor via light diode otherwise all
other sensors are in the iphone already.
Heart rate sensor probably won’t be CoreMotion.
Current Watch SDK doesn’t give access to native app frameworks.
so any higher order app can’t be built until summer anyway.