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3 Runs, 3 incorrect distances
- Thread starter jaconrad15
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So over the last 3 days, I've run 15 miles using the Workout app on thewatch. These are routes I run regularly with my Garmin watch, Strava on the iPhone. They all produce 5 miles consitently. The watch, however:
Run #1 (Road): Garmin 5.19 miles, Apple Watch 5.01 miles
Run #2 (Road): Garmin 5.18 miles, Apple Watch 5.01 miles
Run #3 (Trail): Garmin 5.2 miles, Apple Watch 4.62 miles
I've had my iPhone 6 with me for all 3 runs (so the watch should be using the GPS) with no other running apps in use on the phone.
I've read some people's Apple watches are spot on, some are off like mine.
Just like to get ideas/feedback from all my fellow
Thought I would report back since my OP. The watch seems to be calibrating and getting more accurate with each run. Outdoor run distances match mapmyrun distances within a couple hundreds of a mile. I even did an indoor run 2 days ago and the distance was only 3% different from the treadmill (which I'm not convinced are 100% accurate).
I'm planning on a few more outdoor runs with the iPhone to get the watch dialed in a bit more (for different paces) and then leave the iPhone at home and see how the watch does. I will give another update!
One more thing... the first runs with Apple Watch I put the phone in a waistband and the numbers were off by a bit. Since those 1st three runs, I've been carrying my iPhone in my hand and now it seems more accurate. Could just be that the calibration is coinciding with holding it, or could be that the phone is getting better GPS reception. Not sure but figured I would mention it.
Hopefully everyone's watches calibrate the same way mine has.
One more thing... the first runs with Apple Watch I put the phone in a waistband and the numbers were off by a bit. Since those 1st three runs, I've been carrying my iPhone in my hand and now it seems more accurate. Could just be that the calibration is coinciding with holding it, or could be that the phone is getting better GPS reception. Not sure but figured I would mention it.
Hopefully everyone's watches calibrate the same way mine has.
I think thats the key there, I've been wearing my phone in a flipbelt and i think its killing the reception, which sucks because i hate arm bands.
Thought I would report back since my OP. The watch seems to be calibrating and getting more accurate with each run. Outdoor run distances match mapmyrun distances within a couple hundreds of a mile. I even did an indoor run 2 days ago and the distance was only 3% different from the treadmill (which I'm not convinced are 100% accurate).
I'm planning on a few more outdoor runs with the iPhone to get the watch dialed in a bit more (for different paces) and then leave the iPhone at home and see how the watch does. I will give another update!
One more thing... the first runs with Apple Watch I put the phone in a waistband and the numbers were off by a bit. Since those 1st three runs, I've been carrying my iPhone in my hand and now it seems more accurate. Could just be that the calibration is coinciding with holding it, or could be that the phone is getting better GPS reception. Not sure but figured I would mention it.
Hopefully everyone's watches calibrate the same way mine has.
Thanks for the update. I've been having the exact same problem as you and had been following this thread with interest (finally got round to joining the Forum today after lurking for a while).
Was the "pace" display any better too? The two biggest issues I have with the Workout app are that the distance is recorded substantially too short and also that the pace setting is completely unusable: within a few yards it can vary up to 100%!!
It's a shame as the ability to clearly display 3 metrics on the Workout app is great, and much better than the display on the Nike+ or mapmyrun.
I am also quite tall (6'2'') and run with my phone in a waist belt, so I wonder if that's the problem? Doesn't cause any problem with Nike+ or mapmyrun though, which is weird. Perhaps because they're not "talking" to the watch? Either way, one of the big bonuses for me in having the watch is being able to dump the armband for my phone and control matters from the watch, so I'm not going back to running whilst holding the phone!
Whatever's going on here, I have to say that the Workout app is my biggest disappointment with the watch. It certainly doesn't "just work". I was hoping to live with the lack of splits / maps etc and switch from Nike+, but I'm sticking with Nike+ for now.
On the plus side, it's nice that the Activity app recognises exercise even without the Workout app running, so I can happily dump the Workout app and just use Nike+, which will hopefully improve its metrics display and add HR options in future versions.
another
I did another walk today, using another iphone, letting my iphone stay connected to the watch and not using it's GPS (the phones)
my watch showed 2.17 miles, and the gps motion x app on the OTHER iphone showed 2.18 miles.
it's getting closer. Maybe it really does take a few walks/run to calibrate gate, cadence, stride, etc.
I did another walk today, using another iphone, letting my iphone stay connected to the watch and not using it's GPS (the phones)
my watch showed 2.17 miles, and the gps motion x app on the OTHER iphone showed 2.18 miles.
it's getting closer. Maybe it really does take a few walks/run to calibrate gate, cadence, stride, etc.
But I would have thought all the calibration stuff is irrelevant if you have the phone with you - it should just take the GPS track.
I guess the reception has a significant impact on the accuracy. If that weren't the case Apple would not have worded the support document that way.
I agree with the comment about the pace display. The readout is erratic. I'm coming from using a Garmin, where I can show the pace based on just the current lap, and I think that works much better.
How have you found seeing the display in full sun while running? I'm finding it difficult, especially factoring in the time it takes for the display to turn on after being activated by raising my wrist. And some of the colors Apple chose to use in the Watch app specifically the blue and the yellow are hard to see quickly given the thin font weights. In a bit of shade, however, visibility is much improved.
I'm going to stick with the Workout app for a couple more runs, and then start testing the other apps. I'm interested in getting the most accurate reading of calorie burn that I can, so I'd like to take advantage of the HRM. With my Garmin, the calorie calculations are vastly different depending on whether or not I wear the HRM strap, but I rarely wear it.
You get haptic feedback at every mile, but it's very slight. I often don't notice it. I used wired headphones with my iPhone, so not sure if there's audio feedback.
It gives you a tap on the wrist and the screen shows a note of distance, but its simple, just "X Miles\Km" There is no summary of that mile, such as average pace for the last mile etc.
Quick update. After "calibrating" my watch by running with my phone for the last week, I went for a run this morning with my buddy who was wearing a Garmin Fenix 2:
Garmin Fenix 2: 5 miles
Apple Watch (w/o iPhone): 5.1 miles
I'm okay with these results as the error rate is only about .02 per mile off. Moreover, the Garmin doesn't account for 3D distance, only 2D, where the Apple watch uses the accelerometer, which should be pretty accurate measuring the greater distance when changing elevation (think of a right triangle).
Garmin Fenix 2: 5 miles
Apple Watch (w/o iPhone): 5.1 miles
I'm okay with these results as the error rate is only about .02 per mile off. Moreover, the Garmin doesn't account for 3D distance, only 2D, where the Apple watch uses the accelerometer, which should be pretty accurate measuring the greater distance when changing elevation (think of a right triangle).
Fenix has a barometric altimeter so i suspect it's rather more accurate than an iPhone. I'd be disappointed if any if my Garmins were 0.1m out in 5 miles - as it stands the AW isn't good enough to be a serious sports device (although relying on a phone for GPS probably means it will never replace my Garmin devices).
I am not the greatest runner and I am still a little bit out of shape but the type of data I get from my Sunnto is way beyond anything the Apple Workout Apps could ever offer me. Here's an example :
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move33567987
That's what Apple needs to battle against. I always carry my phone for music purposes so of course, I would love the combo apple watch + iphone but the level of details I get with my Suunto is beyond most iphone apps.
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move33567987
That's what Apple needs to battle against. I always carry my phone for music purposes so of course, I would love the combo apple watch + iphone but the level of details I get with my Suunto is beyond most iphone apps.
I had my 3rd run with my Apple Watch today the 2nd one without my Garmin 620. The Workout app is limited, but there's something appealing to me about not having to swap out a normal watch with my Garmin, and then switch back after my run.
My next marathon isn't until October, so I won't start any serious training until the middle of the summer. I'm planning to try to make the Apple Watch work for all my casual runs about 40 miles a week up until then, and then switch back to the Garmin once I start training if there aren't any decent third party apps available by then.
That's why I really like my Fenix3 - it's normal enough looking to wear every day, yet if I nip out for a quick run after work I don't need to remember to carry another sports watch with me - I also cycle round London on the hire bikes so I can record that easily as well. But I'd prefer the AW to sort out a few things before I could say I'd stop using my Garmin:
1. The distance thing has to get sorted - I do a number of runs from home that I absolutely know the distance on from doing them dozens and dozens of times - the AW (even with a phone with me) consistently measures short.
2. The ability to get data off the watch and into things like Strava and Rubitrack. I've got a record of every run and ride I've done since 2007, and I don't want to lose that - but the watch's app won't let me export data into that. The alternative is to let me import data from other apps into the Activity app (not sure if this is possible?) - as I have become quite an addict of the little circles!
3. making stop, start and potentially laps possible with a button press - there screen's too flaky to pause and stop when you're at the end of an effort.
Until then, I'm going to carry on running with Garmin (and possibly AW as well!).
Have you calibrated your watch according to this document? https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204516. And did you turn off anything in your location services? The watch does not use your gps data on an outdoor run, what it does do is calibrate the accelerometer based on your gps data.
How about Health -> Sources ?
This is absolutely unexeptable and apple should address this immediately. If you have the phone with you this is a basic task these days. I love the watch but Apple should be ashamed the way they rushed this thing to market. And Angela needs to be canned post haste.
Couldn't agree more and Tim Cook, Jony Ive, Eddy Cue, Craig Federighi, Phil Schiller, Jeff Williams and all the rest. Clean house and start over before Apple goes broke.
Hello all, many good things in this thread, glad to see it! I found yesterday during a quick 5K that the pace on the watch was finally on point, but the distance is still measuring shorter than the mapmyrun app always measures.
Tomorrow I'm running a half marathon, and I'm starting both at the same time and I'll have my phone the entire time. It'll be fun to see just how far off the apple watch is at the end of the 13.
Tomorrow I'm running a half marathon, and I'm starting both at the same time and I'll have my phone the entire time. It'll be fun to see just how far off the apple watch is at the end of the 13.
I've done 2x40 min+ runs with it (and several bike rides - which are bang on for distance with my Garmin Edge) and both were significantly short which is what makes me suspect the watch isn't picking up the phone's GPS for some reason.
I think you're wrong when you say it doesn't use GPS - it's supposed to use GPS from the phone when it's available, but it uses this calibration process to improve the measurement when you've not got GPS - the page you linked to says
(my bold).
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For me it is Garmin 620 for 'official' run data and
Me too - it's a shame you can't get the Garmin data into the activity app (Health picks it up ok) as I'm probably going to be running with two watches!
It seems you are right here, may misread it my apologies.
Is motion calibration & distance turned on in your location services? Are you running in an area that has major variation in elevation?
Yep, it's all turned on ok. The phone measures it right (I've done the same run with the Strava app running and it's pretty much spot on with what Garmin says) - either the watch isn't picking up the phone's GPS or the algorithm they use to convert GPS data to distance is wonky.
The odd thing is it's absolutely the same measurement as my Garmin Edge over much longer distances when cycling.