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Apple Watch: All the Little Things! [watchOS 4.3 beta]

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The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.
nick0 said:
Any reason why watch wouldn't connect to wifi on its own? I have a wifi connection in range but never see the cloud icon
Click to expand...
What cloud icon are you referring to? I know my watch is on wifi because my phone is often disconnected at home from being left at the other end of the house, but I still get all my mail and iMessages and can reply. I don't see any icon indicating it's on wifi
 
cschmelz said:
Yes, it is called wake on movement....That is your screensaver functionality! Woohoo!
Click to expand...
I know I know, even though this technology's been around since the beginning of computing, we have to blindly applaud Apple for taking it away. I apologize for questioning them, it's not a very popular thing to do on this site.
 
Few observations after using Beta 5:-

Disappointments:-
  • The Exchange Calendar bug is STILL present: Exchange calendar has a recurring event that gets changed by a third party (date/time moved by an admin for example). Change shows correctly on Outlook and iPhone but not Watch. Workaround is to "Reset Sync Data" each time. Ugh.
  • Treadmill running distances are still wrong, 20-30% too optimistic on Watch versus treadmill
  • New timelapse watch faces aren't very compelling - we need more MODULAR types so we can take advantage of the real-time data the Watch can deliver - where are the options for adding complications??!?

The Good Stuff:-
  • Activate on wrist raise is more reliable now
  • One less button press to return to watch face from apps
  • Siri activities that must be done on iPhone are now more automatic - for example saying "Google Apple Watch" on Watch now gives you a simple button for automatic handoff to "Continue on iPhone" which fires up Siri on the iPhone:-

IMG_0008.PNG


There is a lot of room for improvement on the Watch but it looks like OS2 isn't really going to deliver it unfortunately. 3rd Party complications might be the big one for me:-
  • I'll substitute the buggy Calendar for a Fantastical complication (this is always accurate)
  • I'll find a new workout app that can track treadmill distances correctly
Still enjoying my watch but WatchOS2 only takes it from a 7 to a 7.5
 
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NotSafeForWork said:
  • Treadmill running distances are still wrong, 20-30% too optimistic on Watch versus treadmill
Click to expand...
My Apple Watch is within about .02 miles for a 1 mile run, and that's according to the treadmill's mileage reading, which might not even be accurate. Have you run/walked outside using the outdoor run or walk workouts to calibrate the distance for inside run/walks?
 
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T-Will said:
My Apple Watch is within about .02 miles for a 1 mile run, and that's according to the treadmill's mileage reading, which might not even be accurate. Have you run/walked outside using the outdoor run or walk workouts to calibrate the distance for inside run/walks?
Click to expand...

Yes, I have covered 10 miles outdoors with Watch and iPhone on two occasions and it made no difference.

I run 5 miles on the treadmill and Watch claims 7.3 miles. Multiple different treadmills too.
 
My treadmill runs are pretty accurate as well if I run 2 miles continuously at the same speed, the watch has exact readings for me (no error). I've only done one calibration of 20 minutes outside as suggested.

If I do a HIIT running, then the errors seem to be are around +/- .05 of a mile. Not bad at all.

Also, NotSafeForWork, your avatar is infuriating. :p
 
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Watabou said:
My treadmill runs are pretty accurate as well if I run 2 miles continuously at the same speed, the watch has exact readings for me (no error). I've only done one calibration of 20 minutes outside as suggested.

If I do a HIIT running, then the errors seem to be are around +/- .05 of a mile. Not bad at all.

Also, NotSafeForWork, your avatar is infuriating. :p
Click to expand...

Hmm, are you running OS2 or OS1.x?

Yes, my Avatar is designed for maximum irritation. Or anticipation.
 
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NotSafeForWork said:
Hmm, are you running OS2 or OS1.x?

Yes, my Avatar is designed for maximum irritation. Or anticipation.
Click to expand...

2.0 beta 5.

I've not tried running more than 3 miles though, but it is pretty accurate for me. Calorie calculation is the only thing that differs from the treadmill, but that's to be expected.
 
NotSafeForWork said:
Few observations after using Beta 5:-

Disappointments:-
  • The Exchange Calendar bug is STILL present: Exchange calendar has a recurring event that gets changed by a third party (date/time moved by an admin for example). Change shows correctly on Outlook and iPhone but not Watch. Workaround is to "Reset Sync Data" each time. Ugh.
  • Treadmill running distances are still wrong, 20-30% too optimistic on Watch versus treadmill
  • New timelapse watch faces aren't very compelling - we need more MODULAR types so we can take advantage of the real-time data the Watch can deliver - where are the options for adding complications??!?

The Good Stuff:-
  • Activate on wrist raise is more reliable now
  • One less button press to return to watch face from apps
  • Siri activities that must be done on iPhone are now more automatic - for example saying "Google Apple Watch" on Watch now gives you a simple button for automatic handoff to "Continue on iPhone" which fires up Siri on the iPhone:-

View attachment 576333

There is a lot of room for improvement on the Watch but it looks like OS2 isn't really going to deliver it unfortunately. 3rd Party complications might be the big one for me:-
  • I'll substitute the buggy Calendar for a Fantastical complication (this is always accurate)
  • I'll find a new workout app that can track treadmill distances correctly
Still enjoying my watch but WatchOS2 only takes it from a 7 to a 7.5
Click to expand...
Sounds like public beta hasn't been worth it for many but I'm glad you're all sharing feedback on it so that majority of us don't have to suffer as well, it's appreciated.
 
ericgtr12 said:
Sounds like public beta hasn't been worth it for many but I'm glad you're all sharing feedback on it so that majority of us don't have to suffer as well, it's appreciated.
Click to expand...
I think the dev beta 5 for OS2 is rock solid with a few quirks but it is probably what we will see when it is released. Hope I am wrong.

I agree a it Fantastical. I love it and want that as my third party complication and I think they will deliver quickly. Native apps will make fitness much better I think.

Love the modular look and I can't wait to change some of that to third party complications. Love the colors.

The rings are more sensitive to movement and calories - probably what many wanted to see. Wrist raise is much better, response on some apps is quicker as well.

Overall I would say beta 5 has performed very well.
 
gadgetjunkie1 said:
What cloud icon are you referring to? I know my watch is on wifi because my phone is often disconnected at home from being left at the other end of the house, but I still get all my mail and iMessages and can reply. I don't see any icon indicating it's on wifi
Click to expand...
On the screen where you can put the watch on silent, turn on do not disturb and aeroplane mode, there is a green phone icon in the top right. When your watch connects to wifi, it will change to a cloud. My watch has never done this. My ping iphone button also doesnt work.
 
all mine shows is "disconnected" with a phone and a line through it, when i put my phone on airplane mode, and for a brief second I saw the cloud...but as soon as my phone reconnects, the connected shows..but I know my watch IS connected to wifi as I can still send/receive messages when the phone is disconnected...maybe something with os2...
 
For those looking at a calorie estimate and thinking it's too high, well your right.

Most of the estimates of calories burned are way too optimistic and sometimes I think they do it that way so people feel better about eating more.

Typically a good (not pro or serious amateur) road cyclist will only burn an additional 10 cals a minute over their resting amount. This means any estimate over 500-600 an hour is probably too high.

Here's a good idea of reality:
From http://www.cptips.com/formula.htm

So if you know the average speed (velocity) of your ride, and the total time you were out, you can calculate the number of Calories "burned". Here are a few examples (average speed for the ride, on the flats):

  • 5 mph - 7 Cal/mile - 37 Cal/hr
  • 10 mph - 13 Cal/mile - 133 Cal/hr
  • 15 mph - 23 Cal/mile - 349 Cal/hr
  • 20 mph - 37 Cal/mile - 742 Cal/hr
  • 25 mph - 55 Cal/mile - 1374 Cal/hr
  • 30 mph - 77 Cal/mile - 2303 Cal/hr
 
I hate these colored complications on utility watch face. Hope that Apple will revert it back to all white. Looked way more classy.
 
bjet767 said:
For those looking at a calorie estimate and thinking it's too high, well your right.

Most of the estimates of calories burned are way too optimistic and sometimes I think they do it that way so people feel better about eating more.

Typically a good (not pro or serious amateur) road cyclist will only burn an additional 10 cals a minute over their resting amount. This means any estimate over 500-600 an hour is probably too high.

Here's a good idea of reality:
From http://www.cptips.com/formula.htm

So if you know the average speed (velocity) of your ride, and the total time you were out, you can calculate the number of Calories "burned". Here are a few examples (average speed for the ride, on the flats):

  • 5 mph - 7 Cal/mile - 37 Cal/hr
  • 10 mph - 13 Cal/mile - 133 Cal/hr
  • 15 mph - 23 Cal/mile - 349 Cal/hr
  • 20 mph - 37 Cal/mile - 742 Cal/hr
  • 25 mph - 55 Cal/mile - 1374 Cal/hr
  • 30 mph - 77 Cal/mile - 2303 Cal/hr
Click to expand...
I agree that the calorie estimates are high based on other formulas that are much better than yours. You have to take into account age, weight, condition and more, but you are correct.

My treadmill at home is a NordicTrack x9i and it says I burned 230 calories for 30 minutes of walking at 4mph and my watch says 160. The treadmill doesn't care or ask for my sex, age, weight, height or anything really... Unless I pay.

Even if I was burning that many calories, if I did that every day, those numbers drop as does your heart rate.

I golfed with the Apple Watch on one arm and Fitbit on the other and the end results for both were less than 1% of each other.
 
szymon83 said:
I hate these colored complications on utility watch face. Hope that Apple will revert it back to all white. Looked way more classy.
Click to expand...

You realize the moidular face (aka utility) can be mono-color if you want OR multicolor. Multicolor is just a new 'color' option, right?
 
Watabou said:
2.0 beta 5.

I've not tried running more than 3 miles though, but it is pretty accurate for me. Calorie calculation is the only thing that differs from the treadmill, but that's to be expected.
Click to expand...

Here's a 5 mile run (per treadmill) from yesterday that shows as 6.51 miles on the Watch:-

IMG_0009.jpg
 
cschmelz said:
You realize the moidular face (aka utility) can be mono-color if you want OR multicolor. Multicolor is just a new 'color' option, right?
Click to expand...

Modular is not aka Utility, Modular and Utility are separate watch faces. You cannot have black and white colors for the activity ring and some others for the Utility watch face, as it's not an option. It's only an option for the modular face.
 
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Im getting massive battery drain with the beta. My Watch went from 100-40 in 3 hours with no use. Normally after 12 it's around 70 with fairly frequent usage. I unpaired it and that fixed it for a day or two but then it started back up again.
 
Kyle4 said:
Im getting massive battery drain with the beta. My Watch went from 100-40 in 3 hours with no use. Normally after 12 it's around 70 with fairly frequent usage. I unpaired it and that fixed it for a day or two but then it started back up again.
Click to expand...
Whenever I have an unusual battery drain, a cold boot fixes it. I always check the Apple Watch app to look at usage and it is usually high when the battery drain is fast. A run-away app is usually the cause. If you cold boot and it comes back, try uninstalling the most recent third party apps.

I've been using beta 5 since it came out and the battery life has been equal to 1.0.1 so I assume you have a bad app or just need a cold boot.
 
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I've also had normal battery life since using beta 5.

The main issue I notice is in regards to calories and exercise rings. They got hyper sensitive since I switched to OS2. I used to have the activity goal set to 750 before the update and even on a workday (I'm on my feet running around all day) I struggled to hit it. Now I had to change it to 1k and I still EASILY hit it now. In addition, the exercise ring is a joke now. Instead of having to work to hit the 30 minutes, a day at work easily fills the ring 2-4x over...

I do like that it takes my HR reading way more often now and wonder if that's part of the reason for the higher calorie count.
 
jsalicru said:
I've also had normal battery life since using beta 5.

The main issue I notice is in regards to calories and exercise rings. They got hyper sensitive since I switched to OS2. I used to have the activity goal set to 750 before the update and even on a workday (I'm on my feet running around all day) I struggled to hit it. Now I had to change it to 1k and I still EASILY hit it now. In addition, the exercise ring is a joke now. Instead of having to work to hit the 30 minutes, a day at work easily fills the ring 2-4x over...

I do like that it takes my HR reading way more often now and wonder if that's part of the reason for the higher calorie count.
Click to expand...
Very very true... with beta 5 it is much more sensitive to movement. I can walk slow with my wife and get full credit for walking (exercise minutes and calories) when before it wasn't even close to that easy. Many people here complained that they didn't get credit for walking 2.8mph - well, if this beta is the same as OS2 release, you will get your wish.

I didn't look or notice a HR reading more often - what is it set for now - I thought it was still 9-10 minutes?
 
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