Apps Apple Watch and runtastic

[maflynn]

I switched to Runtastic after dealing with some headaches with RunKeeper (on the phone not its watch app). The watch app for Runtastic is nice but I noticed yesterday that my phone crashed for the first time and it was just after finishing up a run. I think I hit save on the app (on the watch) or at the very least I hit stop. After that the watch crashed.

I'll see if it happens again on my next run, but overall its a nice app.

 

[xDKP]

I have been running with Nike+ ever since the first iPod Nano and the small shoe chip - and have loved it. But I'm growing sick and tired of waiting on an update from Nike (the current app is non-native and really suck) and have been using the build in Apple Workout app since September, but miss Nike+ a lot....

Is this worth the change? Strava maybe?

 

[OrionsByte]

Runstatic was updated today for iOS 10 and WatchOS 3, and it's a fantastic update. The watch app works SO much better now, with full support for the new features of WatchOS 3. Any complaints I previously had about the app are now moot.

 

[NevilleB]

I went for my first bike ride today since the latest Runtastic update, and I noticed that Runtastic now reads out my heart rate every milestone, which it never did before. In the past I would only get notified of my heart rate at the end of an activity.

On the downside, the Watch app for Runtastic did not display the familiar start menu of Start, History and Statistics, but only showed the Start screen. I was also not able to end the workout on my Watch by pressing on the screen, so I had to end it on my phone.

 

[OrionsByte]

I went for my first bike ride today since the latest Runtastic update, and I noticed that Runtastic now reads out my heart rate every milestone, which it never did before. In the past I would only get notified of my heart rate at the end of an activity.

On the downside, the Watch app for Runtastic did not display the familiar start menu of Start, History and Statistics, but only showed the Start screen. I was also not able to end the workout on my Watch by pressing on the screen, so I had to end it on my phone.

I had one workout yesterday where the screen press was not working... I force-closed the app (long press the dock button until the power menu comes up, then long-press the crown) and it's been working since then.

That said, it's nice that you can optionally start and end the workout from the iPhone app now (with Siri, even!) and still have it record the heart rate, which was not an option before.

 

[NevilleB]

I've noticed that, on some workouts, the Watch would stop picking up my heart rate after a while and not work for the remainder of the workout. It doesn't happen every time, and I can't seem to pick up a pattern for why it stops working. I always make sure my Watch is snugly fitted on my wrist.

Also, since the latest Runtastic update, the maximum volume of the voice coach is a lot lower than it was before.

 

[Phil A.]

I've noticed that, on some workouts, the Watch would stop picking up my heart rate after a while and not work for the remainder of the workout. It doesn't happen every time, and I can't seem to pick up a pattern for why it stops working. I always make sure my Watch is snugly fitted on my wrist.

Also, since the latest Runtastic update, the maximum volume of the voice coach is a lot lower than it was before.

I had major issues before with Runtastic started from the watch not updating Apple Health or the activity rings (if I restarted both my watch and phone it would work for a couple of runs, then stop again), but the latest update seems to have made it much more reliable (and the new in-run watch view is much better than the old one).

I have noticed a couple of minor issues with Watch OS 3 though - I've got Runtastic pinned to my watch dock and when I try and start a run it tells me it can't communicate with my phone: If I then press start a second time it works fine.

Also, the watch app crashed on me yesterday half way through my run (it was still running on my phone though). I just started the app up again on my watch and pressed start and it reconnected to my phone and worked fine from then on

Overall, I definitely prefer Runtastic to the (many) other apps I've tried and it's far, far better than the native activity app so I'm prepared to put up with a few minor niggles

 

[eastwoodandy]

I've been looking for the best workout app now I've got my AW2.

Is Runtastic the only app that currently supports GPS without an iPhone?

Does it track non-running activities i.e. Cycling?

What's does premium offer over free?

Thanks

 

[OrionsByte]

I've been looking for the best workout app now I've got my AW2.

Is Runtastic the only app that currently supports GPS without an iPhone?

Does it track non-running activities i.e. Cycling?

What's does premium offer over free?

Thanks

I don't know about the GPS because I'm still on a Series 0, but as far as your other questions:

Yes, it tracks a lot of other activities, including cycling. Pretty much any sport you can think of, there's a way to track it. I once accidentally started a "workout" on horseback. That was entertaining. I thought about using it to track my heart rate and calories burned (which Runtastic pretty much just calculates as a function of time I think) for my softball game the other day, but can't bring myself to wear it during the game because I know as soon as I do that I'm gonna take a ball to the wrist.

Premium offers you access to training plans, "story runs", and advanced statistics on the website.

EDIT: Actually I don't see horseback riding listed in the activities anymore, but I swear it happened... either they removed it or I was using a different app at the time.

 

[eastwoodandy]

I don't know about the GPS because I'm still on a Series 0, but as far as your other questions:

Yes, it tracks a lot of other activities, including cycling. Pretty much any sport you can think of, there's a way to track it. I once accidentally started a "workout" on horseback. That was entertaining. I thought about using it to track my heart rate and calories burned (which Runtastic pretty much just calculates as a function of time I think) for my softball game the other day, but can't bring myself to wear it during the game because I know as soon as I do that I'm gonna take a ball to the wrist.

Premium offers you access to training plans, "story runs", and advanced statistics on the website.

EDIT: Actually I don't see horseback riding listed in the activities anymore, but I swear it happened... either they removed it or I was using a different app at the time.

Thanks, very useful. I don't think horseback riding will be a deal breaker for me ;-)

I previously used Endomondo on my phone but the watch version isn't very good, you can't even change the workout type without using the phone! It doesn't work with activity rings or without the phone.

 

[Bob190]

I've been looking for the best workout app now I've got my AW2.

Is Runtastic the only app that currently supports GPS without an iPhone?

Does it track non-running activities i.e. Cycling?

What's does premium offer over free?

Thanks

Runtastic does not support the Series 2 GPS .. you'll still need to carry your phone. The only 3rd party app that uses the Series 2 GPS currently is the Pear Sports app. But it has its share of bugs currently..but is functional.

 

[eastwoodandy]

Runtastic does not support the Series 2 GPS .. you'll still need to carry your phone. The only 3rd party app that uses the Series 2 GPS currently is the Pear Sports app. But it has its share of bugs currently..but is functional.

Ah ok, thanks.

For the most part, I'll be cycling with my phone & occasional runs without it. Runtastic still beats Endomondo for AW features so I'll give it a go next week.