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Apps Best app for running
- Thread starter ern_r
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You are going to get a million and one different answers. I'm not sure if there's a best app. Some people swear by Strava, others Runtastic, and many others. I was on Nike and hated it. I made the switch to Runtastic and that seems to be working for me. Download a couple of free ones and give them a shot.
I'm too a Nike + running user. Cannot imagine they are not going to update the app with a native version. To be honest I found Runtastic Pro way more detailed in term of analysis.I've been with nike+ since 2006, so hard to give it up plus my miles and records
but i wanna try something better.
I'm a fan of both Runtastic Pro and Strava. Since Rustastic Pro has been updated to leverage the Apple Watch HR monitor, I'll give that app the edge. At the same time, I still use Strava to keep track of all my runs...so I export all my runs (runtastic pro and garmin GPS watch) and import it into Strava.
Highly recommend Strava (unfortunately no watch os2 update yet), but this app is very useful especially when you log on a decktop. And the free version is pretty informative. Only thing is, their customer support is a ghost town. I emailed support about a question and still haven't heard back from them, that was 2 weeks ago....
If you want to see/track progress on your routes, this app is very informative.
If you can wait till Strava updates and gains the use of Watch sensors, you won't need the heart monitor band to gauge what your heart is doing as far as heart rate (if you care about that sort of thing). I've been using TickrX Heart Monitor and it's been working flawlessly with Strava App.
If you want to see/track progress on your routes, this app is very informative.
If you can wait till Strava updates and gains the use of Watch sensors, you won't need the heart monitor band to gauge what your heart is doing as far as heart rate (if you care about that sort of thing). I've been using TickrX Heart Monitor and it's been working flawlessly with Strava App.
Runtastic is completely broken. Not to mention it destroyed my iPhone's battery life (70% to 35% in 1 hour!). Watch went form 60% to 12% and the app was completely frozen. Absolutely ridiculous. Uninstalled immediately.
Currently the most reliable one is Runkeeper but it cannot access heart rate data. It can start/stop your runs from the Watch. I use in conjunction with the built in Activity app. Hopefully the native app is not far away.
Currently the most reliable one is Runkeeper but it cannot access heart rate data. It can start/stop your runs from the Watch. I use in conjunction with the built in Activity app. Hopefully the native app is not far away.
I noticed the battery life go down significantly on both devices too while using Rutastic Pro. I attributed the watch extra battery drain to the use of the heart monitor...which I confirmed by using the outdoor running workout during my half marathon this past weekend. I used it without my iPhone to simply monitor my heart rate. I lost a decent %...but my watch was almost fully charged before the race so it didn't really bother me. But at the same time, I wouldn't use it as a heart rate monitor if I'm running longer than 2 hours and the watch isn't fully charged. As for the iPhone battery drain, i was using my 5s and the battery drain was pretty bad before using the upgraded app. I'll see if the same occurs with my new 6s.
What is going on here????
Nike+ just releases a new version of its AW app, and it still isn't WatchOS 2 compatible. It still has the "Apple doesn't allow developers access to the Heart Rate sensor" message in settings .. which is completely false.
Either Apple really dropped the ball in partnering with it's supposed partners (didn't they highlight Nike on their Watch OS 2 marketing page?), or the app developers just aren't in a hurry to embrace WatchOS 2.
Here we are a week into WatchOS 2, and there isn't even one usable native running app (Runtastic Pro is a mess and doesn't count).
Nike+ just releases a new version of its AW app, and it still isn't WatchOS 2 compatible. It still has the "Apple doesn't allow developers access to the Heart Rate sensor" message in settings .. which is completely false.
Either Apple really dropped the ball in partnering with it's supposed partners (didn't they highlight Nike on their Watch OS 2 marketing page?), or the app developers just aren't in a hurry to embrace WatchOS 2.
Here we are a week into WatchOS 2, and there isn't even one usable native running app (Runtastic Pro is a mess and doesn't count).
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I've been using Runkeeper for over a year now and really like it. I haven't bought the premium version as I don't feel I need any of those features. I did just tweet them earlier today asking if native watch support will be coming along with heart rate monitor access as well. I'm not a fan of having to use RK plus the workout app on the watch at the same time.
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Yeah, this really is frustrating. I've got 2 years of data stored with Nike+ that I don't want to give up, but I've been desperately holding out for the os2 version of the app whilst living with the annoyingly buggy original watch app they produced. They must know that people are getting mighty fed up (and many, I'm sure, are leaving for other apps).
Nike, I would have thought, have a real interest in getting this right, as it sucks users into their marketing and brand more generally (as well as the resources to do this properly). Yet here we are...
Well we are going on 10 days since the release of WatchOS 2 which promised to give developers access to all of the sensors of the AW and also run native apps on the watch.
But still ... we don't have a working native running app that uses the HRM from the watch.
I feel like offering a bounty for the first one that actually works ... sorry your out Runtastic Pro.
Honestly .. I would be willing to pay good money for a working WatchOS 2 running app that uses the HRM from watch. That's good money in iOS app terms ... like $4.99 or something.
What is even more infuriating, is that developers with 1.0.1 running apps have released new versions since WatchOS 2 came out .. but they aren't native apps.
But still ... we don't have a working native running app that uses the HRM from the watch.
I feel like offering a bounty for the first one that actually works ... sorry your out Runtastic Pro.
Honestly .. I would be willing to pay good money for a working WatchOS 2 running app that uses the HRM from watch. That's good money in iOS app terms ... like $4.99 or something.
What is even more infuriating, is that developers with 1.0.1 running apps have released new versions since WatchOS 2 came out .. but they aren't native apps.
Looks like Runtastic released a new version of its app today. I went for about a 1/2 mile walk this morning while using the app and it looked to be working OK now. Will try it on a longer run tomorrow.
Bob
Still not working for me. I even uninstall and reinstalled and it spins and then back to the home screen
Did an hour bike ride this evening and used the Runtastic app along with my Garmin 520. The app worked ok, but the display is terribly laggy. Whenever I would raise my wrist, it would take 10 seconds or more for the display to update to the current stats. I don't get why it can't continue to refresh in the background even when the display is off.
When my ride was over, I pushed the stop button and it literally took minutes for the activity to end. Still not a very usable app unfortunately. Good news is the activity data saved on the phone, including the HR data.
So far WatchOS 2 apps leave a lot to be desired.
When my ride was over, I pushed the stop button and it literally took minutes for the activity to end. Still not a very usable app unfortunately. Good news is the activity data saved on the phone, including the HR data.
So far WatchOS 2 apps leave a lot to be desired.
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I've been with nike+ since 2006, so hard to give it up plus my miles and records
but i wanna try something better.
I've been there. I now use iSmoothRun. It has all the features of Strava / Nike, and more, and can upload your run data to both sites, and a whole lot more. For running, I couldn't recommend it more highly.
But, although I use iSmoothRun on my iPhone, I've gone back to the Apple work out app on AW. At present it just works better on the watch. All I ask of it is current pace and distance, and the iSmoothRun app doesn't seem to respond as swiftly. Maybe it's not yet truly 'native'?
I use iSmoothRun also, and no, it isn't native yet. But it seems even when the native app is available, it will still just be a display for the phone app with HR from the AW layered in. According to the developer, the app only runs when you raise your wrist, so it isn't possible for it to be a truly native app that does all of the timing, pace calculations, etc. on the watch.
It's a shame Apple has handicapped the watch in this way.
That explains the lag.
And if that's true for all apps, that sounds like there's no hope for 3P running apps on the horizon.
I thought OS/2 was supposed to change this.