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Big difference between Rings and Pedometer
- Thread starter Lyusi
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Pedometer uses its own algorithm to count steps, instead of taking the number from Apple's step count. So there's always going to be a slight discrepancy between their numbers. However, that big of a discrepancy is not just due to different methods of counting steps. If this is happening consistently, I'd get in touch with the developer of Pedometer to see if they can figure out what's causing it.
I had similar issues when I first tried Pedometer years ago. It drove me nuts. I dumped it and switched over to Stepsapp and never looked back. The data is far more consistent for me and when there are discrepancies its only by a few steps.
Tried StepsApp, and it shows a discrepancy over my ring, which totals about 2642 steps and the stepsapp showes about 3700 steps. Doesn’t seem close at all. Even a soft reboot did not help things.
Of course I just downloaded the app and installed this so maybe tomorrow during my walk I can see if there’s a difference between my watch ring and my stepsapp
Of course I just downloaded the app and installed this so maybe tomorrow during my walk I can see if there’s a difference between my watch ring and my stepsapp
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Update: second day everything seems to be much much better. The numbers come very close to each other now. Very very close. Happi. 🤪
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there can be a surprising amount of difference in steps counted, depending on the step counting app you use, and, the parameters you are probably setting and/or permissions you are giving to the app.
i dont have any advice other than letting you know:
- this kind of thing bothered me too
- i have used probably almost all step counting apps offered in my apple store, and periodically check the app store for any new ones
- i immediately delete the step counting apps that insist on using their own formula, since i wanted uniform data across both the apple Health app and the steps app i use. height/weight/step length/measured kilometres can all affect how some step apps report their data.
- i use the apple Watch as my main input
- i usually go out walking also with my iPhone in my pocket
- in Health i have ordered the preference for step input to be the apple Watch (user settable in Health/Steps) and have set the iPhone to be 2nd in the order
- i have given my steps counting app permission to use the step count that apple reports in Health
things i have noticed:
1 there is always a difference between the number of steps that the Watch reports and what the iPhone reports.
this difference seems to be bigger than just allowing for the times that i am walking in the house etc without my iPhone.
2 the good news is that apple Health is always and constantly only using the Watch counted steps (even if i have both the watch and the iPhone with me while walking, its not double counting. but the watch is better/more precise at counting those steps. they both do enter data into the Health app but internally they seem to have a way to prevent steps from being double counted). a win for consistency.
3 i happen to be using the StepsApp* for my 3rd party steps app (it gives great ways to compare data for total steps that apple refuses to provide). the steps that the Steps App reports is, as expected, what the health and watch are reporting. and, when i examine the raw data in health, the StepsApp isn't even writing steps. its only reading the steps the watch is reporting.
for consistent data that can be compared you need to choose what you want to use as the basis for your data, and make the appropriate settings, or you will have chaos.
Happy Walking !
*StepsApp GmbH
i dont have any advice other than letting you know:
- this kind of thing bothered me too
- i have used probably almost all step counting apps offered in my apple store, and periodically check the app store for any new ones
- i immediately delete the step counting apps that insist on using their own formula, since i wanted uniform data across both the apple Health app and the steps app i use. height/weight/step length/measured kilometres can all affect how some step apps report their data.
- i use the apple Watch as my main input
- i usually go out walking also with my iPhone in my pocket
- in Health i have ordered the preference for step input to be the apple Watch (user settable in Health/Steps) and have set the iPhone to be 2nd in the order
- i have given my steps counting app permission to use the step count that apple reports in Health
things i have noticed:
1 there is always a difference between the number of steps that the Watch reports and what the iPhone reports.
this difference seems to be bigger than just allowing for the times that i am walking in the house etc without my iPhone.
2 the good news is that apple Health is always and constantly only using the Watch counted steps (even if i have both the watch and the iPhone with me while walking, its not double counting. but the watch is better/more precise at counting those steps. they both do enter data into the Health app but internally they seem to have a way to prevent steps from being double counted). a win for consistency.
3 i happen to be using the StepsApp* for my 3rd party steps app (it gives great ways to compare data for total steps that apple refuses to provide). the steps that the Steps App reports is, as expected, what the health and watch are reporting. and, when i examine the raw data in health, the StepsApp isn't even writing steps. its only reading the steps the watch is reporting.
for consistent data that can be compared you need to choose what you want to use as the basis for your data, and make the appropriate settings, or you will have chaos.
Happy Walking !
*StepsApp GmbH
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I think an actual super-accurate step count is not that relevant. Whether you take 2,000 steps or 3,000 steps is far less important than whether you're taking fewer steps or more steps than last week, depending on your exercise goals.
As long as you're trending in the right way, that's the key thing I'd be looking at.
Out of interest, why do people use other apps for steps since that functionality already exists?
As long as you're trending in the right way, that's the key thing I'd be looking at.
Out of interest, why do people use other apps for steps since that functionality already exists?
Totally agree.
I've been using Pedometer+ since before the Apple watch was released. Back then there was no Fitness/Health apps, either. I keep it because I like the look of its widgets/complications. It also lets me set up a step count goal, and that's not possible in Apple's Health/Fitness system -- you can see your step count, but there's no specific goals for that metric, and no circle or other visual indicator to show you you've reached your goal.
In red bold…..
That is a very good question. I must be mentally ill in paying over $20 a year for one. 🤪 for me, I’m never gonna do that again, I promise..👍
I also use Pedometer++ as my primary step count app. It is usually slightly optimistic compared to Apple's count, but not more than a couple hundred steps when I hit my goal of 10k. If it's off by that much, you might want to check settings and see if you're doing anything with your hands that could count as steps...
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Now that I’ve been using the “StepsApp” app for two days, I am now impressed how accurate it is over the very first few minutes I had it on. It’s a keeper for me now, since I purchased it for a year. Pedalmeter.++ was never accurate for me and after two years, I am now ditching it.
No step counter is going to be anywhere close to completely accurate. Wrist-worn accelerometers can't discriminate walking from other similar arm movements, and unless you have your phone with you in hand or in a hip pocket every second of the day it's going to miss some.
If you're pushing something like a stroller or shopping cart, it could miss a good percentage of your steps because you're not swinging your arm as you normally would when you walk. When you're eating, how do you know it's not counting steps every time you bring your arm up to put food in your mouth or take a drink? On the flip side, I can sit in a chair and swing my arm back and forth, and after 10 minutes or so my AW will pop up the "It looks like you're working out" message and ask if I want to record an indoor walk.
I tried the shopping cart scenario with my Garmin Fenix 6 once - I don't recall the exact numbers, but I walked somewhere around 600 steps with both hands on the shopping cart handle, then another 600 steps letting my left arm swing normally while walking. It lost a substantial number of steps (somewhere around 30%, IIRC) in the first 600, caught almost every one of them in the second 600.
If you're pushing something like a stroller or shopping cart, it could miss a good percentage of your steps because you're not swinging your arm as you normally would when you walk. When you're eating, how do you know it's not counting steps every time you bring your arm up to put food in your mouth or take a drink? On the flip side, I can sit in a chair and swing my arm back and forth, and after 10 minutes or so my AW will pop up the "It looks like you're working out" message and ask if I want to record an indoor walk.
I tried the shopping cart scenario with my Garmin Fenix 6 once - I don't recall the exact numbers, but I walked somewhere around 600 steps with both hands on the shopping cart handle, then another 600 steps letting my left arm swing normally while walking. It lost a substantial number of steps (somewhere around 30%, IIRC) in the first 600, caught almost every one of them in the second 600.
This. And even then, what one sees in Health, Rings will be Apple's version of a Pedometer++ type algorithm.
Health can prioritize data sources, so can fill in the blanks with the other sources more intelligently. Example: my Watch has priority, followed by phone, then old watches (for legacy data). Guessing phone apps do not have ability to see the priority and just grab everything and try to slot it based on time stamps in the data. You see this if you use Shortcuts to extract data from Health, EVERY data point and source comes out between two dates and need to be smart how you "layer" these different sources.
Can look at the raw data in Health and try to make some sense on what's going on. Steps > Show All Data > <date here>. You'll see entries for when it was recorded in Health and step count, but if you tap on it, will see the time range it covers. Pedometer++ might be basically counting everything twice if just simply looking at star/end times and doing something simple like "Oh, the start/end is different" or "Gap between start/end is different, let's use it as well".
(Kinda looks like the app is basically counting things twice)
But, then see odd things in Health. I'm getting steps counted when I'm sitting in a booth having some coffee and breakfast tacos. Start/end times for those steps are when I was seated vs one before 9:00 captured pulling up and walking in.
22 steps. For a 10,000 step day target I'm ok with that. Trending is far more important, IMO.