Dear Tim/Apple: Fix 1.01 HR or watch going back! I've taken it off.

[srshaw]

I would classify myself as pretty serious about sport, I regularly cycle and run and try to swim, ok I will not be entering any olympic events antime soon, but I train seriously.

As mentioned earlier, I use Garmin devices for my training. I have a pretty good idea about my resting heart rate, all without using an Apple watch. I think some people are blowing this out of all proportion. What did people do before heart rate momitors were even invented - they put three fingers on their wrist and counted for 20s.

As far I can understand, the Apple watch seems to work ok with respect to workouts, its the remaining time it doesn't regularly record heart rate. I really cannot understand why this is important (apart from perhaps fitbit users saying they have it). I know my true resting heart rate is about 45-47. What does it matter if its 62 watching tv, 73 making a coffee or 83 walking the dog. I appreciate the pedometer aspect of the Apple watch since I try to stick to 10000 steps a day, but for me the heart rate monitoring isn't important.

 

[dannyyankou]

Well, I can't wait until the Apple Watch is jailbroken.

 

[tomaustin44]

I've emailed tcook@apple.com - obviously theres a slim chance it'll ever even get read but if enough people do the same it'll make a good statement.

 

[Night Spring]

You need to read Apple's updated documentation. It's not a bug. It's the new heart monitoring FEATURE!

It's supposed to take a HR reading every ten minutes, except when my arm is in motion. Well, how big a movement does my arm have to be making before it doesn't take a reading? I feel they made this value too sensitive, because now it NEVER takes a HR reading unless I manually open the HR glance.

Also, supposedly, it determines whether or not you are excerising by checking if your heart rate is elevated. But if you are excerising, then your arm is likely to be in motion. But if it doesn't take a reading if your arm is in motion, then it never recognizes you are excerising. Unless you manually start a workout, so it takes continuous readings. In which case, the manual should be rewritten to say that in order to fill the excerise ring, you need to start a workout session.

 

[papbot]

Tell you what. I'll take it off your hands for you. #

Me too! My wife wants one now that she's tried mine. So make us a deal! But if it's not the steel version I wouldn't be interested.

 

[Michael CM1]

It's a software bug. Unfortunately, coding errors are easy to make, and hard to find and fix. Type a 9 instead of 0, for instance, and everything goes wonky. And you have to read through the code to find such errors. No spell checker or debugging program will find it automatically.

Fortunately, it's just a software bug, so it'll get fixed eventually. You return your watch now, you won't have it around to enjoy it when the fix is released.

"MY TECHNOLOGY IS NOT PERFECT. I DEMAND TO BE HEARD BY THE WORLD. COMPANY, DROP EVERYTHING ELSE YOU ARE DOING AND FIX THIS ONE PROBLEM I AM HAVING EVEN THOUGH IT COULD BE JUST ME OR A FEW LIKE ME, OR MAYBE IT'S MORE PEOPLE AND YOU'RE WORKING ON IT BUT FIXING IT TAKES TIME. NO EXCUSES. I PAID MONEY FOR THIS TECHNOLOGY UNLIKE EVERYBODY ELSE WHO PAYS MONEY FOR TECHNOLOGY!"

I mean I'm wondering what's up with the heart rate tracking, but I think I'm a little more chill about it. If anybody expected a brand new product line to be perfect coming out the gate, HA. I worked on rebuilding seven newspaper websites. "Launch day" may have as well been called "first day of live beta testing." In that case, you don't know what the traffic load or various browser versions will do. Millions of people now have these, versus a few hundred or thousand before Apple released it. Also a wider variety of people have the watches, so you're getting more varied data. Patience, everybody.

 

[J.C]

I don't think it's a bug. I don't think anyone was 'promised' anything and then had it taken away. I think Apple revised their methods and decided they could offer the same basic health and exercise tracking by taking less measurements.

Keep in mind that they will shortly be releasing the watch SDK and third party apps will be using these sensors and depleting the battery far faster. Isn't it possible this is in preparation? They don't do stuff like this to mess with people for fun. There's invariably a reason. A compromise.

 

[Bob190]

I would classify myself as pretty serious about sport, I regularly cycle and run and try to swim, ok I will not be entering any olympic events antime soon, but I train seriously.

As mentioned earlier, I use Garmin devices for my training. I have a pretty good idea about my resting heart rate, all without using an Apple watch. I think some people are blowing this out of all proportion. What did people do before heart rate momitors were even invented - they put three fingers on their wrist and counted for 20s.

As far I can understand, the Apple watch seems to work ok with respect to workouts, its the remaining time it doesn't regularly record heart rate. I really cannot understand why this is important (apart from perhaps fitbit users saying they have it). I know my true resting heart rate is about 45-47. What does it matter if its 62 watching tv, 73 making a coffee or 83 walking the dog. I appreciate the pedometer aspect of the Apple watch since I try to stick to 10000 steps a day, but for me the heart rate monitoring isn't important.

Then turn it off .. At least you have that option.

For those of us that want frequent and consistent HR readings we don't have an option to turn that function on as Apple pulled a bait and switch and materially altered the functionality of the device.

I, like you, am a lifelong runner, cyclist, and over the last 10 years a triathlete. I personally find frequent unattended HR readings very valuable to gauge post training recovery, sleep quality, and resting heart rate. That's why I am returning to using my Basis Peak (which does all of those things very well) and putting the AW in the drawer for now until Apple sorts this out.

Your welcome to use your AW as you wish, we should have the option to do the same. Both passive and workout HR reading frequency should be user configurable. I am smart enough to manage battery life myself, and understand the trade offs.

 

[J.C]

I understand the frustrations but I'm not sure you'd have any luck having this considered a Bait and Switch in the eyes of the law.

 

[Banich2]

What a crybaby. I hope that the original post was partially sarcasm. You would think that coming in here you would find mostly Apple fans, but sometimes it almost seems to be the opposite.

Take back your watch for a refund or else sell it online and stop your whining. It's a new product and things are being worked out. It's the same every time a new product or software comes out. There are always going to be growing pains with a first generation product (Siri, Photos, Handoff, iMessage, Finger Print Sensor, iTunes Match, iCloud, to name a few).

I go running every morning and play tennis every night I honestly couldn't care less if it tracks my heart rate at all. I can't even begin to think of a use for my heart rate data and would actually like to turn it off all together...

But it's still taking a reading every 10 minutes:

 

[5105973]

It's supposed to take a HR reading every ten minutes, except when my arm is in motion. Well, how big a movement does my arm have to be making before it doesn't take a reading? I feel they made this value too sensitive, because now it NEVER takes a HR reading unless I manually open the HR glance.

Also, supposedly, it determines whether or not you are excerising by checking if your heart rate is elevated. But if you are excerising, then your arm is likely to be in motion. But if it doesn't take a reading if your arm is in motion, then it never recognizes you are excerising. Unless you manually start a workout, so it takes continuous readings. In which case, the manual should be rewritten to say that in order to fill the excerise ring, you need to start a workout session.

Goodness do I feel like a dummy. Until I read your post I could not understand why my exercise ring NEVER moves anymore except for a couple of times when I was standing still but really angry!

I thought I'd borked a setting on the watch somehow. I tried unpairing and re-pairing. I tried rebooting. I didn't realize what was going on. I just knew that for some crazy reason after a grueling four hour hike up a canyon path, the exercise ring barely budged. I can get it to move a tiny bit with jumping jacks but not consistently.

 

[Viper2005]

It's a first gen product, It's going to have bugs. Give them time to fix the error before you start going nuclear!

 

[Banich2]

Goodness do I feel like a dummy. Until I read your post I could not understand why my exercise ring NEVER moves anymore except for a couple of times when I was standing still but really angry!

I thought I'd borked a setting on the watch somehow. I tried unpairing and re-pairing. I tried rebooting. I didn't realize what was going on. I just knew that for some crazy reason after a grueling four hour hike up a canyon path, the exercise ring barely budged. I can get it to move a tiny bit with jumping jacks but not consistently.

That's what the exercise app is for. Before beginning to exercise, open the app and select your exercise. I don't even allow the watch to take heart rate readings during my workouts and I still get credit.

 

[Night Spring]

That's what the exercise app is for. Before beginning to exercise, open the app and select your exercise. I don't even allow the watch to take heart rate readings during my workouts and I still get credit.

Yes, but as some other poster said in this or another thread, the nice thing about the watch pre-update was that you could put it on and forget it, and it tracked all your excerise. You didn't have to think, ok, I'm going to start some excerise, so let me turn on the workout app.

Like today, I was out shopping when it started raining, so we ran a few blocks to get to shelter. Of course I didn't have time to turn on workout, so I didn't get credit for that running I did.

 

[5105973]

That's what the exercise app is for. Before beginning to exercise, open the app and select your exercise. I don't even allow the watch to take heart rate readings during my workouts and I still get credit.

I didn't know that's how it works now. Night Spring is correct, before the update I used to be able to move the exercise ring with my regular activity the same as I can now move the calorie ring. Somehow I missed all the news or misunderstood what the changes meant for how the exercise ring now works...until this thread.

 

[papbot]

For those that are only or primarily interested in heart rate tracking there are certainly better and much cheaper alternatives out there. I never would have paid this much for such a device. I consider it primarily a communications device that also does useful heart rate and activity tracking which is secondary for me. There are medical institutions that Apple is partnering with such as the Mayo Clinic with apps that will provide continuous monitoring for those such as cardiac patients that need continuous heart rate monitoring as well as other data provided by additional devices. For most of us a resting heart rate is more useful and important in alerting us to a health or medical problem. For monitoring a rate during activities we just engage one of the activity functions, pretty simple.

For a device that does so much there will be some functions that will not be as comprehensive as a device dedicated to only one such function. And again if people bought this wanting only this function they vastly overpaid.

 

[telefono]

I would classify myself as pretty serious about sport, I regularly cycle and run and try to swim, ok I will not be entering any olympic events antime soon, but I train seriously.

As mentioned earlier, I use Garmin devices for my training. I have a pretty good idea about my resting heart rate, all without using an Apple watch. I think some people are blowing this out of all proportion. What did people do before heart rate momitors were even invented - they put three fingers on their wrist and counted for 20s.

As far I can understand, the Apple watch seems to work ok with respect to workouts, its the remaining time it doesn't regularly record heart rate. I really cannot understand why this is important (apart from perhaps fitbit users saying they have it). I know my true resting heart rate is about 45-47. What does it matter if its 62 watching tv, 73 making a coffee or 83 walking the dog. I appreciate the pedometer aspect of the Apple watch since I try to stick to 10000 steps a day, but for me the heart rate monitoring isn't important.

+1

I also Cycle, Run, Kayak etc etc and have MIN interest in the fitness features of the Apple Watch. I check my resting heart rate sometimes with the Apple Watch and it works fine for that. I still haven't used the Workout App, the Activity App info looks interesting but of no real use to me. I prefer to use Garmin Products for Exercise.

 

[Arran]

Yes, but as some other poster said in this or another thread, the nice thing about the watch pre-update was that you could put it on and forget it, and it tracked all your excerise. You didn't have to think, ok, I'm going to start some excerise, so let me turn on the workout app.

Like today, I was out shopping when it started raining, so we ran a few blocks to get to shelter. Of course I didn't have time to turn on workout, so I didn't get credit for that running I did.

Interesting. I have the update and it did credit me with half an hour of exercise while I was mowing the lawn yesterday. I didn't put it into any workout mode or anything.

 

[Night Spring]

Interesting. I have the update and it did credit me with half an hour of exercise while I was mowing the lawn yesterday. I didn't put it into any workout mode or anything.

It does still credit me for excerise (without starting workout app) sometimes, but much less than it used to. For instance, if I do jumping jacks, I get excerise credit, even without workout app. But for walking fast, no excerise credit.

God knows why it counts your lawn mowing as excerise. I'd be interested to know if you get any credit for a brisk walk.

 

[wingsabr]

God knows why it counts your lawn mowing as excerise. I'd be interested to know if you get any credit for a brisk walk.

Depends on if you cut grass in Florida ... I kid, I kid, but it gets really hot down here

 

[speedyyellow]

I'd guess that mowing the lawn has your hands steady enough on the handle of the mower that it can take a reading but your heart rate is high enough for it to count as exercise. I suspect the brisk walk with your hands in your pocket might count whereas that same walk with your arms swinging by your sides might not.

It's not very good really.

 

[Phily]

I'd guess that mowing the lawn has your hands steady enough on the handle of the mower that it can take a reading but your heart rate is high enough for it to count as exercise. I suspect the brisk walk with your hands in your pocket might count whereas that same walk with your arms swinging by your sides might not.

It's not very good really.

I guess you are right here ...

 

[Mr Rabbit]

It's expected behavior, they changed it on purpose - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204666

Don't like it? Give them feedback using this handy dandy feedback tool that they've made publicly available since before the launch of the Apple Watch - https://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html

Know what will NOT bring about change? Ranting about it on here or other "outlets" outside of the Apple.com domain.

I've already left feedback about it twice using the above mechanism. I suspect they did it as a means of conserving battery power but, given the wonderful battery life people have been seeing, I don't think it was worth the tradeoff at all.

 

[makotoisle]

Then turn it off .. At least you have that option.

For those of us that want frequent and consistent HR readings we don't have an option to turn that function on as Apple pulled a bait and switch and materially altered the functionality of the device.

I, like you, am a lifelong runner, cyclist, and over the last 10 years a triathlete. I personally find frequent unattended HR readings very valuable to gauge post training recovery, sleep quality, and resting heart rate. That's why I am returning to using my Basis Peak (which does all of those things very well) and putting the AW in the drawer for now until Apple sorts this out.

Your welcome to use your AW as you wish, we should have the option to do the same. Both passive and workout HR reading frequency should be user configurable. I am smart enough to manage battery life myself, and understand the trade offs.

Just a side note, as a Basis Peak owner, the heart rate monitor isn't really any better than the Apple Watch. Sure, it takes more readings, but the sum average of those readings and the sum average of the Apple Watch readings are about the same. Additionally, I'll find that if I'm moving a lot, the Basis Peak has to skip the readings as well. i.e. The hour hike every day with the pups only charts a few heart rates throughout the whole hour and they're all over the chart with little consistency. White noise if you will. The Basis has many benefits from its other sensors, but from personal experience, the heart rate sensor is just like all the other wrist-based ones out there.

 

[StophMac24]

I didn't pay much attention to this whole software bug/intentional operation HR deal until this weekend. I spent the weekend removing tile from my back terrace in preparation for an addition I am doing in my home. Using a jackhammer, sledgehammer and everything in between and without setting the watch to exercise, I clocked in 75 minutes of exercise (I worked in the back for at least 5 hours) and not once did it take my HR. I was curious to see my heart rate during the whole endeavor and that was when I realized they had changed the functionality of the HR sensor.

So ok, fine, I am ok with the change (not really, but just going to patiently wait for them to either update it or I'll live with it.)

It is Monday morning on a typical day at my desk where I spend most of my time sitting. Every hour I'll get up when prompted by my watch and walk around the office for a bit then sit back down.

I have been at my desk since 8:30am this morning, it is now 10:23am......the watch has taken my HR once. I don't say this because I am in desparate need to know my HR at work (I could care less....although I noticed back when it took the HR every 10 mins that my HR was always lower when I was home, specifically when hanging out with my wife and daughter, and always higher at work, even when I was at my desk, was nice know), I say this because I don't move much at my desk and somehow, the apple watch considers me moving my arm to type and grab papers as movement. How it has only clocked in one HR when it had 12+ opportunities to clock it in at my desk is beyond me.

Really hope they revert back to original functionality but given that they have updated their website and PR material, I doubt it.