Do you think that we'll be able to disable Fitness tracking?

[taedouni]

TLDR: I hope that disabling fitness tracking will help prolong the battery life of the Apple Watch so that us commuters can control our music while driving without worrying too much about draining our battery life.

I wonder if we'll be given to chance to do this. The problem that I originally had with getting the Apple Watch is that the battery life wouldn't be suited for sleep tracking. I already have a Fitbit Charge (no heart rate monitor but I don't care for that), if given the chance to disable fitness tracking on the Apple Watch, I wonder if it would give a dramatic boost to the Apple Watch's battery life.

I already have an app that syncs Fitbit tracking data into the Health App so I really don't need fitness tracking from the Apple Watch. Plus I really don't work out (yes I'm fat and overweight), so that heart rate monitor isn't a big deal for me.

I have a Pebble Steel and the battery life is great. The main battery killer for me is controlling music while in my car. I assume that this will be the main task that drains the Apple Watch's battery life for me so I feel that if I could disable the fitness tracking that I'd be able to get the Watch to last me all day and I wouldn't mind charging it at night (since I'd still have my Fitbit Charge).

I'm currently backing the Pebble Time so I can cancel that Monday night after checking out the Keynote (I'll be at work so I probably won't get to know much until later in the day). I doubt that they'll announce whether or not we can disable fitness tracking on Monday but I'm sure that I'm not the only one that already has a decent fitness tracker that would rather disable fitness tracking on the Apple Watch.

 

[rick98761]

I'm pretty sure the fitness tracking is "free". It is probably using the same chip that determines when the watch is being lifted so it knows when to light up. Step tracking takes almost no battery. That is why devices like the Fitbit can last so long on such a tiny battery. I'm afraid any savings you would get would amount to almost nothing. Why not just ditch the Fitbit?

 

[taedouni]

I'm pretty sure the fitness tracking is "free". It is probably using the same chip that determines when the watch is being lifted so it knows when to light up. Step tracking takes almost no battery. That is why devices like the Fitbit can last so long on such a tiny battery. I'm afraid any savings you would get would amount to almost nothing. Why not just ditch the Fitbit?

You make a good point. I guess the only thing that I could do is just disable the coaching system or whatever they call it; basically the notifications to stand up or if you met a goal etc.

I don't want to ditch the Fitbit because I like to track my sleep. I honestly care more about tracking my sleeping than how many steps I take a day. For me I have trouble sleeping and I like to know how much extra I need to sleep on the weekends.

 

[macslayer118]

For me I have trouble sleeping and I like to know how much extra I need to sleep on the weekends.

You know that's not how sleep cycles work, right?

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

Why not save a few hundred $$$ and get some headphones with controls?

 

[telefono]

I hope we can disable fitness tracking as I have no interest in it except for the Heart Rate Monitor to check heart rate after exercise or resting heart rate etc. If that will save battery us I will be very happy.

I use a dedicated GPS computer for both mountain biking and road cycling that does everything I need and more. I can't imagine anyone that is currently into fitness having any interest in relying on the iPhone for GPS and showing MIN info on a small screen WHILE exercising. If counting steps will get people moving then thats a good thing.

As a dedicated person that enjoys many types of sport, mostly endurance sport the Apple Watch for fitness is useless to me.

I can't wait to get the Apple Watch for everything else it has to offer