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Does Apple watch Heart rate monitor accuracy?

sugarboylovemac

sugarboylovemac

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 12, 2011
68
0
Hi All,

Do anyone know the Apple Watch Heart rate monitor accuracy? Coz I am planning to buy a Heart rate monitor watch for running.

Anyone have any comment ?

Best
Anthony
 
Based on initial reports it is very accurate. My wife has the Fitbit Charge HR, and it isn't that accurate. I think you will be pleased with the Apple Watch, however we won't truly know until we test it. Fortunately they have a 14 day return policy
 
Very curious about the accuracy as well as I can't find much that address it.

My HR can get extremely high (for my age - 36, HR in the 190s when doing some more intensive stuff like sprints). So my curiosity lies in the accuracy with very high HRs not so much the day to day stuff.
 
Its is probably the number one thing for me. From everything I have watched and read about it its pretty good. The best is still probably a chest strap if you need something really good.
 
DannyBres said:
Joanna Stern's review for WSJ covered this.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I will look it up

Edited to add a quote from that article:

In my rigorous 45-minute SoulCycle spinning classes, the watch’s sport band hugged my wrist snugly, enabling a surprisingly accurate heart-rate reading. It stayed within five beats of my trusty Polar chest-strap monitor—still the closest you can get to an EKG, according to my tests.

At the end of three workouts, both the Polar and the watch reported similar average beats per minute. That’s far more accurate than the Fitbit Charge HR and Microsoft’s Band. Apple’s sport band isn’t the most stylish, but it is the one you want for working out. With the looser steel Milanese Loop band, the watch struggled to lock in on my heart rate.

- Joanna Stern, WSJ, April 8th, 2015
 
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The reviews were not consistent on this and after reading a number of them I do not believe it will be a suitable replacement for a dedicated heart rate monitor during exercise.

My number one factor in this is that the Watch supports other BTLE heart rate monitors for use with the workout app. The other factor is that there aren't currently any other heart rate monitors that function just as well as a 24 hours monitor as they do a exercise monitor, so if the watch could, it would be the first.

Anyways, this thread is full of information to those who want to learn more about the heart rate monitor.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1864035/
 
DannyBres said:
Joanna Stern's review for WSJ covered this.
Click to expand...

bjdraw said:
The reviews were not consistent on this and after reading a number of them I do not believe it will be a suitable replacement for a dedicated heart rate monitor during exercise.

My number one factor in this is that the Watch supports other BTLE heart rate monitors for use with the workout app. The other factor is that there aren't currently any other heart rate monitors that function just as well as a 24 hours monitor as they do a exercise monitor, so if the watch could, it would be the first.

Anyways, this thread is full of information to those who want to learn more about the heart rate monitor.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1864035/
Click to expand...

Thank you !!
 
The Verge review found it flawed, like other optical HR sensors. The Verge review is most in line with what is known from optical HR monitors, so im believing that one until a rigorous test with numbers is out.
 
bjdraw said:
Did you read the Men's health review?

Skip down to the "It won't replace your heart rate monitor" section.

We're all waiting for DCRainmaker to publish his review, as he is the authority on health gadgets.
Click to expand...

Great read as well... It is worth noting that Joanna was tracking her HR during a spin class which would imply a lot less movement (of the wrist) that the HIIT training that Mens Journal referenced.
 
Trent0341 said:
Great read as well... It is worth noting that Joanna was tracking her HR during a spin class which would imply a lot less movement (of the wrist) that the HIIT training that Mens Journal referenced.
Click to expand...

It's really hard to test the accuracy. The hr monitor reports readings every ten minutes. I know this because you can open the apple health app, go to vitals, heart rate, then show all data...

for the most part my rates seem normal but every now and then it will go from 41 BPM up to 81 BPM...keep in mind, this is not during exercise, just normal walking around. My fitbit HR seemed to be more consistent, but even it would go nuts sometimes.
 
As you will see in this video, Consumer reports finds that the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor is very accurate.
 
949011 said:
As you will see in this video, Consumer reports finds that the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor is very accurate.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it's very accurate but there are some variables that can cause some anomalies. For instance, if the watch is a too loose or tight. I've had arrhythmia issues for years and have worn several heart monitors with actual electrical leads (like ones used in ekg's). And aside from some abnormal rhythms, my heart rate never fluctuated from 41 bpm to 81 bpm in a matter of seconds or minutes.

When I used my fitbit hr, there were many times when the hr monitor was showing 120bmp, and I would take my pulse physically and it would be in the low 80's.

Having said all that, I think the HR monitor is intended more for exercise/running, etc. and we'll learn how to wear it accordingly....rather than a resting HR monitor.
 
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949011 said:
As you will see in this video, Consumer reports finds that the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor is very accurate.
Click to expand...

They didn't mention frequency, which is important for anyone who does interval training or similar exercise. As expected, the watch will be suitable for most.
 
I used it for running yesterday and I found it loads better than the MSBand in terms of getting a number quickly. I don't need something that is as accurate as a dedicated chest HR monitor. I just need something that gives me a relative number so I can measure fitness improvement over time.
 
thedwp said:
It's really hard to test the accuracy. The hr monitor reports readings every ten minutes. I know this because you can open the apple health app, go to vitals, heart rate, then show all data...
Click to expand...

If you start an activity on the watch, it will check it more than every 10 minutes.
 
thedwp said:
It's really hard to test the accuracy. The hr monitor reports readings every ten minutes. I know this because you can open the apple health app, go to vitals, heart rate, then show all data...

for the most part my rates seem normal but every now and then it will go from 41 BPM up to 81 BPM...keep in mind, this is not during exercise, just normal walking around. My fitbit HR seemed to be more consistent, but even it would go nuts sometimes.
Click to expand...

I've commented on several other threads about the accuracy (bottom line: pleased so far) but you do bring up a valid point. Occasionally there seem to be a spike or drop that isn't consistent. It has been very obvious to me when those are but it does match with your experience. Once it had a single reading in the 50s during a period of exercise when the surrounding readings were all well over 100.

That being said it has been fairly accurate and I've definitely been pleased (understand I have no experience with chest straps) overall with the results. It did manage to read as high as 198 during some sprints which matches with what I expected for my MHR.
 
It's incredibly accurate in my testing, and probably the best accuracy you can get without spending thousands of dollars for a specialized device. Amazing what Apple achieved here.

I can see the non-sport models being less accurate though -- sport is designed for fitness and the wrist contact is very close.
 
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