Yeah, readings are not as accurate for me, even when I am not moving around and use it in glances, it jumps all over the place, and it was always accurate before the update. I liked it better on 1.01. Have not done a workout yet on 2.0
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Heart rate updates after 1.01
- Thread starter Pagemakers
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Yeah, readings are not as accurate for me, even when I am not moving around and use it in glances, it jumps all over the place, and it was always accurate before the update. I liked it better on 1.01. Have not done a workout yet on 2.0
Maybe Apple should educate us better on how these different workouts work. My assumption prior to buying the watch was that it tracked exercise the same way no matter what (with a complex algorithm combining steps, arm movement, heart rate, etc.). I thought the workout app was a way to track and monitor workout times, distances, specific calories burned during the workout, and all those things not picked up by the normal always-on tracking. Of course since the workout app also checks heart rate more often, I figured it would also be slightly more accurate when you care more about accuracy. It looks like this is not how this works at all. Better education by Apple would help to temper expectations and give people a better idea on how to use the excersize feature to their advantage.
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204666
And also from the store page (Sceeenshot posted).
The information has always been available to the consumer. I don't think it's Apple's job to make sure the consumer is educated. I believe it's the consumers job to educate themselves before they buy something.
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I've read all that. I get how the heart rate sensor works. What I meant was education about the different workout activities, how those differ from one another, and how those differ from when the workout app isn't running at all.
With respect to the heart rate monitoring, I'll put an example out here about what I was expecting:
I don't have workout app engaged and start working out. I work out for 45 minutes and the heart rate monitor sees me at ~130 bpm at each 10 minute interval for 40 minutes. My assumption is that it extrapolates between readings and averages over that time. Therefore, even without it looking at my heart rate every 5 seconds, it should know I've been working out based on the 10 minute intervals it read. It's not going to be as good as every 5 seconds, but it should be closer than it currently is to when the workout app is engaged.
My only complaint is that since the same activity can register 2-4 X the calories depending on whether you chose a workout app or not, it makes it not very reliable as a way to consistently track and monitor your calories. Some days I can burn 300 calories then and the next day burn 1000 calories doing similar activities but using the workout app when I am doing workout activities. To me that difference is way too much and I lose some motivation to close my rings because I don't believe the numbers they give.
This is the issue above. The heart rate will not be taken every 10 minutes if your arm is moving. I can go 3 hours without a reading when I'm at working and constantly moving. Additionally, even if it took a reading every 10 minutes, how is it to know your rate has been constant for the 40 minutes. Maybe your running as it reads, then you sit down for 8 minutes, then you are running again as it reads. There is absolutely no way for it to know what is going on in between each reading.
Any time you plan on doing strenuous activity you should start a workout, even if it's an outdoor walk. Outdoor walk will only give you minute credit if you are moving at a brisk pace for the entire minute, so it does not give you fake calories like "other" does, but it does give you calories for your heart rate. So if you are so concerned about wanting it to fully track your heart rate and be as accurate as possible. Run an outdoor or indoor walk workout whenever you are wearing the watch. You won't get fake calories or fake minutes like other workout settings give you.
This is the way I look at it. The point of the active calories is for me to do 'extra' physical activity to fill out my rings, not to get credit for the activity I would be doing no matter what. The point of a fitness device is to push you to burn more than what you would normally burn. And how Apple has this set up right now pushes me to do extra physical activity and not allow me to take credit for what I would already be doing for that day, such as walking at work (I'm a server).
This is the one good thing about the way it is now. As is, it's very obvious the days I go to the gym vs. the days I'm just walking around. So it does motivate me to actually go do a real workout and not just make it part of my every day activity otherwise there is no way I'm closing a ring.
My problem is that I will often forget to start a workout app or when I'm done I forget to stop it. Would be nice to not have to think about it and have it just work in the background.
We've beat a dead horse now though. I see I was wrong in my assumption of how it worked. With version 2.0, it seems to be reading just about every 10 minutes even if my arm is moving. Thought bringing back the 10 minute interval would at least change that a little bit as opposed to before when it wouldn't read for days at a time. If it's not reading ANY heart rate, no wonder it's not counting non-workout app calories.
I updated to iOS 2 and am happy with the updates. The readings seem to be back to how they were under 1.0, before the dreaded 1.01, and when I take my dog for a walk I don't seem to have to tell it that I am doing an "outdoor walk" to get some exercise credits. I haven't done any careful analysis, but it seems better and I'm excited about that.
2.0.1 Seems to be more consistent with 10 minute intervals compared to 2.0. Been installed for 70 minutes, and have 7 10 minute heart rate readings.
Yea, but are they any more accurate. Mine have been all over the place since 2.0. When I am sitting at my desk at work, my HR is usually around 50. Sometimes that's what the AW reads, other times its 117 or 87 or 111, when I can take my pulse and see that it is still 50.
I've been up and about and all 7 readings are between 70-91, which makes sense for me walking around and doing chores and whatnot. Only time will tell if its accurate for resting heart rate.