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Just moved from a fitbit and i'm kinda struggling?

dj1891

dj1891

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 16, 2015
642
343
Northern Ireland
So I got a S3 yesterday after always being a fitbit guy. I'm struggling a bit with the apple watch. I like quick access to my steps, I always had these on my clock face on my Versa. Stand? Whats that about and whats the point in it? Same with breath? On my Fitbits I had calories burned, where is this? Bit of a learning curve with this.
 
Your rings man focus on the rings!!!

Seriously though, that’s where all of this information is hidden. Depending on the watch face you have, you may have it directly on your screen. All you should have to do is tap on it. Take my watch face for example, if I tap on the rings, I see all of this information.

Stand - Motivation to make sure you aren’t sedentary for over an hour.

Breathe - Motivation to practice healthy mindful meditation through breathing.

I hope this flyby course helped!
 

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dj1891 said:
So I got a S3 yesterday after always being a fitbit guy. I'm struggling a bit with the apple watch. I like quick access to my steps, I always had these on my clock face on my Versa. Stand? Whats that about and whats the point in it? Same with breath? On my Fitbits I had calories burned, where is this? Bit of a learning curve with this.
Click to expand...
Download the free app Pedometer++ and add it as a complication to the watch face to show steps.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pedometer++/id712286167?mt=8

You should go on an "outdoor walk" workout for about 20 minutes to calibrate your watch if you haven't yet.
 
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I just keep the activity rings (or numerical readout depending on the face I’m using) visible on my watch face. A quick tap on that, scroll down and you’ll see everything you’re looking for (actual steps are at the bottom.)

Despite having used the Watch since the original I still like the stand reminder. I find it easy to get lost in my work for hours. If it wasn’t for the watch reminding me to get my ass off the chair, god knows how often I’d stand up and walk about and it’s good for circulation.

Breathe..... Well that’s turned off :D
 
Newtons Apple said:
You will get used to the Apple Watch quickly. One thing you do not need to worry about is you Apple Watch will keep working for years while the Versa can die in a few days. I went though 3!
Click to expand...

Amen to that. Ok, I’ve never owned one. But my mother-in-law has gone through several of them in much the same time as I’ve owned Apple Watches.
By comparison, my original Apple Watch SS S0 is still going strong - my dad has it now.
 
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Newtons Apple said:
You will get used to the Apple Watch quickly. One thing you do not need to worry about is you Apple Watch will keep working for years while the Versa can die in a few days. I went though 3!
Click to expand...
My Versa went wrong after 4 weeks, took it back to the store and luckily they had no more in stock so I got the Apple Watch.
 
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dj1891 said:
My Versa went wrong after 4 weeks, took it back to the store and luckily they had no more in stock so I got the Apple Watch.
Click to expand...

You were lucky! I still like their app, a lot.
[doublepost=1542572895][/doublepost]
TrueBlou said:
Amen to that. Ok, I’ve never owned one. But my mother-in-law has gone through several of them in much the same time as I’ve owned Apple Watches.
By comparison, my original Apple Watch SS S0 is still going strong - my dad has it now.
Click to expand...

I had three. One lasted a few weeks and then dead. The second died after only 10 minutes is a shallow pool. Last one would not hold a charge for aw hours. They got some serious qc problems.
 
tromboneaholic said:
Download the free app Pedometer++ and add it as a complication to the watch face to show steps.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pedometer++/id712286167?mt=8

You should go on an "outdoor walk" workout for about 20 minutes to calibrate your watch if you haven't yet.
Click to expand...

Great advice! I had been using a fitbit since 2013 and just picked up an S4 in October. I was worried about the step count also, but with the pedometer++ app, the transition was smooth. Add it to the infograph face and you get the rings and steps in one view. Awesome combination IMO.
 
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To learn more on the watch, I watched the longest "how to" videos on line I could find. By the time I got the watch, I had a very good understanding of all the features. Just FYI---:)
 
Last edited:
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Agree with the others here. Make sure you see your rings -- the red "move" ring is calories. If you're on a watch face that doesn't show the number, then click the rings to see it.

"Stand" is mostly for those of us with desk jobs -- you close it by standing at least one minute per hour during at least twelve hours during the day. It's a lifesaver if you are the type who gets pulled in by your desk-based work.

As tromboneaholic said, download Pedometer++ if you want to always see your steps. I keep that one opposite my Apple rings on my watch face. The same information is in Apple's Activity app (clickable from the rings), but I also like to see it front and center.
 
I have been a Fitbit user for years and recently switched to Apple Watch. I did just wear both for a week to see how they compared.

If you go to your rings you will see your steps. Apple Health on your phone is usually a little higher as it can pick up steps when you have your phone and not your watch.

I tried the Pedometer++ app but didn't like it as it was consistently 10% higher in steps and didn't match up.

Note that the Fitbit and Apple Watch and Pedometer all counted steps a little differently. Some days Fitbit was higher, some days the Apple Watch.

But here is the most important thing -- Apple Watch and Fitbit are philosophically different regarding movement.

Apple Watch focuses on showing you active calories rather than showing you your total calories. You can get to the total calories but it isn't the focus of Apple Watch.

The Exercise ring on Apple Watch is somewhat similar to active minutes on the Fitbit but it is easier to earn active minutes.

The other thing -- and this is why I wore both for a week. My experience is that the Apple Watch overstates total calorie burn. It varied a bit each day but on average it says I burn out 10% more than the Fitbit. Given that I track my food and weight, I know that the Fitbit for me is more accurate.

But -- in general -- activity tracker are good at tracking heart rates and are not very good at estimating calorie burn. I mean, honestly, they are all pretty abysmal. Therefore, it makes sense to not really pay that much attention to calorie burn.

The other big philosophical difference is that Fitbit is step based and makes steps the main goal (you can change it but for most it is the main goal). Apple Watch doesn't really care about steps. It care about activity, regardless of how you get it. Of course, you can get it through step based activities (I mostly do) but Apple Watch move ring doesn't really care.
 
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CaptMarvel said:
Your rings man focus on the rings!!!

Seriously though, that’s where all of this information is hidden. Depending on the watch face you have, you may have it directly on your screen. All you should have to do is tap on it. Take my watch face for example, if I tap on the rings, I see all of this information.

Stand - Motivation to make sure you aren’t sedentary for over an hour.

Breathe - Motivation to practice healthy mindful meditation through breathing.

I hope this flyby course helped!
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1542663391][/doublepost]How did you get to see the "Number of Steps" you taken for the day. I go to the activity app and press on the icon it will only show totals for the week. Are you using another App? Thak you
 
Koshkaboo said:
I have been a Fitbit user for years and recently switched to Apple Watch. I did just wear both for a week to see how they compared.

The other thing -- and this is why I wore both for a week. My experience is that the Apple Watch overstates total calorie burn. It varied a bit each day but on average it says I burn out 10% more than the Fitbit. Given that I track my food and weight, I know that the Fitbit for me is more accurate.

But -- in general -- activity tracker are good at tracking heart rates and are not very good at estimating calorie burn. I mean, honestly, they are all pretty abysmal. Therefore, it makes sense to not really pay that much attention to calorie burn.

The other big philosophical difference is that Fitbit is step based and makes steps the main goal (you can change it but for most it is the main goal). Apple Watch doesn't really care about steps. It care about activity, regardless of how you get it. Of course, you can get it through step based activities (I mostly do) but Apple Watch move ring doesn't really care.
Click to expand...

How do you know the Fitbit is accurate? I've compared the calorie burn from AW, Garmin Fenix 5+, and Suunto offerings, and I generally will "check" the burn with an independent calculator such as one of the ones found at this site:

http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/

I've found that the different devices will calculate the calorie burn differently, Garmin may be closer on a bike ride, but Apple is closer for an indoor walk, etc. (not necessarily the exact comparisons, I'm too lazy to recalculate the different activities for the purpose of this reply).
The important thing is, take any calorie burn with a grain of salt, and remember, consistency is way more important than the actual number of calories that you burn. Once you have consistent results, then you can gauge your intake to account for that. You could "check" the burn for your activities with the calculators above, or search out your own, there's numerous one's on the net.
 
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Koshkaboo said:
The other big philosophical difference is that Fitbit is step based and makes steps the main goal (you can change it but for most it is the main goal). Apple Watch doesn't really care about steps. It care about activity, regardless of how you get it. Of course, you can get it through step based activities (I mostly do) but Apple Watch move ring doesn't really care.
Click to expand...
Having never used a fitbit myself, I found this an interesting comparison.
 
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ilivestrong said:
[doublepost=1542663391][/doublepost]How did you get to see the "Number of Steps" you taken for the day. I go to the activity app and press on the icon it will only show totals for the week. Are you using another App? Thak you
Click to expand...

It sounds like you are doing a long press which shows you your weekly summary.

Just tap the rings, then scroll down and you should be able to see your daily steps at the bottom.
 
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rugmankc said:
To learn more on the watch, I watched the longest "how to" videos on line I could find. By the time I got the watch, I had a very good understanding of all the features. Just FYI---:)
Click to expand...
Do you have any specific ones you would recommend. All I seem to find on the series 4 right now is unboxing and general use. I should be getting mine on Wed
 
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