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Watch for Jogging, mainly

G

GerritV

macrumors 68020
Original poster
May 11, 2012
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Hi all,

Looking to buy an Apple Watch, mainly to replace my Fitbit (jogging).
Since my iPhone SE 1st gen won't do, I will also have to get another iPhone.
The new SE should support the Apple Watch (right?) and definitely cover my needs.

I expect to go out running with just my Watch (so no iPhone), and have the Watch fully register my run (GPS, heart rate, calories...).
I then expect my Watch to sync with my iPhone when I get home.

So... which Watch should I get (3, Nike, 5) and what apps (Apple's own Activity, Nike or 3rd Party) ?

Obviously, I already googled, but would appreciate feedback from people with a somewhat similar use case.

Thanks anticipated !
 
Yes the SE 2 phone will be good.
as far as which watch to get it depends on your budget and needs. I’d go for the 5 or Nike 5. With the Nike version you get some extra Nike faces which I like and use.
keep in mind the 6 will probably be out in 2.5-3 months. so,that may be a factor.
as far as which app to use I’d try a few and see what you like.
And one more thing of course you need to decide whether you want a cellular version or not. I like the ability to stream music or podcasts on the go as well as to have access to get calls and do texting when I don’t have my phone with me.
 
For running I’d rather use a cellular Series 3 than a non-cellular Series 5. Otherwise, I tend to use Siri a lot when I run so I’d recommend a Series 4 or 5 because Siri responsiveness is noticeably faster. But Siri is only available with LTE.
 
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Hmm are you sure about needing to upgrade your phone. I have 6s with the same internals and it is doing fine and will be supported by ios14.
 
If you want music without your phone.

I believe that currently the only service that works is Apple Music, it will stream over wifi/cellular without phone, and will also let you sync music to the watch,
I know Spotify does not do either, it's just a remote for your phone.
I think there are podcast apps that will sync to the watch, so you can use without connection, if you do that when running.

before making your final decision, make sure to check out whatever services you use, and make sure they work like you want them to.
 
GerritV said:
Hi all,

Looking to buy an Apple Watch, mainly to replace my Fitbit (jogging).
Since my iPhone SE 1st gen won't do, I will also have to get another iPhone.
Click to expand...

Actually, the original iphoneSE works just great with the Apple Watch! Iknow, because I use my iphone SE from 2017 with my apple watch 5 LTE.

It is a fine choice, bc in my opinion, I prefer iPads and watches to iphones. The SE is the perfect phone to leave behind and not take with you. I would not own a phone at all if it were not required.
 
Last edited:
waw74 said:
If you want music without your phone.

I believe that currently the only service that works is Apple Music, it will stream over wifi/cellular without phone, and will also let you sync music to the watch,
I know Spotify does not do either, it's just a remote for your phone.
I think there are podcast apps that will sync to the watch, so you can use without connection, if you do that when running.

before making your final decision, make sure to check out whatever services you use, and make sure they work like you want them to.
Click to expand...

Good to know, but I never use these services.
[automerge]1593849700[/automerge]
Jimbo Limbo said:
Actually, the original iphoneSE works just great with the Apple Watch! Iknow, because I use my iphone SE from 2017 with my apple watch 5 LTE.

It is a fine choice, bc in my opinion, I prefer iPads and watches to iphones. The SE is the perfect phone to leave behind and not take with you. I would not own a phone at all if it were not required.
Click to expand...

Hm, are you sure? I can't even download the Watch app on my old SE.
 
Jimbo Limbo said:
I am sure! That is what I use.
Click to expand...

I did a total reset on my iPhone SE, and guess what... the Watch app was there amongst the defaults.
Never succeeded in adding it myself.
Sorry for having questioned you Jimbo Limbo. All I need now is a Watch ;-)
 
I had an AW S3 and now have an AW S5. Great devices.

BUT, if you are only interested in using it for running, I'd actually recommend a Garmin instead. Much better battery life, more accurate GPS units, more advanced running metrics (if you care about that), ability to sync music to the watch, and (best of all for runners) tactile buttons. The Forerunner 245 is a great choice, for exampled:
buy.garmin.com

Garmin Forerunner® 245 Music | Running Watch

Forerunner® 245 Music is a running watch that features music streaming, music storage, wrist-based heart rate and advanced running dynamics.
buy.garmin.com buy.garmin.com

Again, nothing against Apple Watch at all… I have it and I run with it… but I use it for a lot more than JUST running. If I just wanted a running watch, I'd go Garmin.
 
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QCassidy352 said:
I had an AW S3 and now have an AW S5. Great devices.

BUT, if you are only interested in using it for running, I'd actually recommend a Garmin instead. Much better battery life, more accurate GPS units, more advanced running metrics (if you care about that), ability to sync music to the watch, and (best of all for runners) tactile buttons. The Forerunner 245 is a great choice, for exampled:
buy.garmin.com

Garmin Forerunner® 245 Music | Running Watch

Forerunner® 245 Music is a running watch that features music streaming, music storage, wrist-based heart rate and advanced running dynamics.
buy.garmin.com buy.garmin.com

Again, nothing against Apple Watch at all… I have it and I run with it… but I use it for a lot more than JUST running. If I just wanted a running watch, I'd go Garmin.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion! I'm using a Fitbit right now, and it's quite cumbersome - so at the moment I'm leaning to the Apple ecosystem. Nevertheless, I'm going to consider Garmin.
 
GerritV said:
Thanks for the suggestion! I'm using a Fitbit right now, and it's quite cumbersome - so at the moment I'm leaning to the Apple ecosystem. Nevertheless, I'm going to consider Garmin.
Click to expand...
Apple Watch is going to play best in an apple ecosystem, no question. That said, I had a Garmin with music before I got my first Apple Watch, and it played well with my iPhone. The music was relatively easy to copy over (beware if you have DRM on any of your music though), notifications came through just fine (you can't reply, though, which is too bad), and the Garmin Connect app on iOS is terrific, way better than Apple's Activity app, IMO.
 
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