“‘Are we running today?’ I looked at the pouring rain smacking against my window before glancing at the glowing message on my wrist. ‘Don’t let a couple drops stop you,’ the watch replied. The new Apple Watch Nike+ is trying to do something other fitness trackers aren’t: be your buddy,” Natalie DiBlasio reports for USA Today. “It’s no human, but with conversational reminders and encouraging notifications, the new sport version of the Apple Watch Series 2 feels more like a companion than other data-focused watches.”
“If you’re looking for motivation and community, the Apple Watch Nike+ has you covered. If you’re a data-driven athlete, the watch might not be your best bet. The watch face is meant to be simple, showing just distance in the simple mode, or distance, pace and time elapsed in advanced mode. After the run, data like elevation gain, heart rate and estimated calories are logged in the Nike+ Run Club app,” DiBlasio reports. “Sports data nerds more accustomed to a Garmin will notice what’s missing: stats on cadence, form and lactate threshold.”
“However, it also functions as an extension of an iPhone, making calls, giving turn-by-turn directions, receiving texts and running a number of apps. On a run, you can get directions, respond to texts with Siri and listen to music stored on the watch. The voice to text feature came in handy when, on my rainy run, I realized I’d be home late and needed to send a message. It was too wet to take out my iPhone,” DiBlasio reports. “For runners who need a little nudge to get out the door, or for someone looking for a more functional fitness watch — Apple Watch Nike+ is a solid choice. So — are you running today?”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Why, yes, we are (and afterwards — Happy Friday! — we’ll guiltlessly partake of the contents of this week’s keg!)
Apple Watch Nike+ is a HUGE step up from the original Apple Watch for runners. Now having to lug our iPhones around, yet still having GPS and music on our wrists makes all the difference – along with the very noticeable and useful speed which makes for a much more responsive experience.
We love the Nike+ watch face and, along with it’s Nike+ Run Club complication, have it customized to show time, activity, date, and Dark Sky weather. As much as we loved it, we could never go back to the original Apple Watch now.
It may be a huge leap from the original watch, but still a number of things to work on: 1. Auto-pause sucks if you happen to run on trails or areas with spotty GPS, it randomly stops and starts and will end your run prematurely. 2. Having to wait 3 seconds for it to start is a PITA if you’re trying to do any sort of timed work / intervals. 3. No ability to track terrain (other than noticing your pace falls off) is annoying; 4. The touch interface is horrible stopping, starting and pausing – have to hit the thing multiple times. 5. Should be a warning that the watch isn’t sufficiently charged when you enter workout mode. Many other little annoyances, and then it seems the Nike+ bit has not gone over well with fans of the old app.