Apple has significantly updated its Workout app to show more stats, turning Apple Watch into the best running watch. Users can rotate the Digital Crown to cycle through different views like Heart Rate Zones, Activity Rings, and Power and Elevation. You’ll also have the option to build Custom Workouts complete with work and rest intervals, along with alerts for heart rate, pace, power, and cadence while running.
Brenda Stolyar and Adrienne So for Wired:
If you have an iPhone, the Apple Watch is far and away the best fitness tracker. The only downside perhaps (besides the battery life) is that Apple’s health software has historically been somewhat lacking. It’s not uncommon to see Apple Watch users immediately transfer their data to more useful and easily actionable software, like Strava or Nike Run Club. But that could all change with a whole host of new fitness features debuting in WatchOS 9.
If features like measuring stride length and vertical oscillation work as intended, they could easily turn the Apple Watch into the best running watch and best watch for endurance athletes, period.
Anyone who uses an Apple Watch while running will be happy to know that you can now track new metrics like Ground Contact Time, Stride Length, and Vertical Oscillation—all of which can help improve your form. You can add them to your Workout Views, or view them in the Fitness app summary as well as the Health app (the Fitness app is finally available for iPhones as of iOS 16). You’ll also be able to see trends and patterns over time…
Regardless of whether you’re going for an outdoor run or bike ride, you’ll soon be able to challenge yourself against your best or last result. You’ll also receive real-time updates to help motivate you to beat your personal record.
MacDailyNews Take: Amazingly, finally, we’re actually going to use Apple’s Workout app!
As we wrote back in June, “With watchOS 9, we’ll be switching from Strava for Apple’s Workout app for running for the first time.”
The ability to create and follow intervals, running form metrics, and much more in watchOS 9 shows some much needed and appreciated love for runners! — MacDailyNews, June 6, 2022
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I think Apple avoided improving the built-in running aspect of Watch because of the Nike partnership. But the “Nike Run Club” app was so bad (crashing regularly during my runs), I had to switch to and pay for Strava’s excellent app. I’m upgrading from my old Series 3 to new SE to try Apple’s new 🏃🏻 features. And probably not coincidentally, there’s no longer a Nike Sports Watch option, although you can still choose watch bands with Nike Logo. A prestige demotion for Nike.
No….untill you can easily set a count-down repeat timer (for easy pacing) and have an actual start / stop / lap button (even the action button on the Ultra only does lap splits) it is not the best running watch. These are very easy functions that have been available on the Timex Ironman since the 90s. Does it not rain where Apple tests these watches? Do their testers not sweat? Stopping the damn thing during intervals (or even just at the end of a run) with sweaty or wet hands is damn near impossible. And should your long sleeve t-shirt get a little sweaty, like in the fall, or when it’s raining, it rubs against the watch face and stops the workout. News flash Apple – if my heartrate is still high, and I’m still travelling faster than a walk, I’m still running, so don’t stop the run app.
Don’t fool yourself with your own propaganda. It’s not a great runner’s watch. Poseurs like MDN don’t know what they’re talking about. When’s the last time they actually conducted an objective head-to-head test for anything? This site merely parrots what it likes to hear, and puts its blinders on to all data that contradicts its opinions.
Whatever, Garmin staffer.
Enjoy the unemployment line, ya hear?
The Apple Watch requires precision in manipulating the interface which makes actions hard to perform as intended while one’s sweaty and moving quickly. Watches with buttons (e.g., Garmins) provide access to features while the user is training or competing without the same need for precision. Apple makes a great watch. It’s just, in some cases, not a great sports watch. We’ll see how the new one works out.
When you sweat Apple Watches are useless. The touch screen on the watch does not work when it and or your hands/fingers get wet from sweating. If you buy an Apple Watch you will find out the hard way what a ripoff they are. If you are sweating, more often than not when you swipe/tap to end your workout and stop the timer, nothing happens, or worse you wind up in some other screen as you curse this piece of B.S. for once again failing to record your time when you finish. The option of hitting two buttons at exactly the same time (Apple Watch – crown + side button) ( Ultra – Action button + side button) is also unreliable and will regularly fail to stop the timer. This is a several hundred dollar high tech watch that will piss you off no end every time it fails to record your best efforts.