I looked into it a few months ago and it rarely seemed to provide any data. I assumed that it only gave values when you really went for it, which made sense but may confuse some people. I will have another look at it now that watchOS 5 is out.
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Apps New version of WorkOutDoors, the Workout app with a Map
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I looked into it a few months ago and it rarely seemed to provide any data. I assumed that it only gave values when you really went for it, which made sense but may confuse some people. I will have another look at it now that watchOS 5 is out.
Excellent. I have to admit, it's a bit odd that Apple have omitted it from riding, it's really useful for that. That said, the Garmin requires a power metre to be very accurate but there are a few datasets for the Garmin that calculate it for you.
I wonder if VO2 Max is available in the hiking activity?!? When pushing hard up a mountain you can be maintaining zone 4 for long periods of time as well as breaking into zone 5 on real steep sections.
I will be heading out into the mountains for about 5 hours tomorrow so I'll be able to test the watch out again.
Excellent day in the Lake District. Went up and around the Fairfield Horseshoe. The weather lower down was warmish early on but the tops were chilly, about 5c with a windchill of -3c.
Started out with the Fenix 5 on a Wahoo Tickr heart rate strap and the AW4 on optical. I was just wearing a teeshirt on the way up so I could move faster without overheating.
AW4 matched the Fenix 5 to within 1-3 heart beats. It was so close I had to check that the AW4 hadn't connected to the strap. It continued like this until I got to the point where I couldn't feel my arms from the wind. The AW4 HR only locked up when I stopped.... I guess blood was being diverted away from extremities at that point so I paired it to the HR Strap.
This was very impressive for an optical HR monitor as there were a lot of sudden changes in heart rate and my arms were very cold. The Fenix 5 optical would have locked up very early on and probably not recovered.... I've never been able to trust it at all with anything with sudden changes in HR let alone cold. I think the AW4 will be perfect in warmer weather without a HR strap.
Loving the App, no issues at all and all the data easily to hand. The map is extremely clear although I do use this alongside ViewRanger as we have the OS maps. Overall, it's very impressive and gives a ton more flexibility over the Garmin in terms of what you want to see..... and, it's very clear.
I may have missed it, but the one thing I noticed, there was no average moving pace (excluding stops). Also, the Activity App does not seem to pickup on the floors climbed/recorded in the Workoutdoors app.... this of course could be out of your control. All the same..... excellent job you've done with this!!!
Started out with the Fenix 5 on a Wahoo Tickr heart rate strap and the AW4 on optical. I was just wearing a teeshirt on the way up so I could move faster without overheating.
AW4 matched the Fenix 5 to within 1-3 heart beats. It was so close I had to check that the AW4 hadn't connected to the strap. It continued like this until I got to the point where I couldn't feel my arms from the wind. The AW4 HR only locked up when I stopped.... I guess blood was being diverted away from extremities at that point so I paired it to the HR Strap.
This was very impressive for an optical HR monitor as there were a lot of sudden changes in heart rate and my arms were very cold. The Fenix 5 optical would have locked up very early on and probably not recovered.... I've never been able to trust it at all with anything with sudden changes in HR let alone cold. I think the AW4 will be perfect in warmer weather without a HR strap.
Loving the App, no issues at all and all the data easily to hand. The map is extremely clear although I do use this alongside ViewRanger as we have the OS maps. Overall, it's very impressive and gives a ton more flexibility over the Garmin in terms of what you want to see..... and, it's very clear.
I may have missed it, but the one thing I noticed, there was no average moving pace (excluding stops). Also, the Activity App does not seem to pickup on the floors climbed/recorded in the Workoutdoors app.... this of course could be out of your control. All the same..... excellent job you've done with this!!!
Sounds a great day. I love the Lake District, especially when the weather is good. Glad to hear that the new AW4 HR sensor is so accurate.
The app does not calculate moving time for hiking. Apple provide the ability to auto-pause for running workouts, but not for other activities for some reason. I keep hoping that they will improve this, but if not then I may need to add my own auto-pause at some time.
The app specifically saves floors climbed but sometimes it doesn’t seem to get through Apple’s health system. The next version of the app uses a new workout system that Apple introduced with watchOS 5 that I am hoping will fix some of these inconsistencies.
Many thanks for the feedback. It’s good to hear that things went well.
Hi. Just purchased the app. Simple question really, what’s the difference between starting a walk and starting a hike? Is hiking for hills and mountains etc?
Quite the impressive app! Used it for the first time today for a short run and ironically it gave a better GPS track than my Suunto 9. I have a question about heart rate limits/alerts. Let's say my heart rate max is 200, but on most runs I want to stay under 136 (my MAF HR). When I go to the Max Heart Rate screen, it says 170 and I don't see how to change it. Does "max" refer to my maximum heart rate or to the maximum I want my HR to get before I get an alert? Thanks!
Thanks for buying the app, I am glad that you like it. To change numerical values in the settings tap a value and then turn the digital crown to alter it.
The "Max Heart Rate" alert screen is the limit above which you receive an alert. You can configure whether the alert is haptic, voice and/or visual, and also how many consecutive values above the limit are required to generate the alert.
There is also a "Heart Rate Zones" screen where you can enter minimum and maximum heart rates. However these are purely used in order to calculate heart rate zones (in combination with percentage values for each zone). For example the "aerobic" zone 3 defaults to being between 70% and 80% of the range between your minimum and maximum heart rates. However you can customise your zones by changing the minimum, maximum and percentages to whatever values you require.
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Thanks for buying the app. To be honest I am not 100% sure what the difference is, but Apple offer separate workout types for each, so the app offers them both to the user. I would guess that the calorie calculations are slightly higher for hiking, to allow for rougher terrain and maybe for carrying a backpack. However Apple do not reveal any details about the workout types, so this is purely speculation!
Used it for the first time today. What do the red and green lines along the route on the map? Is this the gps signal strength?
Is there any way for it to announce your average speed along the route every mile or set distance? Other apps let you do this but there doesn’t seem be an option for this.
Is there any way for it to announce your average speed along the route every mile or set distance? Other apps let you do this but there doesn’t seem be an option for this.
Is this when there is a black map in the background such as on the Info screen map on the watch, or the analysis map on the iPhone app? In both cases the colours denote speed: red for slow, yellow for average and green for fast. If you change to show a different metric then the colours change accordingly. For instance elevation shows various shades of purple from pink (steep uphill) to blue (steep downhill).
If you want to see the GPS strength at each point then go to the steps tab on the iPhone and select "GPS". This will show the route in blue where there was a good signal, grey where it was average and red where it was poor.
The app shows the average speed and pace on the screen for each mile (or configurable distance) but only announces the distance vocally (and only if you have switched on voice notifications for distance alerts). I may add more configurability over what is shown/spoken in the future.
If you want to see the GPS strength at each point then go to the steps tab on the iPhone and select "GPS". This will show the route in blue where there was a good signal, grey where it was average and red where it was poor.
The app shows the average speed and pace on the screen for each mile (or configurable distance) but only announces the distance vocally (and only if you have switched on voice notifications for distance alerts). I may add more configurability over what is shown/spoken in the future.
Thanks. The voice alerts for everything at a set time or distance is the only thing I miss from my previous app. Love all the diagnostics you can do though
Thanks - glad you like all the diagnostics! I will add configuration of voice alerts to my "To do" list.
You cannot run workouts on both apps at the same time because Apple do not allow it, but you can always upload your WorkOutDoors workouts to Strava afterwards. This can be done by third party apps such as HealthFit or Rungap, or you can export the GPX from the iPhone app. The next version of WorkOutDoors will allow direct uploading to Strava.
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It does sound like your watch GPS is struggling. Is this outside? I find that it can have trouble getting GPS inside a car or train, but it is usually fine when outside.
You say in another post that it happens with every app, so it does sound like a watchOS or hardware issue. Have you tried rebooting both devices and, if that doesn't work, then unpairing and re-pairing the watch with the phone?
Yes, the watch often gets 5 bars, and should get them in an open area. The app can give you a lot more information if you need it. For example there is an option in the Map settings on the watch to show the accuracy in metres instead of bars.
Also for a workout you can export a GPX file that includes the accuracy in metres for every position on the route (if you switch that field on in the iPhone settings).
You can also display a graph of the signal strength along the route. Here is an example where you can see the colour change from blue to grey to red (the colours of the bars) as I went through a tunnel under the main road. You can also see the GPS accuracy in metres at any point by tapping the profile below the map.
It sounds like there is an issue but hopefully these diagnostics may help you to get more information about it.
The accuracy varies but the best I have ever seen is within 2m, which I have only seen once or twice. Usually the best over a workout is 4m or 5m, with an average of 8m or 9m. I see these sorts of values with either iPhone or AW. A year or so ago with the AW2 the iPhone seemed noticeably better than the watch, but recently I sometimes find the watch to be better than the iPhone. However that is just my use case and I have seen different results from other users.
If you are only seeing 3 grey bars then that means that you are seeing accuracy of between 18m and 35m which is poor for ideal conditions.
Good luck!
If you are only seeing 3 grey bars then that means that you are seeing accuracy of between 18m and 35m which is poor for ideal conditions.
Good luck!
For me average has been 7m with a S4. S4 seems to be very accurate for gps tracking. Much better than my iPhone X connected.
I have compared S4 (without a phone) and found it to be almost identical for my Garmin Edge 820. Distance/elevation.
7m may not sound accurate, but for gps device it is.
Btw, I love the WorkOutDoors app!
I have compared S4 (without a phone) and found it to be almost identical for my Garmin Edge 820. Distance/elevation.
7m may not sound accurate, but for gps device it is.
Btw, I love the WorkOutDoors app!
Thanks! I also find my iPhone X disappointing when it comes to GPX. My old 6S was better.
7m is very good as an average. Plus that is a maximum accuracy, so if it says 7m at a point, then it means "within 7m" and is probably more accurate than that.
7m is very good as an average. Plus that is a maximum accuracy, so if it says 7m at a point, then it means "within 7m" and is probably more accurate than that.
I have the steel model. I have no idea whether it makes a difference but it is an interesting thought.
The latest version is current being beta tested, so it depends on how that goes. If I had to guess then 2 or 3 weeks, but only if it is ready.