Apps New version of WorkOutDoors, the Workout app with a Map

[cfc]

Are you using the Hiking activity type? I have recently noticed that the route does not get sent for the Hiking workouts, which seems to be a restriction imposed by Apple. I believe this is because Hiking is one of the "Other" activities in their app, and that this somehow means that it is not as fully supported as the explicitly listed workouts in the app. This is just a guess though as I can't find anything in Apple's documentation that states it.

As a result I may remove the Hiking activity in future versions, but I will see what changes Apple announce at WWDC first. In the meantime it's best to use the Walking activity instead if you need the route in the Activities app.

If this is all irrelevant because you are using a different type of workout then please check that you have given the app permission to send the routes using the Settings app on the iPhone (Privacy / Health / WorkOutDoors / Workout Routes). If you have and it is still not working then please let me know.

Also you can always export the route as a GPX file from the WorkOutDoors iPhone app and then upload it to Strava, Garmin etc. Simply select the workout in the iPhone app and tap 'Export'.

I hope this helps. Thanks for buying the app!

 

[frugtkompot]

Hi cfc,

Thanks for your quick reply! I used the cycling workout. Just checked the permissions as well and I've allowed it to write and read everything, so there shouldn't be any issue in that.

I've recorded 4 workouts so far and 1 of them succesfully exported (to RunGap, which I use as a hub for everything else) work the GPS-data. The other 3 didn't although I can read it just fine in the WorkOutDoors iPhone app. Is this of any help?

I can also add that I've had the same problem with another app I'm testing (Workouts++), which also didn't record the GPS-data. I'm not sure if it's related to the watch somehow.

One downside of the Apple Watch I find (compared to a Garmin Fenix which I use for more dedicated workouts) is that it's really difficult to know exactly what it does at all times. Garmin would always tell you if you lost signal or if anything else isn't recording as intended. With Apple Watch it's sort of a guess-work - although I appreciate your app highlights it better than others (for GPS).
[doublepost=1523522673][/doublepost]I can perhaps add a minor detail. I just checked the settings for the app and location is set to "only while using". Should this be always? The route is recorded fine in the app itself, so it does seem to be working.

Also tried exporting, but both RunGap and Garmin Connect gave me an error when I tried this.

 

[cfc]

One other possibility is that, in the current release version, the app filters the GPS points such that there is at least a 5m movement between them. In the next version it will not do this filtering. I made this change several months ago in my code and the only missing routes since have been for Hiking, so hopefully this change has fixed it.

This next version should be out in a month or two. It contains so many major improvements that it will need a lot of testing!

 

[frugtkompot]

Hi,

Just wanted to follow-up. I rebooted the watch last night and today it transferred the GPS correctly, so maybe everything is OK.

 

[cfc]

Thanks for the update. Maybe the unreliability of route transferring is due to the OS rather than anything I can do in the app.

I do find that a reboot fixes a lot of apparently random watch errors. Rebooting is obviously the standard IT response to an unexplained problem, but it seems to work more often for the watch than for any other device I have worked on.

Re-installation is also often necessary if there are random errors after the first install. It's annoying because the app has mostly great reviews but also has a few one star reviews from users where it probably just needs re-installing because it didn't install properly the first time. Hopefully watchOS 5 will improve reliability.

 

[frugtkompot]

Thanks for the update. Maybe the unreliability of route transferring is due to the OS rather than anything I can do in the app.

I do find that a reboot fixes a lot of apparently random watch errors. Rebooting is obviously the standard IT response to an unexplained problem, but it seems to work more often for the watch than for any other device I have worked on.

Re-installation is also often necessary if there are random errors after the first install. It's annoying because the app has mostly great reviews but also has a few one star reviews from users where it probably just needs re-installing because it didn't install properly the first time. Hopefully watchOS 5 will improve reliability.

That's a shame. Well, at least you are hopefully doing good with word-of-mouth outside of the app store

Now that we have everything running, if I could make one feature request it would be an option to display a no-map mode or screen with more data easily visible. This is especially useful for cycling where I'm more interested in quickly reading BPM, speed, length etc. than I am at finding my way.

Apple's own workouts app is pretty good at this, but it's not very customizable.

 

[cfc]

Thanks! Sorry if I had a bit of a moan. Things are actually going very well in the App Store, with 186 reviews worldwide, of which 161 give the app 5 stars, which is fantastic to see. Most of the rest give it 4 stars, so I am very happy overall. I just get slightly annoyed when people publish reviews calling it "Rubbish" or "Ugh!!!" without emailing me first to see if I can help. Maybe I am too sensitive!

The next version (available in a month or two) will have all the customisation that you want and much more. It is taking a little longer than I expected because I keep adding new features. Speaking of which, apologies to any beta testers who are wondering where the latest beta is. It is so overdue that the current beta expires in under two weeks, so I will make sure that I release a new one soon!

 

[AUFan88]

Any more room for beta testers?

 

[cfc]

Any more room for beta testers?

That would be great thanks. I'm not looking for testers for the current beta because it is almost 3 months old and due to expire soon, but if you email me at info@workoutdoors.net then I will send you the next beta when it is ready (probably in about a week or so).

Many thanks!

 

[CobraPA]

Thanks! Sorry if I had a bit of a moan. Things are actually going very well in the App Store, with 186 reviews worldwide, of which 161 give the app 5 stars, which is fantastic to see. Most of the rest give it 4 stars, so I am very happy overall. I just get slightly annoyed when people publish reviews calling it "Rubbish" or "Ugh!!!" without emailing me first to see if I can help. Maybe I am too sensitive!

Try not to let it get to you. I saw the same with my step app. Early versions of watchOS had problems with complication updating, it seemed, and people will leave a 1 star review before sending an email, sometimes. At least now you can reply to them on the app store and they will get notified directly of your comment.

 

[cfc]

I shouldn't complain as it is only a very small minority. Most of the feedback via email and reviews has been great and very much appreciated. I love hearing what people think of the app and how they would improve it, because the feedback is usually so enthusiastic, knowledgable and constructive.

 

[warcanoid]

The app works also on iOS 12 and watchOS 5

 

[rbart]

This app is really impressive but I have one request ...
Is it possible to have two display modes:
- the current one, with the map and some workout data (for trail activity)
- a more classic one with more workout data with bigger fonts and no map (customizable)
The best would be to have the possibility to switch from one disply to the other during workout (force touch ?)
Your are not far from the perfect workout app for the AW !

 

[cfc]

It's great to hear that you like the app. The next version (released in a month or so) will have 4 different display formats:

- the existing format with 2 or 3 fields below the map;
- an 'L' shape with a smaller map and data fields to the left and below the map.
- a "tower" with 2 to 4 large fields above 2 or 3 smaller ones (which sounds like what you want);
- a grid with 2 or 3 columns of 4 to 6 fields;

Each of these modes will have a choice of 3 text sizes (hence the varying number of fields) and a full screen map will always be available by double-tapping the screen. Double tapping the map again shows the data.

The fields will be fully customisable by the user, choosing from a pool of over 170 live fields, including graphs and buttons. The app will come with a set of pre-configured "profiles" showing particular types of data. So for example you can easily switch from the Heart profile to the Pace, Elevation, or Graphs profiles at any time during a workout. You can tailor any of the profiles to show exactly the fields that you wish to see.

Hopefully these are the sort of features that you want?

 

[CobraPA]

Wow, looking very nice.

 

[rbart]

It's great to hear that you like the app. The next version (released in a month or so) will have 4 different display formats:

- the existing format with 2 or 3 fields below the map;
- an 'L' shape with a smaller map and data fields to the left and below the map.
- a "tower" with 2 to 4 large fields above 2 or 3 smaller ones (which sounds like what you want);
- a grid with 2 or 3 columns of 4 to 6 fields;

Each of these modes will have a choice of 3 text sizes (hence the varying number of fields) and a full screen map will always be available by double-tapping the screen. Double tapping the map again shows the data.

The fields will be fully customisable by the user, choosing from a pool of over 170 live fields, including graphs and buttons. The app will come with a set of pre-configured "profiles" showing particular types of data. So for example you can easily switch from the Heart profile to the Pace, Elevation, or Graphs profiles at any time during a workout. You can tailor any of the profiles to show exactly the fields that you wish to see.

Hopefully these are the sort of features that you want?
View attachment 765163

Incredible !
It's far more than I was expecting ...
I really congratulate you for this awesome work !
If you need someone for beta test ...


Another request, do you have something in you plan to manage interval training ?

 

[cfc]

Not in the next version, but it is on my To Do list. The next version has configurable distance notifications so you could use them to notify you when to change intensity, and also a lot of lap/splits functionality to show stats for each phase, but it doesn't have anything specifically for interval training yet. Sorry about that.

 

[juergentb]

Hi CFC,
I'm a really big fan of your app here in Austria, europe.
Use it for all my trail runs.

The screenshots of the new version looks amazing!
can you already say more exactly when the new version will appear?
Because my season highlight is a 50K run through the mountains on July 14th
and it would be great if the new version will be available before.

Of course, this race will also be a race against the battery life of my Series2 AW,
but during the last longer workouts the consumption was about 55% during 4 hours
(with HR measurement switched off), i am very satisfied with this value!

Thanks!

 

[cfc]

Thanks for the kind words about the app! The new version is in the final stages of beta testing and should be released just before your 50k run, but it depends on how testing goes. If it isn't then the beta should be pretty stable by then, so let me know and I could add you to the beta program to use on the run.

I am very impressed that you do 50k trail runs though mountains. It sounds fantastic, but also quite mad!

 

[Mjoshea148]

Thanks for the kind words about the app! The new version is in the final stages of beta testing and should be released just before your 50k run, but it depends on how testing goes. If it isn't then the beta should be pretty stable by then, so let me know and I could add you to the beta program to use on the run.

I am very impressed that you do 50k trail runs though mountains. It sounds fantastic, but also quite mad!

Not that guy :0 but would be interested in beta testing the new app on my daily walks and weekend hikes!

 

[cfc]

Not that guy :0 but would be interested in beta testing the new app on my daily walks and weekend hikes!

Thanks. I have PMed you.

 

[juergentb]

Thanks for the kind words about the app! The new version is in the final stages of beta testing and should be released just before your 50k run, but it depends on how testing goes. If it isn't then the beta should be pretty stable by then, so let me know and I could add you to the beta program to use on the run.

I am very impressed that you do 50k trail runs though mountains. It sounds fantastic, but also quite mad!

Only 50 kilometers, not miles ;-)
PMed you.

 

[cfc]

Only 50 kilometers, not miles ;-)
PMed you.

Running further than a marathon through mountains is still mad in my books!

 

[Beefburga]

I’m currently beta testing a handful of iOS apps and I’d be delighted to offer my assistance if required.

 

[claude512]

I joined this forum specifically to congratulate you on the app, it is excellent! Makes the AW tremendously more useful!

One question, do you have plans to add alerts for min/max values (HR, pace, and the like)?