Apps Running with the AW2

[tmiles81]

Have you made sure you have updated the app?

Yeah updated on both phone and Watch.
I cannot see the guides on the iPhone app either. Tried logging out and uninstalled app. I get the cheers and can cheer others fine.

 

[tmiles81]

I wonder if it could be a regional thing...
I'm in Australia and on the Apple website here it has "Coming Soon" on the Audio Guided Runs feature.
This however, differs from the app update notes provided.
Anyone else from Australia able/not able to see the guided runs??

Edit:
contacted Nike support and they advised that this feature is not available in Australia!
hopefully this will change.

 

[Bob190]

Got a chance to test out the latest version of the Strava app yesterday.

Everything worked as advertised .. got voice feedback each mile that included time, distance, and the last mile pace. In addition, you get voice prompts for Start/Stop/Pause/Resume.

GPS was right on the money, but I never had an issue with that with Strava. No problems with syncing, and the data was written to Health, including data for HR recovery.

Also, one thing that I did notice is that it will now use a HR chest strap instead of the optical sensor if you are wearing one. I think that is probably true of all running apps in WatchOS 4.

I think for now I am going to stick with the Strava app as it now seems stable and has an adequate feature set.

 

[andrewstirling]

Got a chance to test out the latest version of the Strava app yesterday.

Everything worked as advertised .. got voice feedback each mile that included time, distance, and the last mile pace. In addition, you get voice prompts for Start/Stop/Pause/Resume.

GPS was right on the money, but I never had an issue with that with Strava. No problems with syncing, and the data was written to Health, including data for HR recovery.

Also, one thing that I did notice is that it will now use a HR chest strap instead of the optical sensor if you are wearing one. I think that is probably true of all running apps in WatchOS 4.

I think for now I am going to stick with the Strava app as it now seems stable and has an adequate feature set.

I think it’s always worked with the chest strap....I’ve used it for a while until I got my series 3. The only app I’m aware of which didn’t allow external HRMs was the Nike one which is one of the reasons I don’t use it.

I’m using the built in app on my series 3 at the moment. No voice guidance but it’s quick and responsive and tracks elevation. One of the other big pluses is that it has a ‘do not disturb’ while exercising which is a must for the cellular watch. I didn’t have it on initially and I had to keep dismissing email notifications.

 

[xDKP]

One of the other big pluses is that it has a ‘do not disturb’ while exercising which is a must for the cellular watch. I didn’t have it on initially and I had to keep dismissing email notifications.

Pretty great feature and the music controls is not bad at all as well!

 

[xDKP]

God damn’it Nike !! Why can’t you just fix the damn basics! Ran 25,5 km this afternoon split between a 8,5 km run to a lake to meet a friend - started the run on the watch so left the iPhone in his car *First crash* and ran 10k with him around a lake, changed shirt *Second crash* and began the run home from there. Because of some red lights I had a few stop/starts *At least 10 more crashes* before coming home. The watch app crashes again every time I opened it and tried to end the workout.

To expect the damn thing to be able to follow me on a 2,5 hour run five or take, isn’t a massive request

Back to the build in app and manually entering the runs in Nike system - this is just so unacceptable on a run like this. Hate it

 

[musicpenguy]

God damn’it Nike !! Why can’t you just fix the damn basics! Ran 25,5 km this afternoon split between a 8,5 km run to a lake to meet a friend - started the run on the watch so left the iPhone in his car *First crash* and ran 10k with him around a lake, changed shirt *Second crash* and began the run home from there. Because of some red lights I had a few stop/starts *At least 10 more crashes* before coming home. The watch app crashes again every time I opened it and tried to end the workout.

To expect the damn thing to be able to follow me on a 2,5 hour run five or take, isn’t a massive request

Back to the build in app and manually entering the runs in Nike system - this is just so unacceptable on a run like this. Hate it

Yea I really think the built in Workouts app is the way to go for Apple Watch and then using RunGap to send it to your preferred network if you want the data outside of the Health/Activity apps.

 

[mk313]

Yea I really think the built in Workouts app is the way to go for Apple Watch and then using RunGap to send it to your preferred network if you want the data outside of the Health/Activity apps.

Stupid question probably but does run gap work with Nike run club? (Can I use the Apple workouts app on the watch, then load the runs into Nike run club?)
Thanks,

 

[musicpenguy]

Stupid question probably but does run gap work with Nike run club? (Can I use the Apple workouts app on the watch, then load the runs into Nike run club?)
Thanks,

Sadly Nike is the sole network that is so locked up you can’t get data in or out. RunGap works with Strava, RunKeeper, Garmin, MapMyRun, FitBit and a couple others.

 

[Hertz77]

Tried almost everyone - Nike, apple workout, Runkeeper, ismooth etc and so far the only one that hasn’t crashed once is Strava, you get voice prompts and can transfer in RunGap.

 

[ascender]

I've been using the Strava app on the watch for the last few weeks now and I've not had single crash. It still seems a bit random about when the activity actually uploads - I'm still not sure how/when that happens, but its been very reliable which is the main thing.

I take it the app on the watch won't work with a HRM unless you have already setup the app on the phone to use one and have the phone on you?

 

[xDKP]

Tried almost everyone - Nike, apple workout, Runkeeper, ismooth etc and so far the only one that hasn’t crashed once is Strava, you get voice prompts and can transfer in RunGap.

Sounds great - wish Nike would focus all their effort on resolving their problems rather than adding features - I have used the build in for years and haven't had a crash once - it's simple, fast and very reliable. Would just love to be able to export to Nike for my challenge with a friend.

 

[andrewstirling]

I've been using the Strava app on the watch for the last few weeks now and I've not had single crash. It still seems a bit random about when the activity actually uploads - I'm still not sure how/when that happens, but its been very reliable which is the main thing.

I take it the app on the watch won't work with a HRM unless you have already setup the app on the phone to use one and have the phone on you?

Nah it’s much more straightforward than that. Just pair the HRM with your watch and then go. I usually quickly use the in built heart app for a few seconds before launching my running app...just to make sure the Bluetooth connection has triggered.

 

[ascender]

Nah it’s much more straightforward than that. Just pair the HRM with your watch and then go. I usually quickly use the in built heart app for a few seconds before launching my running app...just to make sure the Bluetooth connection has triggered.

Thanks Andrew. I've just not had the time to play about with it much as a lot of my running has been very very early in the mornings recently so I'm trying to sneak out the house with a minimum of fuss. Will try this tomorrow.

I also didn't consider RunGap before - i see it supports Movescount which is good, so I might also give that a go and switch to the workout app.

 

[prss14]

Question for those using the built in app: Does it record your cadence? Been using iSmoothrun and export it to Strava, and Runkeeper. Wouldn't mind using the built in app, but have gotten used to the info shown from the 3rd party apps.

 

[Bob190]

Tried almost everyone - Nike, apple workout, Runkeeper, ismooth etc and so far the only one that hasn’t crashed once is Strava, you get voice prompts and can transfer in RunGap.

Agreed .. Strava is the best right now. I have all sorts of GPS related problems with the builtin Workout app. I often end up with large areas without a GPS plot (just grey dots), the first few GPS points are often about 500m away from where I actually started, slow transfers from the watch to the phone, etc.

I have none of these issues with the Strava app. Voice feedback works great, as does the auto pause. And the best part is that the run transfers from the watch to the phone and directly to Strava in seconds.

The other thing I really like about the Strava watch app is that you can actually read everything on the watch app screen while running. Unlike NRC that tries to hide the HR reading in the smallest font possible.

 

[musicpenguy]

Agreed .. Strava is the best right now. I have all sorts of GPS related problems with the builtin Workout app. I often end up with large areas without a GPS plot (just grey dots), the first few GPS points are often about 500m away from where I actually started, slow transfers from the watch to the phone, etc.

I have none of these issues with the Strava app. Voice feedback works great, as does the auto pause. And the best part is that the run transfers from the watch to the phone and directly to Strava in seconds.

The other thing I really like about the Strava watch app is that you can actually read everything on the watch app screen while running. Unlike NRC that tries to hide the HR reading in the smallest font possible.

I’ve never had GPS issues with the Workout app (no grey areas etc.) - but really excited to try Strava now that I know how good it is, always assumed the 3rd party apps were 2nd class citizens as far as being able to create something as solid if not more so than Apple’s app.

I don’t believe the watch by itself can record cadence, am I wrong?

 

[shambolic]

Question for those using the built in app: Does it record your cadence?

Supposedly it does but I've found it to be unreliable. Here's an example of a run on the S3 LTE with the built-in workouts app that I pushed to Strava using RunGap.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1197475167

If you switch on the cadence graph, you'll see the first mile and a half is a mess, then it seems to start tracking somewhat accurately. I get this behavior consistently with the built-in app. Is it the workout app's fault, or RunGap, or do I have a bad watch - impossible to say until/if the Activity app on the phone starts to show cadence. So mostly I'm back to using Strava directly on the watch, as I'd rather have no data than bad data.

 

[mk313]

Sadly Nike is the sole network that is so locked up you can’t get data in or out. RunGap works with Strava, RunKeeper, Garmin, MapMyRun, FitBit and a couple others.

It figures that Nike would be the ONE app that doesn't work with the others. I've been using them since the launch of the Nike+ system back in 2006 (actually I used the Nike mp3 Plus Run system or whatever it was called prior to Nike +), and I'm reluctant to give up on the system at this point. The new app has been a little unreliable since it launched. Not sure if it's because I'm on a Series 2 watch, but it takes a long time to load and sometimes the app will crash before it loads. I had two instances where it recorded my run, but the screen was blank the entire time, and one instance where I got the three second countdown, but the un never started. Fortunately, I caught it after 1/4 mile. I've only lost that 1/4 mile of running, and with Nike's history, they put out a buggy new version, and then fix the issues with several relatively quick software updates. I hope that's the case here. If not, I may have to move to the built in app. Thanks for the reply on rungap.

 

[musicpenguy]

It figures that Nike would be the ONE app that doesn't work with the others. I've been using them since the launch of the Nike+ system back in 2006 (actually I used the Nike mp3 Plus Run system or whatever it was called prior to Nike +), and I'm reluctant to give up on the system at this point. The new app has been a little unreliable since it launched. Not sure if it's because I'm on a Series 2 watch, but it takes a long time to load and sometimes the app will crash before it loads. I had two instances where it recorded my run, but the screen was blank the entire time, and one instance where I got the three second countdown, but the un never started. Fortunately, I caught it after 1/4 mile. I've only lost that 1/4 mile of running, and with Nike's history, they put out a buggy new version, and then fix the issues with several relatively quick software updates. I hope that's the case here. If not, I may have to move to the built in app. Thanks for the reply on rungap.

Yea I think for the moment RunGap will let you pull data out of Nike, but that support may be ending soon it sounds like based on Nike’s API (I once swore by RunKeeper used it for 2 years as my only service and then when I moved to the watch as my running device I decided its time to just embrace Apple’s app and export data to other places to keep track of PRs and stuff like that).

 

[Bob190]

I’ve never had GPS issues with the Workout app (no grey areas etc.) - but really excited to try Strava now that I know how good it is, always assumed the 3rd party apps were 2nd class citizens as far as being able to create something as solid if not more so than Apple’s app.

I don’t believe the watch by itself can record cadence, am I wrong?

Here is an example of the GPS issues I have had with the native Workout app. The run actually began and ended at the same spot, as you can see, it displayed the starting point about 500M away from the actual starting spot, then lost the GPS track entirely for a while, and picked it up again.

It was the last time I used the Workout app and starting using the Strava app instead.

Frankly it is inexcusable for any running app not to alert you when it doesn't have a lock on the GPS satellites. I would rather stand still for an extra minute or so until it gets a lock then to get bad data. I really don't understand this with Apple or most of the other 3rd party running apps. The only app that really lets you know the status of your GPS lock is iSmoothRun which gives you a accuracy in meters if you choose to add that measure. But unfortunately, you have to start the run to get it .. it should start looking for the satellites and display the accuracy before you press the button to start the run as should any running app.

 

[xDKP]

It figures that Nike would be the ONE app that doesn't work with the others. I've been using them since the launch of the Nike+ system back in 2006 (actually I used the Nike mp3 Plus Run system or whatever it was called prior to Nike +), and I'm reluctant to give up on the system at this point. The new app has been a little unreliable since it launched. Not sure if it's because I'm on a Series 2 watch, but it takes a long time to load and sometimes the app will crash before it loads. I had two instances where it recorded my run, but the screen was blank the entire time, and one instance where I got the three second countdown, but the un never started. Fortunately, I caught it after 1/4 mile. I've only lost that 1/4 mile of running, and with Nike's history, they put out a buggy new version, and then fix the issues with several relatively quick software updates. I hope that's the case here. If not, I may have to move to the built in app. Thanks for the reply on rungap.

I’m in the exact same boat as you. I actually dropped the Nike system altogether for about one year after the launch of the Apple Watch. Nike was quick to have a run app back then but it sucked and was so bad I couldn’t take it and moved to the build in app.

Now I’ve been back since the spring because of a good friend who has a TomTom Watch. It syncs to Nike and we have a monthly challenge but that has been the single reason not to leave the system. The app is way too buggy

Here is an example of the GPS issues I have had with the native Workout app. The run actually began and ended at the same spot, as you can see, it displayed the starting point about 500M away from the actual starting spot, then lost the GPS track entirely for a while, and picked it up again.

It was the last time I used the Workout app and starting using the Strava app instead.

Frankly it is inexcusable for any running app not to alert you when it doesn't have a lock on the GPS satellites. I would rather stand still for an extra minute or so until it gets a lock then to get bad data. I really don't understand this with Apple or most of the other 3rd party running apps. The only app that really lets you know the status of your GPS lock is iSmoothRun which gives you a accuracy in meters if you choose to add that measure. But unfortunately, you have to start the run to get it .. it should start looking for the satellites and display the accuracy before you press the button to start the run as should any running app.

View attachment 726413

Okay that’s bad. I haven’t had any issues with bad signal like that but I agree it should display some kind of GPS signal logo. That’s one of the times where Apple is being a bit too fucussed in making the system something “you shouldn’t need to think about”

 

[mk313]

I think it’s always worked with the chest strap....I’ve used it for a while until I got my series 3. The only app I’m aware of which didn’t allow external HRMs was the Nike one which is one of the reasons I don’t use it.

I’m using the built in app on my series 3 at the moment. No voice guidance but it’s quick and responsive and tracks elevation. One of the other big pluses is that it has a ‘do not disturb’ while exercising which is a must for the cellular watch. I didn’t have it on initially and I had to keep dismissing email notifications.

The built in workout app doesn't give audible feedback (distance, time, pace, whatever) at set intervals does it? I couldn't get it to do so on my test run, and I don't see anything in the settings to add that feature, but maybe I missed something simple.

 

[musicpenguy]

The built in workout app doesn't give audible feedback (distance, time, pace, whatever) at set intervals does it? I couldn't get it to do so on my test run, and I don't see anything in the settings to add that feature, but maybe I missed something simple.

No you will get a tap or sound depending on if you have mute on when you hit mile markers or a halfway point in a time based run.

 

[mk313]

No you will get a tap or sound depending on if you have mute on when you hit mile markers or a halfway point in a time based run.

Thanks. I'll have to be on the lookout for that.