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To Stand or Not

ivanwi11iams

ivanwi11iams

Contributor
Original poster
Nov 30, 2014
4,507
3,066
Georgia, USA
During the course of the day, my Apple Watch will prompt me to stand. Great, nice that there is a reminder.

However, sometime it does this, even though I’ve been standing for several minutes already. I have an Ergotron, and thus make sure to use it often to stand an work.


But, why doesn’t my Apple Watch already know that I’m standing?
 
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I'm afraid there is no "Stand" sensor. I believe the watch is using the motion sensor to figure out how long it has been since you have moved around. If you have been standing in one place for a long time, it assumes you are probably sitting. If you are using a standing desk and you get the time-to-stand notification, it's probably a good idea to move around anyway... take a walk for a few minutes so you stretch your legs and give your eyes a rest from the computer display.
 
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ivantwilliams said:
During the course of the day, my Apple Watch will prompt me to stand. Great, nice that there is a reminder.

However, sometime it does this, even though I’ve been standing for several minutes already. I have an Ergotron, and thus make sure to use it often to stand an work.


But, why doesn’t my Apple Watch already know that I’m standing?
Click to expand...

You give the AW too much credit. It has no idea if you are standing or sitting. All it knows it that you are not walking. If not it assumes you are sitting. Either take a walk or shake your wrist for a minute and your watch will be fooled into thinking you are up and walking.

Standing for long periods of time without walking will cause pooling of blood in the legs in even a young person. It is the action of walking and using your leg muscles that keeps the blood moving.
 
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What's your wrist orientation when you stand at your Ergotron desk?

While sitting, I can fool my AW into thinking I'm standing by hanging my forearm downwards.
 
ivantwilliams said:
During the course of the day, my Apple Watch will prompt me to stand. Great, nice that there is a reminder.

However, sometime it does this, even though I’ve been standing for several minutes already. I have an Ergotron, and thus make sure to use it often to stand an work.


But, why doesn’t my Apple Watch already know that I’m standing?
Click to expand...

If you work standing up chances are your arms are at the same orientation as if you are sitting at a desk. I think Apple reads your arms at your sides as "he's standing" and arms extended outward as if using a keyboard as "he's sitting".
 
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Newtons Apple said:
You give the AW too much credit. It has no idea if you are standing or sitting. All it knows it that you are not walking.....
Click to expand...


This is incorrect. There is actually a tiny camera in the :apple:Watch and the feed goes straight to Cook's office. He watches every move we make and carefully writes it down to keep a comprehensive record of all our lives so in the future our tinfoil hats will be rendered useless. He also presses the Stand button when he sees us sitting too long as a reward for giving Apple unfettered and complete info of our lives. It looks like in the OP's case Cook has not been as diligent as he should be.

tinfoil_hat_zpszut5bbi3.jpg
 
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Armen said:
If you work standing up chances are your arms are at the same orientation as if you are sitting at a desk. I think Apple reads your arms at your sides as "he's standing" and arms extended outward as if using a keyboard as "he's sitting".
Click to expand...

Arm location has nothing to do with it in my opinion. It is all in movement of the arm or walking that tell your watch you are active.
 
Newtons Apple said:
Arm location has nothing to do with it in my opinion. It is all in movement of the arm or walking that tell your watch you are active.
Click to expand...
Yes, it is done by natural walking arm wing motion. This is really the only and most accurate way to do it since you can have your arm/wrist at any orientation/angle while sitting. Of course you can also 'cheat' by naturally swinging your arm by your side (like walking) while sitting in a chair.

While it is called Stand perhaps it should be called Stand&Move Around.

Here is what Apple says:
Apple said:
Meet your daily Stand goal by standing up and moving around a bit for at least 1 minute during 12 different hours in the day.
Click to expand...

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204517
 
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Thanks for the replies thus far. Sounds to me like the real trick is when I'm prompted by my watch, I should at least (even if already standing), walk to the other side of the building (or go to the toilet) and then return to my desk.

At least I'd have moment...
 
Any opportunity to get your eyeballs out of the computer screen is a good thing.

The watch may not register you as walking around if it's still horizontal, though, like if you carry your coffee in your watch hand.

Like I said, I can fool it by pointing my arm towards the floor. I once kept up my stand credit on a six-hour drive this way.
 
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I love my watch... but it's so stupid with regards to the whole stand thing. I've been in a store WALKING around while pushing a cart and it' doesn't think I'm "standing"....
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ivantwilliams said:
Thanks for the replies thus far. Sounds to me like the real trick is when I'm prompted by my watch, I should at least (even if already standing), walk to the other side of the building (or go to the toilet) and then return to my desk.

At least I'd have moment...
Click to expand...

Oh shake your arm around.....
 
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The watch detects only movement. You can get the "Stand" hour by doing any kind of back and forth movement with your arm for 60 seconds total without too long pauses in the middle. Easiest / laziest way is to just roll your arm back and forth on your desk for 60 seconds.

I do agree though that the naming of "Stand" is misleading. Sure the watch may explain it every time it notifies you about it... but how many users reads the whole notification every single time for weeks / months / years? No-one. So if the watch tells you to stand, it tells you to stand. It should instead tell you to move if it wants you to move. But the red ring is called Move, soo... it's just a stupid mess up from Apple's end. Maybe they'll fix it one day.
 
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