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Apps WorkOutDoors: New workout features
- Thread starter cfc
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There are essentially two stages of turn by turn navigation. The first involves the app relying on the navigation instructions being included in the GPX file. Some systems can generate such GPX files and for those I should be able to include turn by turn navigation as part of the route improvements that are top of my to-do list (along with Stryd).
The route improvements will involve keeping track of how far along the route you are, so it should not be too difficult to speak an instruction when you reach a certain point.
However full turn by turn navigation will not be so easy. This will involve the app being able to generate the instructions itself from a route, and ideally to be able to calculate a route and instructions between any two points. This is a non trivial problem (which is developer-speak for "too difficult for me") and would require the use of a server to calculate the route and the instructions.
The use of such a server would require me paying a third party every time it is used, so it wouldn't be possible without some premium version of the app. However I think that just the existence of this would deter people from buying the standard app. Hopefully this will change in the future though.
If I do ever implement such a premium version then it would only be for new features and probably only for those that have ongoing costs, such as TBT, route creation, topo maps, satellite maps, weather etc.
In the meantime, as I say, I am aiming to add the compromise solution where the app can give turn by turn instructions as long as the GPX files contain those instructions.
That should be perfectly fine (using GPS derived instructions); One of the ways for the likes of Garmin to be able to do this without tapping into a server (and having on demand fees to take into account) is by having offline maps on-device, which is something that WoD already has.
I bet that Apple Watches, no matter which generation, have far more potent hardware than even the top end Garmin watches. As such, the AW should be able to generate a route from point A on the map (my location) to point B (my destination) by using, preferrably, non-road routes for running and cycling paths. Or a round trip to take the user back to where the activity originally started.
Now, including the above and even something like the elevation profile of the generated route will be next level. I totally see myself happily paying for such functionality. Speaking of elevation, I find that the "always-on" altimeter on the Series 6 is pretty unreliable. Adding an option to calibrate the starting elevation to a known elevation (or, to borrow ideas from Garmin again, calibrate the elevation to my known location on a DEM map on the watch);
It's not a case of the Apple Watches not being powerful enough. The issue is that calculating a route between two points is a difficult problem, that would take me longer to code (if I could) than would be worthwhile. One of the issues is that, although WorkOutDoors has offline maps on the watch, these maps are stored as small tiles that are optimised for display rather than for route calculation.
It is much easier to use an existing service. It may require a data connection, or it may be a service that downloads the data necessary for routing, for use when offline. That would be preferable but probably more expensive.
In terms of the elevation Apple have released no information to developers about what the always on altimeter means to us. So we have no idea how it is calculated (DEM? GPS? Barometer? All 3?) or if we can get the data ourselves. At the moment WOD uses the barometer for relative elevation changes, with a base elevation provided by the "core location" system, which usually means GPS. It could be that the core location elevation is now super accurate and should be used all the time instead of the barometer but Apple, as usual, are keeping developers in the dark.
In terms of calibration if you pause the workout and resume it then the app recalibrates the absolute altitude by using the GPS altitude at that time. So if you feel the absolute altitude is incorrect, and you currently have a good GPS signal, then it is worth pausing and resuming.
I think the gpx solution is fine and sufficient. For point to point navigation the watch already has Apple maps and I have used it simultaniously with the stryd app running, so chances are that it would also work in parallel with workoutdoors.
The main change is the addition of settings on the iPhone app. At the moment most of the settings are only available in the watch app but this version will make them all available on both devices. It is not a particularly glamorous improvement but I have been meaning to add it for a long time.
There are so many settings in the watch app that it has taken many months to implement them all on the iPhone as well. However I think it is worth it for many reasons: it is easier to change them on the phone; it is easier to discover them; and there is much more space, so I can be more descriptive when explaining what each setting does.
I am close to releasing a beta but I haven't had much chance to do any coding for the last few weeks. As usual at this time of year I spend most of my time doing support work: responding to emails, social media, etc. The release of new watches and new versions of iOS and watchOS always mean a lot more questions from users and potential users. The upside is that they usually mean more sales as well!
Things are just beginning to ease off now so I am hoping that I can get back to coding soon. There is an outside chance that next week's event may change my plans but otherwise there should be a new beta in the next few weeks. It would be great if you could test it as usual!
So I did a unpair and re-pair of the watch. For now it seems like that solved the problem. Not just that... Also, the battery seemed to drain very fast, especially when using WOD. The watch sometimes crashed and rebooted itself. Many apps seemed to be very slow.
This all changed! Surprised how much an un-pair and re-pair can change. Thanks for your help and suggestions here!
Glad that fixed the problem. It is a really serious bug in iOS 14 and watchOS 7 that affects the health data and also the battery usage and stability of the watch. Unpairing and re-pairing does seem to fix it for most people, but it is quite an extreme solution! https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211865
Feature request for this great app: More flexible customization of screens, with individual sizing of rows/columns. Right now one has to choose between all full-row metrics (which, for graphs and HR zone charts look excellent) or all 1/2-split rows. It would also be nice to have, say, a row with the main metric of width 2/3 and height 1 and then two metrics stacked vertically of width 1/3 and height 1/2 and positioned to the left/right of the main metric.
I may offer more layout options in the future but it is not in my immediate plans. I do plan to show live workout data on the iPhone at some time, and that will probably offer various screen layout options, so I may revisit the watch layouts when I implement that. It won't be for a while though.
Check that thread, @cfc. Lots of new praise for your app, and rightfully so.
Thanks for the heads up. It’s always great to see that sort of feedback about the app. It made my day!
Second that. Was very reluctant to do this procedure but as no watchOS 7.0.2 is in sight, I risked it yesterday and after some nasty configuration stuff (why is this not in backup?) my watch is back to 1.5-2% per kilometer instead of 2-3% before the unpairing/pairing.
Still no GPS paths in Apple Health but this is not important for me, I really hope they fix it in iOS 14whatever. Will not do the proposed reset and setup as new procedure, no time for such stuff.
@cfc Big round of applause for this great app! I only started using it recently while on a trip to a relative and I wanted to go for a run but wasn't super familiar with the neighbourhood. Having the maps on my watch was a game changer in that situation and i've been using the app ever since.
One thing I thought of while running was though: It'd be nice to have some kind of "take me home" feature. While I understand Turn by Turn is not feasible, all this could really need is some kind of line between you and the start position, just so you know which general direction to run to in order to make it back home (without having to do a lot of zooming and re-orienting).
Personally of course not a "must-have" feature, but more a "nice to have"
Keep up the good work!
One thing I thought of while running was though: It'd be nice to have some kind of "take me home" feature. While I understand Turn by Turn is not feasible, all this could really need is some kind of line between you and the start position, just so you know which general direction to run to in order to make it back home (without having to do a lot of zooming and re-orienting).
Personally of course not a "must-have" feature, but more a "nice to have"
Keep up the good work!
@cfc Big round of applause for this great app! I only started using it recently while on a trip to a relative and I wanted to go for a run but wasn't super familiar with the neighbourhood. Having the maps on my watch was a game changer in that situation and i've been using the app ever since.
One thing I thought of while running was though: It'd be nice to have some kind of "take me home" feature. While I understand Turn by Turn is not feasible, all this could really need is some kind of line between you and the start position, just so you know which general direction to run to in order to make it back home (without having to do a lot of zooming and re-orienting).
Personally of course not a "must-have" feature, but more a "nice to have"
Keep up the good work!
The green compass is close to what you describe. It always points in the direction of the start, so if you follow it as close as you can then you should be heading back home. If you tap it then it will tell you the distance back as well as the direction.
Thanks for your kind words about the app!
Yes, it just points towards the start so does not need a compass. A physical compass is only required to determine your orientation relative to the north. And even then the app gets around that on older models by using your movement to determine your direction of travel, and using that to determine your orientation relative to north.
Hey cfc, thanks for beeing such a great and supportive dev! First I found out, turning off the pedometer gives even better results. At least for me.
Today i forgot to recharge my watch, and the battery died. Is there a way to recover the run? The watch does not show it in history, but adds the correct timestamp below the workout type.
Cheers
Today i forgot to recharge my watch, and the battery died. Is there a way to recover the run? The watch does not show it in history, but adds the correct timestamp below the workout type.
Cheers
You should still be able to see the run in Apple’s Activity/Fitness app, but unfortunately not in the WorkOutDoors app. Sorry about that.
However the next version of the app saves the workout every few minutes, so you will be able to see such workouts if the battery ever runs out whilst using that version. Sorry that it doesn’t help you this time but I thought I would mention it!
@cfc - Have you thought about new complications for watch faces? Like a quick start button that would start whatever you choose to be the default workout. Would probably an outdoor run for most people here
Or one that shows total miles for the month or the week or something like that. I would like to have that on a watch face.
Keep up the great work!! 👍
Or one that shows total miles for the month or the week or something like that. I would like to have that on a watch face.
Keep up the great work!! 👍
@cfc - Have you thought about new complications for watch faces? Like a quick start button that would start whatever you choose to be the default workout. Would probably an outdoor run for most people here
Or one that shows total miles for the month or the week or something like that. I would like to have that on a watch face.
Keep up the great work!! 👍
I plan to improve the complications at some point but they are not high on my list of priorities. I will probably wait until iOS 14 is more common (and reliable) and then look into widgets at the same time, as they would probably need to show similar information. Some time next year maybe.