Apple Watch functions - General Questions and Answers

Hey Guys,
Tell me Which functions of Apple Watch do you like most?

I used to be an Android adept, untill Apple released their Watch 6. I was completely amazed what this watch was capable off compared to a lot of Android watches. So I bought one and what amazes me? The design of the watch, the fact that updates are released regularly, inclusing older series like the 3, the saturation measurement (certainly in this Corona time), the accuracy of the heart rate monitoring and steps counting, it's security and last but not least, the app store. I downloaded an app called iCardio for measuring my health condition and it works flawlesly. Shows my HR during several exercises, count my steps, keeps track of my calories used and also counts my steps speed, all in beautiful graphs, etc. Kind regards, kuzibri

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Fitness Apps? Other Apps?

Hey guys, new to the S2, and smartwatches, etc. What fitness apps are recommended? S-Health on it doesn't seem to do much, and the heart rate monitor only checks when I hit the widget... Sooo pretty much only step count right out of the box.
While I'm at it, what other apps are recommended? I do not need notifications for anything outside of text and calls, so anything like that is unnecessary. But I am trying to get the most out of this thing, so let me know!
Please and thanks!
Seriously, nothing? Are there no apps to recommend?
It depends what are you looking for. I saw some apps, but haven't tried them (I use special watch for sport tracking):
- Fit Evolution
- Lifesum
- Nike
- PEAR
... Search App Manager for fitness.
Thanks. I did a search too, but I was hoping some people could tell me what's good or not. Most have good and bad reviews. Guess I'll just start trying things
gettinwicked said:
Hey guys, new to the S2, and smartwatches, etc. What fitness apps are recommended? S-Health on it doesn't seem to do much, and the heart rate monitor only checks when I hit the widget... Sooo pretty much only step count right out of the box.
While I'm at it, what other apps are recommended? I do not need notifications for anything outside of text and calls, so anything like that is unnecessary. But I am trying to get the most out of this thing, so let me know!
Please and thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S Health and Nike are the two apps that come with the watch, and as others have noticed, a number of other more specialized apps are dribbling out. S Health automatically checks heart rate (you can set it to "try" to measure every 10 minutes or every hour throughout the day), and also has routines the user can initiate for running, walking, cycling, hiking, elliptical, exercise bike, step machine, and treadmill. All of them record heart rate, some of them more: cycling, for example, also tracks your route, altitude, and speed throughout your ride.
Any apps out there for measuring rowing?? Besides heart rate, that is.
rogerperk said:
Any apps out there for measuring rowing?? Besides heart rate, that is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Something I would like to. I'd really also like something that senses and accounts for other types of exercises outside of running/biking/etc., such as lifting weights, sit-ups, these kinds of things. Fitbit offers this with their Alta (who knows how well it works though...). At least something that you can enter in the reps, etc. for each workout and calculates calories burned.
Does Strava work here?
I've released two fitness apps so for: Always-On Speed and Always-On Pace. They don't track your activity though, all they do is show current time and your speed or pace.
When I bike, I use Endomondo on my phone for tracking and Always-On Speed on my watch so that I can always see the most important instantaneous information, which is time and speed, of course
Apps I Use Daily
Daily Usage Apps, Professional & Personal
- S Health (does the tracking I need at work, home, etc. love it so much.)
- Workout Trainer (helps me work out daily, even with only 5 minutes of time)
- Lifesum (track food)
- Heart Rate
- Water & Caffeine Intake
- Tip Calculator
- Here Maps
- Flipboard
I'm looking into others but these I use a lot.
Endomondo will be released soon for the Gear S2 and S3.
My apps (Always-On Speed and Always-On Pace) have been there for while.
UnderArmour just released MapMyRun and Endomondo.
I have been using SHealth for a while to track runs. It works, doesn't use too much battery, but I have a lot of issues with the way they present data. Like splits and pace are in miles per hour and there is no way to see your actual average pace while running (only an instantaneous pace, which jumps all over the place). Also the watch only displays one thing at a time, so elapsed time is on one screen and you have to move to another screen to see distance, which is annoying. Then you have to mentally do the math to figure out your average min/mile pace, which on a 20 mile run gets harder and harder to do as mental function starts to break down...
I just downloaded MapMyRun (never used it before) and I like the interface better. It allegedly connects to SHealth so I can store my history of workouts there. It also displays elapsed time and distance on the same screen in big bold numbers, which is nice. Also has an average pace if you swipe down. We will see, I'll try using it for a while.
S Health distance and heartrate are not accurate. Off by .5 for a 1.5 walk and heartrate 30 plus more that it measures manually.
Yes, i agree with rogerperk and it's impossible to change manualy the distance after the run, sad. I hope it'will be updated soon bacause in other ways, it's a good app.

Step Counting Accuracy Comparison

I recently got a Huawei Watch 2 Classic and coming from a Fitbit Charge 2, and am getting a bit confused with step counting and the magnitude of apps I seem to have now and the wild difference between step counting.
I realise none of them are going to 100% accurate and am just looking for a rough guide of what I am getting during the day.
So now I seem to have a variety of places I can view my step count (as I am currently wearing both the Classic & my Fitbit), and the results vary massively, an example from yesterday...
Application - Device - Total
Google Fit - Phone / Web - 5326
Google Fit - Watch 2 Classic - 5305
Daily Tracking - Watch 2 Classic - 3113
Huawei Health - Phone - 4193
Fitbit - Charge 2 - 9282
So thats a high of 9282 and a low of 3113, for the same day wearing both wearables constantly, with the difference that the Watch was on my non-dominant wrist and Fitbit was on my dominant wrist but set as such within the Fitbit app.
A couple of points I don't understand:
* Google Fit differently reports on the Phone app differs from that displayed on the Watch.
I thought it could be that the phone also records movement but shouldn't the two apps resolve to the same number for historical values?
* Daily Tracking & Health app report differently, but I thought Daily Tracking was the watch version of the Health app? as above I thought the Health phone app would record movement, but again would of thought it resolved for historical numbers
* Daily Tracking, Health & Fit are essentially using the same Watch and phone hardware, but are 1000 to 2000 steps different. I realise they probably have different algorithms for step calculation, but this seems a lot.
* Fitbit is way more!
I am looking to get a look at my step count (and would prefer to consolidate everything in Google Fit) but unsure where the differences come from and which one is more reliable and why the two Google Fit sources differ (albeit only by a small margin).
Has anyone worked out how to get them to align, or which to go with, or what is the best method to consolidate?
Any advice would be appreciated!
Fitbit has been known to over estimate step counts.
huawie watch I have proved over estimates steps after update. Fitbit and Xiaomi are more accurate.
In fact the cheapest Xiaomi is more accurate than all. I am wondering if my Huawie watch 2 has faulty sensors...
It is a shame Huawie is not addressing this...
I'm having the same issue. Currently using Pixel 2 XL and Huawei Watch 2 Classic. Please join this thread and send a bug report so we can get it fixed. Thanks! https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/77606997

Gear S3 as a sports tracker?! Is it really possible?!

Hi there
Tell me please if you use your gear as a sports/trening tracker?
Why do I ask? Recently I have been using gear s3 along with tomtom spark and I am really dissapointed with gear results
Calories burn are terribly low, distance is incorrect, heart rate sometimes stucks and shows the same data for all training, I can't edit trainings (eg I can't change 'other training' into for example 'martial arts") etc
Is gear sport the same? Do you have any comparision?
Perhaps tizen2 was better in this area?
Thanks for any suggestions/ideas etc
Official Samsung says the accuracy is 80% but in reality we all know is lower.
For activity I would recommend a an activity tracker dedicated instead of a smartwatch.
Try using the UA fitness apps. I started using UA Record again (I stopped because it wouldn't sync correctly, does now), and it seems way more accurate with my workouts. Honestly, outside of the UI and look of the watch, this thing isn't great. If you want a good fitness tracker, try Garmin, I've heard very good things,. Also, give Android Wear a shot too if you want to keep the style of a smartwatch. I had a Huawei watch 2 classic, and Google Fit was awesome for tracking, at least strength training (all I tried). I went back to Samsung because I missed the UI and the watch 2 battery life suuuccckkkeeeddd.

[APP] New Altimeter app - working core, collecting suggestions for design

Hi,
I want to do a little survey about redesign my app. Somebody may remember it - Elevation Tracker (here you can find some info: https://forum.xda-developers.com/gear-s3/themes/app-elevation-tracker-gear-app-store-t3635451). I'm using it for a year and I want to find out if there will be enough interest from users.
Mission
To make the most out of the Gear S3's barometric data.
Default Altimeter has nice design, but it's not so practical.
Features
Algorithm for automatic recognizing of altitude change due to movement or barometric change due to weather. Example: You are sitting in the office for 4 hours withnout movement, than took a lunch in the kitchen - two floors higher, then come back for another 4 hours. The weather changes during the day, raining...
Samsung's altimeter: Shows growing the altitude, because the pressure decreases. Looks like you ascended 50m, descended 6m.
This app: Altitude is polished by Suunto algorithm (rule = alti change less than 2 meters in 2 minuts is marked as weather change). It shows you exacly ascended 6m and descended 6m. Graph is clearly flat when you are sitting, ignoring weather changes.
Ascended and descended elevation counter in selected interval. You can go 30 days back in precision of 1 minute. Of course, only if Gear S3 is turned on. Otherwise, gap if filled by flat line.
Using the bezel, you can read single altitude at specified time (date pickers, time pickers implemented). At specified time, you can calibrate altitude, which is taken as reference point for whole selected interval.
Graph shows MIN / MAX.
Main problem
It's not possible to support Tizen OS 2.3 and 3.0 at the same time. That's the reason I deleted the app from store. I updated it to support OS 3.0, but many users are still on 2.3 (I don't know why). Samsung did there very very bad job, unpossible to support both OS at the same time. Also, OS 3.0 is full of bugs for developers, but that is another story...
I like the circle graph. But most of you don't. So I want to add other layouts, recommended by you!
What I need from you
Do you want to use this app? Are you using Tizen OS 3.0? (app will not support OS 2.3)
Please help me with layout, post here some samples. It is easy to redesign the app now, because I have working core. But when I look at Garmin Fenix 5 or Suunto Spartan (see layouts in attached files) altimeters, I'm not sure if that is what the most pople want.
What another function you would like to see in the app?
Donate would be nice - in XDA profile The app will be always free, as it's mainly for me
Other...
My idea of using this app is:
-You are on trail and you can switch Gear S3 to offline mode with display turned off. At evening, in basecamp, you can analyse altitude data. Or event after 30 days!
-During working day, you can easily track when did you used elevator, went the steps etc...
The process of loading a new data (when you select new interval):
1. Graph of barometric pressure[blue] ->
2. Graph of calculated altitude[orange] ->
3. Graph of polished altitude[green], now bezel is enabled.
Thank you so much for ideas!!
Hey mate,
i've been here on XDA for a while now, but you got my attention enough to finally make an account.
I'd love to support you and your app, but first of all, it needs to be downloadable in Europe (Gears S3 frontier, without LTE).
As a gliderpilot this App could be a real help.
Some ideas include:
- Increase and decrease of altitude (in ft/min and m/s)
- Warning at: above, below, passing through a certain height
- Time between heights (interesting for high altitude hikers as well, like: above XXX ft for YY minutes)
As a pilot I also would like to see the glide slope, but this wouldn't fit into this app.
I'd like to offer my help as developer. I'm goood in C#/Photoshop but never have written something for Tizen. I would need some advice.
Otherwise i could offer a donation (but prefer to work^^)
Greetings
Diego
Hi Diego,
thank you for your post!
About developing for Tizen - it's a bit nightmare It is not difficult, the problem is OS bugs and no compatibility between different versions of OS, which cause bad reviews, which caused suspend of my apps in store. I want to support only latest OS for Gear S3.
Overall, it's not a problem to code your ideas at all. I'm using chart.js, where it's possible to graph almost everything.
I'm using this app a lot by myself, but I deleted it from the store, because OS 3.0 has a bug with rotary bezel (bezel is frozen after date/time picker shows) and I don't want to receive bad reviews. I may rename it as "beta" and post it again...
About your effort, it would be really helpful to design a layout in Photoshop. Than I can try to code it.
As the app is now working in history mode (browsing collected data (1 sample minute)), I would imagine splitting the app for
REAL-TIME mode (new)
HISTORY mode
So, what do you think about making some layouts?
Thanks!
Really interested in this app for Tizen 3.0.
Will it be available in the app store at some point?
Hi Dev,
Thanks for your work.
I used and installed your app, but as many users say, the 360 deg chart is counter-intuitive and ended up uninstalling.
I very much prefer the Suunto one, Garmin in second place.
Altitude charts always with linear x-y axis in my opinion, very intuitive.
Have you considered using altitude data based on location (like Strava does) instead of relying on barometric changes?
If the chart was linear I'd be happy to use again and donate.
IIRC, it was somewhat intricate to pick the timespan for the chart -don't remember the details.
Thanks
Hello,
but many users are still on 2.3 (I don't know why) => because there is not Tizen os 3 on some devices (Gear S2 for instance).
I’ve just reset my watch because I have to change my phone.
There is no way to get all old apps
Dashboard Watchface and altimeter for exemple disappears from my watch and there is no possibility to get it from Galaxy store.
What a shame. This is planned obsolescence.

Question What are the features you look for when buying a watch face?

Each user is different, and has a different requirement.
Yet, what are the specific things you look for when purchasing or installing a watch face?
At the moment, here is what i look for:
1. AOD face: I keep AOD on at all times, so this is critical for me to avoid screen burn-in problems. The watch face i use must have extremely minimal and simple AOD face, preferably configurable.
2. Phone battery: I don't know why, but this is something I look for specifically.
3. World Clock: I prefer a watch face that allows me to quickly see the time in another time zone (my brother lives in another time zone).
4. Day, Date and Weather: These 3 are a must.
5. Chance of rain: Another good addition.
6. Watch battery: Usually present in all watch faces.
7. Multiple app shortcuts.
I look for one that accomodates all of the above.
I personally don't prefer a watch or an app telling me about my health or reminding me to drink water, etc. I find those quite absurd. More importantly, these are unreliable. So steps, heart rate, BP, etc. are not important for me.
RELATED POSTS
You'll find more info and related links here:
Wear OS - Facts
Hello community! In this post, I am giving you info on some aspects of Wear OS, which you may or may not know. All the details presented are based on my experience with Samsung Galaxy Watch4 (WiFi model), running on Wear OS 3.x. So they may not...
forum.xda-developers.com
I just make My own using the galaxy watch face program
Watch Face Studio downloads | Samsung Developers
The world runs on you.
developer.samsung.com
Tips:
Create a Watch Face Using Tag Expressions | Samsung Developers
Learn how to create a watch face that responds based on the date, time, step count, heart rate, and battery level using Tag Expressions in Watch Face Studio.
developer.samsung.com
djdarkknight96 said:
I just make My own using the galaxy watch face program
Watch Face Studio downloads | Samsung Developers
The world runs on you.
developer.samsung.com
Tips:
Create a Watch Face Using Tag Expressions | Samsung Developers
Learn how to create a watch face that responds based on the date, time, step count, heart rate, and battery level using Tag Expressions in Watch Face Studio.
developer.samsung.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol same, I don't know if it's just me but it just gives a certain satisfaction using a watch face made by my own hands and logic, I started making by searching random watch face on Google images(most simpler ones) on my OG GW46 then by the time I got GW4 I was lucky to have WFS all ready for me to use and with the prior experience with GWS this was just a different UI but with less number of customisations, I guess their defence is that Google has not shared the API details with them to add other functionalities, but yeah it is fun to make our own and use it, I have created a lot of them by looking up images on Google but I hardly use any, I just like creating them.
TheMystic said:
Each user is different, and has a different requirement.
Yet, what are the specific things you look for when purchasing or installing a watch face?
At the moment, here is what i look for:
1. AOD face: I keep AOD on at all times, so this is critical for me to avoid screen burn-in problems. The watch face i use must have extremely minimal and simple AOD face, preferably configurable.
2. Phone battery: I don't know why, but this is something I look for specifically.
3. World Clock: I prefer a watch face that allows me to quickly see the time in another time zone (my brother lives in another time zone).
4. Day, Date and Weather: These 3 are a must.
5. Chance of rain: Another good addition.
6. Watch battery: Usually present in all watch faces.
7. Multiple app shortcuts.
I look for one that accomodates all of the above.
I personally don't prefer a watch or an app telling me about my health or reminding me to drink water, etc. I find those quite absurd. More importantly, these are unreliable. So steps, heart rate, BP, etc. are not important for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use I-DIGIT. Covers everything you listed.
dalepl said:
I use I-DIGIT. Covers everything you listed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check this out:
HMKWatch Digital 146 - Apps on Google Play
Comfortable and clear digital watch face.
play.google.com
This is even better and more informative:
01. Day & Date
02. Weather, with location
03. Moon Phase
04. Phone Battery
05. Watch Battery
06. Calendar
07. World Clock
08. Feels like Temperature
09. Chance of Rain
10. Sunrise and Sunset
11. One custom app shortcut
And all of these are extremely well laid out too, which makes everything easy to read with just a glance.
Haven't seen anything more informative and neat yet!
I prefer the I-DIGIT. It has just as much information:
1. Top three are user defined widgets (I have heart rate, weather and world time)
2. watch battery
3. phone battery
4. time
5. UTC time
6. date
7. four user defined short cuts (I have watch settings, agenda, stopwatch and remote camera control)
So, both have 11 items showing, I can user define 7 of mine. Also like the analog watch hands. Many other settings for the watch face. The one you show is nice, it is just this one gives me more of what I wanted. I am a Test Engineer and require UTC time for testing. Hard to find nice watch faces with that. The rest is just items I like. I show Manila time because my wife is from the Philippines, but if you select it, it will bring up the world clock. Watch faces are personal preference as for functionality and what they show. I do agree I do not use the health apps, so I did not want that showing. I can if I want but chose not to. I cannot use most because I have a bad heart and an ICD implant. Enjoy.
dalepl said:
I prefer the I-DIGIT. It has just as much information:
1. Top three are user defined widgets (I have heart rate, weather and world time)
2. watch battery
3. phone battery
4. time
5. UTC time
6. date
7. four user defined short cuts (I have watch settings, agenda, stopwatch and remote camera control)
So, both have 11 items showing, I can user define 7 of mine. Also like the analog watch hands. Many other settings for the watch face. The one you show is nice, it is just this one gives me more of what I wanted. I am a Test Engineer and require UTC time for testing. Hard to find nice watch faces with that. The rest is just items I like. I show Manila time because my wife is from the Philippines, but if you select it, it will bring up the world clock. Watch faces are personal preference as for functionality and what they show. I do agree I do not use the health apps, so I did not want that showing. I can if I want but chose not to. I cannot use most because I have a bad heart and an ICD implant. Enjoy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't include time in the list, because that is present on all watch faces. So with time included, there are a total of 12 items displayed on the watch face. Out of that, 8 are customisable.
What I like specifically about this watch face (HMK Digi 146) are some specific features which I find missing in most other watch faces:
1. Weather, WITH LOCATION
2. Chance of rain
3. Moon Phase
UTC time is available too, but it requires the companion app here:
Complications Suite - Wear OS - Apps on Google Play
Add some missing Custom Complications to your Wear OS Watch Face.
play.google.com
If you have the above app installed, you'll be able to add UTC time to all watch faces.
Most of the info displayed will open the corresponding app when tapped. For example, tapping on Date will open calendar, tapping on weather will open weather, etc.
This watch face can show health related info too, but I haven't added them.
As you said, it is a matter of personal choice. I have tried over 50 watch faces so far, and this is the most comprehensive one i found, because of the reasons mentioned above.
Wish you good health and recovery.
One that actually fills the full screen, nearly every watchface i try on specials/coupons etc isnt made to take up the entire screen of a 44mm Watch 4...wasted space, so the text and details are smaller than they should be., and a stupid 4-5mm gap around the outside before the bezel
Apparently people only design for Watch 4 classic and the bezel, which is cutting off about 70% of your market, in case me telling you youre doing it wrong in literally every feedback request for your watchface hasnt already sunken in yet
Short version: just install Pixel Minimal watchface, pay for premium, and get on with life. Its the best there is...
.
73sydney said:
One that actually fills the full screen, nearly every watchface i try on specials/coupons etc isnt made to take up the entire screen of a 44mm Watch 4...wasted space, so the text and details are smaller than they should be., and a stupid 4-5mm gap around the outside before the bezel
Apparently people only design for Watch 4 classic and the bezel, which is cutting off about 70% of your market, in case me telling you youre doing it wrong in literally every feedback request for your watchface hasnt already sunken in yet
Short version: just install Pixel Minimal watchface, pay for premium, and get on with life. Its the best there is...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the ones I have tried look good. I'm not sure if there is so much of wasted space as you claim, although I will admit I haven't paid attention into so much minute details. I also think that many of the designs are limited by the software used, and the complications chosen. So the app developers may not be entirely to blame.
Pixel Minimal is good, and so are the ones I have linked in OP.

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