Apple Watch Series 10 - I held off for this?

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#3281684 13-Sep-2024 12:35

I'm upgrading from a series 5, but I pretty much just use it for notifications - it seems like an OK upgrade over 5 years but nothing blowing me away here - then again how much more do I really need aa watch to do. Got some spare air points so waiting for them to show up on the air points store.

Paul1977

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#3281720 13-Sep-2024 14:49

Senecio:

I just wish they'd add the precision start to the standard Apple Watch from the Ultra. My wrist isn't big enough for the Ultra but I won't swap out my Garmin for an AW without precision start.

I don't even know what precision start is, so probably a good sign I don't need it!

alasta

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#3281743 13-Sep-2024 15:04

Precision start is Apple's colourful marketing language for something that watches have had for decades; the ability to start precisely upon passing the start line at a competitive event. It is crazy that the standard series Apple Watches don't have this, and I find myself performing an awkward workaround by starting, pausing, and unpausing in the seconds leading up to crossing the start line.

To be fair, the time on my watch is always within a couple of seconds of my official time so the end result is actually okay.

Senecio

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#3281752 13-Sep-2024 15:45

I’m not too concerned with starting it exactly as I cross the start line. For me it’s more about having confirmation that the watch has acquired a GPS lock before starting an activity. I hate starting a run not knowing whether my watch knows where only to find out later that it’s lost the first few hundred meters. More recent watches are much better than they used to be but in some weather conditions it takes a while to get a lock.

alasta

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#3281758 13-Sep-2024 16:10

That's interesting. I haven't had that problem.

My training runs start and finish at home and the start position is within a few metres of my front door, with the location tracking accurate from that point onwards. I just checked my last major events, Taupo & Wellington half marathons, and the starting tracks there are also spot on relative to the satellite imagery. Likewise my last open water swim at the end of last summer.

Is there a particular pattern of behaviour where you're noticing loss of GPS data at the beginning of your activities?

Handsomedan

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#3281760 13-Sep-2024 16:17

Senecio:

I’m not too concerned with starting it exactly as I cross the start line. For me it’s more about having confirmation that the watch has acquired a GPS lock before starting an activity. I hate starting a run not knowing whether my watch knows where only to find out later that it’s lost the first few hundred meters. More recent watches are much better than they used to be but in some weather conditions it takes a while to get a lock.

Never had that issue with my Ultra. I use it a lot for Mountain Biking and it tracks every inch.

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#3281766 13-Sep-2024 16:35

alasta:

That's interesting. I haven't had that problem.

My training runs start and finish at home and the start position is within a few metres of my front door, with the location tracking accurate from that point onwards. I just checked my last major events, Taupo & Wellington half marathons, and the starting tracks there are also spot on relative to the satellite imagery. Likewise my last open water swim at the end of last summer.

Is there a particular pattern of behaviour where you're noticing loss of GPS data at the beginning of your activities?

I have never had that issue with my current apple watch, although I did have some GPS route tracking issues with my old series 2 one, but that was 8 years old tech. I use mine when I am cycling and a $40 cycling computer which has GPS built in is actually just as good for GPS tracks as my apple watch is and records maximum speeds more accurately and at closer intervals, but that does take 30 seconds or so for GPS to lock on and start working. .

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#3281778 13-Sep-2024 16:44

It is quite dependent on terrain. One of our favourite runs round the Redwoods in Dunedin starts in a valley between a couple of ridges with large tree cover and GPS signal is dreadful. Quite often it will be out by 50-100m at the start and different devices often record+/-1km over a five to ten km run.

My series 6 is better than my wife’s SE watch and both are much happier if there’s an iPhone with me (I assume it piggybacks on the phone GPS). The Strava app on the watch is noticeably worse than the Apple Watch app.

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alasta

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#3281818 13-Sep-2024 17:51

My series 6 is better than my wife’s SE watch and both are much happier if there’s an iPhone with me (I assume it piggybacks on the phone GPS). The Strava app on the watch is noticeably worse than the Apple Watch app.

My recollection is that previously the iPhone GPS radio would always be prioritised if you had it with you, but more recent Apple Watches (I think maybe series 7 onwards?) always use the GPS radio in the watch regardless of whether your iPhone is present.

I never have my iPhone with me when running, although I usually have it in my tow float when open water swimming. I wonder if the presence of my iPhone might be of some benefit when I am leaving the house at the start of a run, as it would provide a precise location at my starting point and hence potentially help the watch with getting a GPS lock.

It would be really interesting to know some of the detail of how it all works.

Handle9

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#3281819 13-Sep-2024 17:56

alasta:
Handle9:

It's an incremental upgrade of a mature technology. Same as the last 5 years.

That's true on the hardware side. Where the Apple Watch has been really improving in recent years has been the software features. The advanced running metrics, track mode and race route have been really useful for me. The upcoming changes such as training load, customised routes with offline maps, structured swim workouts, and customisable tiled layout of the fitness app will be a huge step forward in closing the gap with products like Garmin Fenix/Forerunner.

They are all useful but relatively minor features.

For people who care about them they are important but they don’t really change a lot for the majority.

It’s almost the definition of incremental improvement.

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#3281820 13-Sep-2024 17:57

I'm sure DC Rainmaker will have a long and definitive answer to this, if I could ever find it on his site!

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alasta

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#3281822 13-Sep-2024 18:16

Handle9:

They are all useful but relatively minor features.

For people who care about them they are important but they don’t really change a lot for the majority.

I would have thought that the majority of people buying a sports watch would be using it for at least one of the three main endurance sports, i.e. running, cycling or swimming. From that perspective I think the Watch OS features from the last two or three years are material in terms of planning training, monitoring performance and limiting the risk of injury.

Handle9

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#3281831 13-Sep-2024 18:35

alasta:
Handle9:

They are all useful but relatively minor features.

For people who care about them they are important but they don’t really change a lot for the majority.

I would have thought that the majority of people buying a sports watch would be using it for at least one of the three main endurance sports, i.e. running, cycling or swimming. From that perspective I think the Watch OS features from the last two or three years are material in terms of planning training, monitoring performance and limiting the risk of injury.

There’s a subset of people buying a sports watch. Far more are just buying a smart watch.

alasta

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#3281872 13-Sep-2024 20:10

Handle9:

There’s a subset of people buying a sports watch. Far more are just buying a smart watch.

I think wearables are an amazing tool for athletes but I struggle to see a compelling use case for anyone else, except maybe people with heath conditions that require daily monitoring of heart rate, sleep, etc.

Historically the Apple Watch has been the top selling wearable by volume, but Garmin have been on top in terms of revenue. That implies that the people spending a lot of money on wearables are the people using them primarily for endurance sports, hence why Apple have been aggressively catching up with Garmin in that regard.

When I attend running events I still see a sea of Garmins, but in the last couple of years I've started to notice a few more Apple Watches. It'll be interesting to see if that trend continues.

Handle9

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#3281901 13-Sep-2024 21:03

alasta:

Handle9:

There’s a subset of people buying a sports watch. Far more are just buying a smart watch.

I think wearables are an amazing tool for athletes but I struggle to see a compelling use case for anyone else, except maybe people with heath conditions that require daily monitoring of heart rate, sleep, etc.

Historically the Apple Watch has been the top selling wearable by volume, but Garmin have been on top in terms of revenue. That implies that the people spending a lot of money on wearables are the people using them primarily for endurance sports, hence why Apple have been aggressively catching up with Garmin in that regard.

When I attend running events I still see a sea of Garmins, but in the last couple of years I've started to notice a few more Apple Watches. It'll be interesting to see if that trend continues.

There's a variety of use cases for wearables and your use case isn't someone elses.

I've had wearables for a long time and notifications are my primary use case. Being able to have my phone permanently on silent has real value for me, as does being able to get notifications without looking at my phone. My secondary use case is step count but not having to hear a phone ringing is massively valuable to me. My job has changed a bit now but in previous roles my phone would be ringing constantly and diverting my attention. Not having to deal with that is incredibly valuable.

As you said Apple has had the largest number of devices sold without having some of the more sport specific use cases. They are incrementally adding these to the existing functionality to grow their reach but it's not a massive change for the majority of their customers. It's an incremental change to their offering as opposed to a big one like the Watch Ultra which allowed them to access a different market.

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