I was need of a new GPS watch and it so worked out that
Apple was releasing a new version, the Series 3.
As a runner first, whatever watch I get (and this review is centered
around running first) will support my running career first and foremost. If I can’t do workouts with the right data on
my watch, or long runs, or feel confident the information I receive is correct
then all the other bells and whistles are not worth it for me. So, when writing this review that is what I
am focusing on, is the Apple Watch Series 3 a good watch for a runner like
myself? Interestingly enough the answer
may surprise you (obviously that means it is).
I received the Apple Watch on release day and setup was
quite the breeze. Having never used an
Apple Watch (AW) or smart watch before I loved how easy Apple was able to take
all the data from my years of using my IPhone and get it onto the watch. Since the series 3 allows for cellular data
it was very simple to setup that portion of the watch, link it to my data plan
(AT&T waives many of the initial fees so I can just get going immediately)
and have everything ready to go. The
longest part was the downloading of all the apps I have on my phone that also
work on the watch. After playing around
with what apps to keep and not (not sure I need my Chipotle app on my watch but
I might regret this decision if I end up hungry on a run) I ran through some of
the settings and got into the important stuff for me. I quickly downloaded the Strava app and looked
into the Workouts app. I was immediately
disappointed that the Strava app lacked all customization and after reading
online I am not the only one. It
currently allows for 3 fields, time, current time and distance. Nope, sorry for a runner those are not even
the three most important fields, let alone not enough fields. Outside of a workout and even then not so
much I rarely care about what my pace is for the current second during my run,
average pace yes please. So immediately
the Strava App would not support my running, however workouts app did allow for
5 fields to be available and had many choices.
I ended up on Total Time, Heart Rate, Distance, Avg Pace, Current
Pace(although like I said how about making last lap an option). With everything figured out I charged my
watch up and was ready for my first run, a 22-24 mile long run(Go big or go
home Apple Watch).
I heard all the negatives of the AW, like how your battery
life won’t last your long runs or how the GPS will be so far off it will
frustrate you to no end, or how because of the screen you can’t read it in the
bright sun. So my first run I took off
at the crack of dawn for 24 miles with a watch on both wrist(Garmin on the
right, AW on the left) on a run that would see me progress down to faster than
marathon pace. I was going to give the
AW and the 3+ hours I’d be out running all it could handle. I left so early it was still dark out and
immediately I loved how when you turn the watch towards your face it illuminates
in the dark and is perfectly clear (Garmin obviously has a light you just have
to hit a button). I was doing a point to
point run and my wife was going to meet me at the end point and she was very
happy to be able to pull me up on find my friends and see where I was (thank
you cellular data without phone!) and also text me to update me (which I
ignored because I was running but nice to have). Ten miles into my run I was happy to see that
both watches had similar distances (off by .05) as I started to do some loops
around a lake. As I knew the distance
was 1.4 miles around I was happy to see AW clearly get that every time around
as did of course the Garmin. I headed to
my final destination, a local track for some faster stuff at the end. At this point the watches seemed to disagree
and after 6 miles running on the track they ended up .6 miles off. It would be easy to say the AW was the
culprit but the splits the Garmin had me running were way outside what I felt
capable for myself and off from the split a friend had for the 5k timer I ran
so who knows. I finished my 24 miles and
spent some time hanging around afterwards noticed that even with cellular data
running the whole time, and heart rate data that 3.5 hours from when I started
my battery life was still at 45% when finished.
Honestly that’s pretty solid all things considered in my opinion and a
far cry from what everyone told me.
After that run I began to try my AW out on many different
terrains and runs for the rest of the week, and stopped wearing two watches
because man was that not fun(also I got called a dork a bunch on my first run). I took it on a run through the trails on
Sunday and got a very similar distance to my friend who was wearing a newer
Garmin Watch (however she started it late so I’ll never know!). I took it out for a morning run with a friend
that I run twice a week and got the same exact distance I get every week when I
used my Garmin. I even took it through
some of my lunch runs and through a workout.
A solid week throwing everything I could at it and the AW continued to
shine and handle mostly everything I needed to perform my running but I’d be
remiss if I didn’t talk about some bad things that might matter to you.
First off the lackluster Strava app aside, which I don’t
necessarily hold the watch responsible for since I really enjoy the workout
app, the synchronization between Garmin Connect, Strava and Health App (which
is where everything is store on the Iphone) is really lacking currently. Strava being the main place most of us
runners store our data it’s important that one way or another our runs get into
Strava so we can get the Kudos’s from our friends(really it’s my main training
log these days). Currently to do that I
needed to download a $1.99 app called RunGap which shares my data from Health
to Strava but it shouldn’t be needed.
From what I read the new WatchOS should allow this to occur
automatically in the future when app developers make updates but until that
does happen it’s not my favorite. Secondly,
the only way to take splits is to double tap the screen which sounds nice and
easy except during my workout many times it did not take the first couple
tries. It’s nice that it does vibrate
your wrist when you hit a segment so I get some feedback but it was not
responsive enough for me doing a workout and wanting a split. Some segments took 7 seconds of double
tapping, maybe my hands were too sweaty(How about letting me split a segment
clicking the side buttons?)? Also along
these lines, I don’t know what other runners do but on my Garmin I have a
second screen I use for workouts because I want different information for
intervals then I do for runs. It would
be nice if I could slide to the right and create a different interface for when
I do workouts (also add a Last Lap and Current Lap field please). Pausing is also not my favorite, hitting the
two side buttons to pause when 1 button could work seems silly. Although it’s better than having to slide the
screen to the left and hitting pause(nope).
So, onto the good, I absolutely love the heart rate
data. For once I can trust heart rate
data as run after run I watch it progress normally like I’d expect. No more seeing 200 heart rates on 8-minute
mile easy days, or giant spikes for no reason on runs. For my 24 miler I saw a constant increase the
entire time and that makes me feel confident in the data. The display whether sunny or dark out I love
it, it’s crystal clear and displays my information in an easy to read
format. The GPS data has been really
solid, the slight vibration for a split is nice/subtle and not an annoying beep
I turned off on my Garmin. It really has
helped to meet all the expectations I would want from a GPS watch.
And lastly the bells and whistles which factor into this for
me, as I said if the watch can perform its primary function the rest only helps
me as a runner. Having the ability to
receive/send texts and make phones calls without my phone (which I never bring
on a run, and therefore why my Instagram suffers #PhotosFromTheRun) is
amazing. The phone quality from the
watch is great as I’ve tested it out calling my wife. Do I need to send texts while I am out on a
20 mile long run, nope. But if something
happens to me and I need something or assistance having that safety net can’t
be ignored. Heck through applepay you
can technically make purchases from my watch if I need a mid-run fuel. I didn’t get to test it but with WatchOS 4.1
the ability to stream on LTE is coming and I can’t express how nice it will be
to be able to stream music or other things on my runs to Bluetooth speakers
without needing a phone. Many days I’d
love to just get out on a run and listen to something and relax but I don’t
want to bring my phone so this will be a game changer for me, although I do
recognize it will probably destroy my battery life of the watch. I’d imagine a runner might not want to run
cellular data while streaming music to their Bluetooth headset for a marathon
if they want the watch to make it. Lastly
while this isn’t something I crave having notifications on my wrist has been a
nice addition for my GPS watch.
I got the watch because I do enjoy apple products but also
because I knew if I hated it I could just return it and get a GPS watch. I went in knowing this watch HAD to perform
as a GPS watch otherwise none of this other stuff mattered and once it proved
it can meet my needs(with some minor hiccups, honestly I think a new Strava app
will fix most of them) all these other nice to haves put this watch over the
top for me. I have a watch that can meet
all my running and now day to day needs all for around the same price some of
the top end GPS watches cost. If you are
up for a new GPS watch and don’t hate Apple just because I’d highly recommend
you give it a try and see what you think.
You might be surprised at how it performs and if you don’t like it take
advantage of Apples return policy.
However, I think most serious runners might be surprised that this watch
can work for our needs.
As always if you have any questions hit me up and I’ll be
happy to give you any impressions or feedback you want.
