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Garmin Launched the first watch Native running power was also supported a few days ago, but these watches require one of Garmin’s proprietary accessories to access it. Yesterday, Apple upgraded it and introduced native runtime capabilities to the new watchOS 9, along with a host of other fitness and health-focused new features.
I’m not a big fan of Apple and don’t use their products, but it looks like Apple is really upping the ante on established sports companies, mainly Garmin.
Running power isn’t the only thing announced, but it’s a great example. Rumor has it that Garmin has long been working on a native running power source. It was disappointing when it was revealed a few days ago that you need a Garmin HRM or kickstand for power. COROS and Polar already have native support from watches, and now Apple has joined them. To Garmin, this looked a little awkward.
In addition to the running ability, Apple also announced a number of new health and fitness features, including:
- Triathlon mode allows you to automatically transition from swimming to cycling to running.
- Running form metrics include: vertical swing, stride length, and touchdown time.
- You can now view heart rate zones during exercise.
- You can now create new custom workouts including distance or interval based repetitions
- Alerts for heart rate zones, cadence, and other metrics
- Redesigned data page showing more data
- Users can choose to race against their best or last time on frequently used routes and receive alerts during workouts to let them know if they are ahead or behind their pace, and when they are off course.
- The new pacer experience lets users choose the distance and goal for the time they want to complete their run, and calculate the pace needed to achieve the goal.
- Swimming enhancements for kickboard detection, swimmers can now track their efficiency via SWOLF scores
- Introducing Apple Fitness+ Workouts, the first fitness and wellness service built around the Apple Watch.
Unfortunately, while the Apple Watch will support running power, it doesn’t support cycling power, which may be more popular with serious athletes than running power.
For health, they improved:
- With the introduction of sleep stages, sleep tracking provides even more insight. Using signals from the accelerometer and heart rate sensor, the Apple Watch can detect when the user is in REM, core or deep sleep.
- The ECG app has already identified potential signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib), but now, if you’ve been diagnosed with it, you can enable a history feature that estimates how often a user’s heart rate shows signs of AFib, providing more Deep insights into their state.
- A new medication feature that lets you manage and track medications, vitamins and supplements
comprehensive
I would never say the Apple Watch is a better exercise than exercise Forerunner 955 or Phoenix 7. Mainly because battery life is never acceptable for endurance events or like a full day hike.
For those committed to the Apple ecosystem, however, there seems to be fewer reasons to choose Garmin. Some people even have an Apple Watch for everyday use and a Garmin for sports, in which case there’s less need for a Garmin now.
