APPLE WATCH SERIES 5
Apple’s all-conquering smartwatch is also an excellent fitness wearable
lthough it’s not explicitly a fitness device, Apple Watch must presumably be the world’s most popular fitness wearable by now. Some people buy it specifically to track steps, runs and more; others buy it as smartwatch and then may or may not use the exercise features.
The latest incarnation adds very little over the Series 4 – the main non-aesthetic addition is the option of an always-on screen. For workouts, this is actually quite the boon, as it means you can immediately view your heart rate and other metrics, without having to activate the screen by turning your wrist.
The down side is that battery life is reduced, but then the device’s battery life has always been quite poor compared to Fitbit or Garmin. That’s why it doesn’t incorporate sleep tracking; it’s expected that you’ll be charging your Watch overnight.
Apple’s fitness game remains very strong, so long as you keep its battery topped up. Of course it does step counting, but there is also an excellent heart-rate tracker, as well as one for blood oxygen measuring. There are some moans about the pulse sensor online – everyone seems to
AIts fitness game remains strong, so long as you keep its battery topped up
get different results from wrist heart tracking – but we’ve always found it to be excellent. Calorie burn estimates seem consistently accurate, where most fitness trackers’ seem rather fanciful at times. In fact, we’ve done a bit of lab testing and found the Apple Watch’s calorie burn estimates to be remarkably similar to those shown by proper sports-medicine equipment, which you have to concede is quite impressive.
Accurate GPS, consistently good exercise detection and the ability to stream music via Bluetooth make it a great running and workout watch. Of course, if you are not on Wi-Fi, you will need to use a 4G connection to stream, but there is also the option to store playlists on the Watch, if you don’t want to use up your data allowance.
Apple’s own workout app doesn’t have some of the more advanced training metrics that Garmin offers, but via third party apps and sensors, the Watch can rival even the best fitness watches for sophistication, handling running, gym workouts and swimming with aplomb. One for the sporty type who likes to mix their activities, then.
WE’RE IMPRESSED Improved anodised aluminium lightweight design; always-on AMOLED display; improved battery life. WE’D IMPROVE Lacks GPS; only suits slighter wrists; more limited features than its rivals. THE LAST WORD The best Fitbit fitness watch to date but not yet taking a bite out of Apple and Garmin’s lead.