HeartWatch 4
Keep an eye on your heart HeartWatch has a chart for every kind of heart-related data you could wish to access
$3.99 FROM Tantsissa, heartwatch4.tantsissa.com NEEDS iOS 11 and watchOS 4.0 or later
HeartWatch’s stated goal is to make it easy to understand your heart health. It attempts to do this through pairing with your Apple Watch and breaking down its treasure trove of data into various charts and graphs, learning from your activity levels and suggesting new targets and goals.
HeartWatch has a chart for every kind of heart-related data you could wish to access. It uses tiles to show each section’s summaries; drilling down into a specific section provides a wealth of useful data, all presented in an attractive, digestible way, along with suggested fitness targets based on your historic info. When put together with the horde of other tiles in the app, each bulging with info, it can feel a little overwhelming.
HeartWatch’s home screen starts with a week view along the top, with your selected day’s data below. A swipe changes each tile from showing a circular or bar graph to a gauge, much like a car’s speedometer. Tap on the tile and you get a daily breakdown of that metric, down to almost the minute-by-minute level. A long press reveals bar graphs for various measurements, such as sedentary heart rate, workout duration, sleep quality, and more. It’s a huge array of info and knowing where to start can be a little intimidating.
It is, however, a data nerd’s dream. While there’s a ton of information, it’s all presented in a highly understandable way that shows you exactly how you’re doing over time. In short, it’s a goldmine. Compared to Apple’s Health app, Health feels like the entrée, whereas HeartWatch is the main course. After using HeartWatch, Apple’s attempt feels just too basic.
Easy to watch
HeartWatch’s Apple Watch app, meanwhile, feels perfectly balanced between accessibility and detail, providing just what you need for a quick update on your heart health. Its complications are useful, and its settings can be easily tweaked.
Should you get HeartWatch? The simple answer is yes. Not only does it present your heart data in a more understandable way than Apple’s Health, but it does so while providing much more detail – no mean feat. With a little practice to overcome the information overload, it’s a fantastic tool.