# Apple Watch instead of Garmin?



## Jonesy22 (Mar 21, 2011)

Anyone think the new Apple watch coming out will be good for biking?


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

doubt it.


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## Nail Every Trail (Sep 28, 2012)

it doesn't look rugged enough for it to work properly for too long, and I thought it had to be synced with an Iphone 6 or something silly like that. 

If someone could design a AppleWatch/Casio G Shock collaboration I would be interested. Durable, rugged, waterproof, anti vibration, rubber strap, with built in gps and all the extra tech features( bluetooth, wireless uploads, alerts etc) I'd buy one in a second. 

But right now I'll just stick with my Garmin 500.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

The Apple Watch isn't a stand alone GPS device. It has to be connected to an iPhone to work. All it is is a secondary display for information from the phone. If you were running a cycling app on the phone (with watch integration) such as Strava, Endomondo etc I'd guess that you could use it as a cycle computer to see your speed etc.

For cycling there are a couple of concerns. The main one is how water resistant it is.

_"We had a few questions about the Apple Watch after the keynote, so we asked company reps for some additional details. First, the Watch isn't waterproof -- just water-resistant. Exact ratings are still unknown, but these watches clearly aren't something you want to be wearing when pushed into a pool or jumping into the ocean; they should withstand splashing, snow and other minimal exposure to this particular element, but since the mic and speakers aren't protected, do so at your own risk."_ *Engadget*

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/09/iwatch-hands-on/

In order to see the display whilst riding on a bike you'd want the watch to be mounted on your handlebars. If the watch is mounted on the bars, rather than on your wrist, the optical heart rate monitor built into the Apple Watch won't work.


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## elliott436 (Jul 25, 2014)

Jonesy22 said:


> Anyone think the new Apple watch coming out will be good for biking?


That's going to be a negative for sure, I just got an email stating that the watch's spec may Change and that apple isn't giving us (best buy mobile) any more info. So I would stick with the garmin!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

DCRainmaker's thoughts on the Apple watch:

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*ST:* You recently tweeted about the new Apple smart watch and shared concerns that both the critics and fan boys had bad information. Talk about that new watch.

*Ray:* It has been interesting watching that [introduction]. Obviously there has been a lot of information released about the Apple watch, but at the same time some things, especially for the endurance athlete, that aren't yet released. Looking at stuff like waterproofing for example. Officially nothing has been said, but unofficially some of the reporters who are a little more connected to the Apple world have found out that you can't take it into the shower for example. More like a classical timepiece that wasn't very water friendly. And that has of course concerns for health and fitness. If it is not shower friendly, sweat will kill things much much better than a shower will. If you are going for a long run and before you know it - sweat will be everywhere. I think there is a lot of interest in the final spec once it is released, but Apple has rightfully been a bit quiet in terms of where they are. I think some of the sensor pieces, including the heart rate sensor they have in there, will make it very fascinating to see where they are and who is behind it - if it is homegrown or outsourced to someone else. There are a number of players in the optical sensor industry and some of them are well known and very well respected, Mio and Valencell, and then there are others who are lesser known and those who tend to produce lower quality sensors, and we find some of those in devices from Samsung, the S5 and the Gear Fit. A lot of those devices and sensors are pretty horrible actually. It will be interesting to see what Apple has done there.

*ST:* Do you actually think that people who buy that Apple watch will use it for sport, or is it just a cool gadget?

*Ray:* I definitely think it will be a cool gadget, but initially, or with that first release we may have to hold off on the sporting activities because of water proofing issues. I am really fascinated to see what apps they will pursue, and it will be a wake up call for the rest of the fitness industry - in terms of making app compliant watches, and making watches and devices that can host apps. That will really cause the Apple watch to flourish, in terms of a Strava or similar making an app for the device just like they do on the iPhone. That is totally why the iPhone and iPad have exploded as they have, because of the app capability.

I was reading a blog from someone who is not at all a fitness person, but a guy who likes classical watches and buys really expensive European watches. He said he did not think that people who buy high-end classical watches will use it as day-to-day time piece, they will wear it here and there. And I think athletes might be in the same boat. They might wear the Apple watch to the office, at least in the first version, and it might not be their training watch. "

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/On_smartwatches_power_meters_4620.html

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## Joules (Oct 12, 2005)

Nail Every Trail said:


> If someone could design a AppleWatch/Casio G Shock collaboration I would be interested. Durable, rugged, waterproof, anti vibration, rubber strap, with built in gps and all the extra tech features( bluetooth, wireless uploads, alerts etc) I'd buy one in a second.


so a garmin forerunner? That they've been making for a few years now.


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## bikerNik (Oct 23, 2012)

Not sure if this thread is already resolved - but decided to post my experiences with the Apple Watch - and provide a link to my testing of the product in conjunction with several Apple iPhone apps for mountain biking...

I finally returned my Apple Watch back to Apple today...I liked the idea, but found too many issues with the actual implementation.
All in all I had to return it....here are my postings on it: (I do not intend to spam with my blog - just did not want to rewrite multiple postings...)

Here is the link to several postings - hopefully will find useful


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