Apple unveiled the first generation of its Watch more than two years ago, but it wasn’t until last month that the company released the second iteration of its wearable. The new Apple Watch, which is being referred to as the Apple Watch Series 3, offers significant enhancements in comparison to its predecessor. These upgrades include a few tweaks that make it more helpful for monitoring one’s health and fitness.
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When seen as a piece of exercise equipment, the fact that the first iteration of this watch was a bit on the expensive side was a significant drawback. The watch could be purchased for a higher price if it included additional features in addition to its activity tracking capabilities. The watch was far too simplistic and far too pricey to be taken seriously as a potential competitor to some of the specialized fitness trackers already available on the market. However, it did provide an entry point for the vast majority of people in the general population who had not yet given any thought to actively monitoring their own health and fitness activity.
The second version of the product included a processor that was 50% faster, a brighter screen, and, most importantly, GPS and waterproofing.Because of this, it has become a more significant competitor to established brands like Fitbit and Garmin. It was, in many respects, the version that ought to have been released in 2015.
This year, we were given a few additional helpful enhancements, such as compatibility with LTE, a speedier CPU and wireless chip, and a barometer altimeter. The amount of time that a single charge will last is one aspect that has not changed across all three versions. Even though it has a battery life of approximately 18 to 24 hours, consumers still need to charge it virtually every day. Because of this, the watch does not monitor how long you spend sleeping, which is probably for the best given the watch’s limited battery life.
Another notable omission from the first two generations of the device was the ability to estimate your altitude as well as track the number of floors that you have ascended. This feature is included with the third generation device. When it comes to keeping track of your skiing workouts, this will undoubtedly prove to be helpful.
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Other significant alterations have been made to the sensor for the heart rate. By simply raising your wrist, you will now be able to display your current heart rate, which has been made possible as a result of an update to the operating system as well as the addition of a new component. The addition of a “recovering heart rate” that displays how quickly your heart rate drops after exercise, as well as an alarm that goes off if the watch detects an abnormal surge in your data, is also included in this watch.
The Apple Watch can now, for the very first time, tell you what your heart rate is like when you’re at rest. The fact that it took Apple three years to come up with this final one is puzzling given that it is maybe the most essential indicator of your health and fitness.
Despite all of these improvements, the device continues to fall somewhere in an awkward middle ground between a general-purpose smartwatch and a sports watch that doubles as a fitness tracker. If you are a serious runner, you are definitely better off purchasing a specialized GPS sports watch rather than using your phone as a running companion because the GPS allows you to leave it behind when you go for a run. You will receive more advanced performance analytics as a result of doing this.
Because it is water resistant, the watch can count laps, keep track of average lap pace, and automatically recognise the type of stroke being used in order to calculate active calorie burn. However, despite the fact that all of this is wonderful to have, if you are a serious swimmer and are interested in more accurate data, there are other solutions available to you that are superior.
This year, Apple has made strides toward bridging the gap between its products and those of specialist fitness trackers. You will now have access to an altimeter and advanced heart rate statistics, in addition to a few other enhancements and improvements.
Battery life continues to be the most significant barrier preventing the Apple Watch from becoming a truly 24/7 fitness tracker. The Apple Watch has a battery life of about 18 to 24 hours, which puts it considerably behind its competitors. For instance, the majority of fitness trackers and sports watches manufactured by Garmin can survive at least a week without needing a charge, and Fitbit is also very close to reaching that benchmark.
There are certain noticeable features that are missing, such as Vo2Max, stress monitoring, and active coaching. Sleep tracking is not one of them. Wearables manufacturers will need to give far more relevant analysis of our vital data in order to compete in a market that is continually growing and that will soon require them to do more than simply display health metrics.
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Our speedy assessment of the Apple Watch Series 3’s capabilities as a wearable fitness tracker
Having said all of this, it is important to keep in mind that the Apple Watch is not only a fitness tracker but also offers a wide variety of other features and functions. Because of this, the health and fitness qualities it possesses have to be considered a bonus rather than the primary motivation for making the purchase. especially when the cost is taken into consideration. No other product even comes close to competing with the Apple Watch when it comes to the breadth and depth of its smartwatch functionality.
As a watch that is specifically designed for tracking your workouts and sports? It is plain to see that Apple is getting closer to competing with industry leaders like Fitbit and Garmin with each passing year. There are superior and more cost-effective solutions available if you are looking for a fitness tracker or sports watch. The device of the third generation does a good job, but if you are interested in either, you should look elsewhere. The Apple Watch still has room for improvement, despite recent additions such as water resistance, an internal GPS, an altimeter, and more advanced heart rate analytics.
