Intrigued by Apple Watch with LTE

[drfierce]

Have not been particularly interested in prior iterations of the Apple Watch as I like my G-shocks and my Seiko. Was listening to a description of the recent keynote and they actually had someone call in from a paddleboard from her watch.

I actually like being unplugged on the water.  However, the ability to let my wife know if I'm running late, call for help for myself or someone else, or even take work calls when I'm not carrying my phone is pretty appealing.  (I'm a physician and have to carry my phone in a dry bag frequently on weekends).

Curious to know what you all think.

[PDLSFR]

I am also now interested in version 3 , especially since the version 1 I loved got ripped off my arm during a Jose surf session in little RI.

Wave I lost it on was at least a few feet overhead and I think it came off during the closeout when I spent some time tumbling around in the washing machine whitewater. Got back on my feet and felt/noticed immediately it was gone, looked around hoping it was floating nearby but the next set most likely washed it away. I set the "find you phone" feature to display my phone number so if it's found fingers crossed I get a call but doubtful.

[MaineSUP]

I had an apple watch for a while and had hoped that it could work as my fitness tracker for SUP like a garmin or other GPS watch.  What I found was that the apple watch is neat but  it didn't have everything that I was looking for in terms of SUP (it also didn't have LTE). 

It was not good for fitness tracking for a few reasons.  First, the heart rate monitor was not very accurate for paddling.  It worked pretty good for running and so I think it was to due with the fact that it measures at the wrist versus a chest strap.  Second, I could not find a good app for keeping track of my info.  The apple fitness app is not designed for SUP and I found it would often consider me to have stopped when I was not paddling fast enough (i.e. into the wind/up current/in rough conditions) and so would not capture all of my track.  MotionX has a watch app but I could never get it to work and could not find another app for the watch. Third, it has an accelerometer and so had hoped it could measure stroke rate.  It could not.  It was fantastic for running but not so much for SUP.

I'd always bring my phone as well when I paddled and it was very convenient to call/text/communicate using the watch.  So if your main purpose for having the watch on the water is communication then a watch with LTE should work very well.

My apple watch ended up coming off and so is on the bottom somewhere and I opted not to replace it. I'm finding that phone in dry bag plus bluetooth headphones is working well enough.

[burchas]

I held off mainly because the issues MaineSUP raised. If I can find a decent app that gives me what my Garmin VivoActive HR gives me, I would buy it today
I night just buy it because of the communication application and hope for a good SUP App, I find the phone to be too involved to work with while on the water,
especially in emergency.

[PonoBill]

I think they're interesting, my wife has a version 1, but never uses it. I view the new watch with LTE to be version 1 of what their watch need to be to begin with. For the time being I'm happy with my iPhone in a lifeproof case, in a magnetic closure drybag stuffed in the shoulder pocket of my camelbak. I don't need headphones to listen to music, get coached by MotionX, or answer calls. The integration to my Garmin Vivoactive HR is useful--I can see what song is playing and answer calls without pulling out the phone. A lanyard on the drybag keeps the whole assembly from joining all the other stuff I've left on the river or ocean bottom.

Maybe when the LTE version is about 3.0 I'll look at it. For now, it's still too limited and likely to be glitchy.

[digger71]

It was not good for fitness tracking for a few reasons.  First, the heart rate monitor was not very accurate for paddling.  It worked pretty good for running and so I think it was to due with the fact that it measures at the wrist versus a chest strap 

I say this after doing zero research, but I'm guessing there are plenty of external chest straps that are compatible with the Apple watch. 

[connector14]

I am waiting for real reviews of the new Samsung Gear2 Sport.  The wrist based hr monitor is supposed to be better than past wrist based sensors and it is fresh and salt water resistant and is supposed to work even while swimming. It should have an SUP app for tracking and I would think it would also work with Endomondo which I really like. I believe it should all work independent of your phone and it also has QI wireless charging which is a big plus as far as I am concerned.

[Dwight (DW)]

With life proof cases leaking, I'm thrilled to no longer risk the phone and instead just use the LTE watch.

What watch bands failed for you guys?

I'm using the sport band with plenty of extra band length tucked in.

I own the version 1 and 2. Been surfing with them since day one.

[baddog]

Yeah, it's cool and I want one.  But...

iPhone X is a for sure as I'm still on an iPhone 6.

Plus it's not geeky talking to your wrist, it's lame and so effing millennial...  That's super lame.

[Dusk Patrol]

I would talk to my wrist if this:

[viatormundi]

There is an app called Paddle Logger. Works only in Apple Watch Series 2 or upper version with GPS. It tracks your paddling session and the details can be seen in the iPhone later. The only downside is that it shows the time and the distance while paddling not the speed. But in the stats it shows average speed etc.
If they would include the current speed function on the screen then it is quite good tool since it can be used Apple watch without the phone as well.

https://www.paddlelogger.com

[PDLSFR]

It works fine on the Apple watch series 1 as I used it all year for the CCBC training and event.

[viatormundi]

It works fine on the Apple watch series 1 as I used it all year for the CCBC training and event.

But with Apple Watch 1 you need to have the phone with you as well right? With Series 2 or 3 it is not necessary.

[PDLSFR]

Possibly haven’t paddled without my phone as I usually take it in case something happens and need to make an emergency call.

I’d offer to try but lost that apple watch last Sunday surfing, picking up a replacement verson 2 today.

[Dwight (DW)]

If you lost an Apple Watch surfing, what watch band failed?