- Get Acquainted with the Activity App on the Apple Watch
- Get Acquainted with the Activity App on the iPhone
- Get Started Using the Workout App on the Apple Watch
- How to Use the Heart Rate App
- App Options for Fitness-Minded People
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Get Acquainted with the Activity App on the iPhone
The Apple Watch edition of the Activity app displays information about your movement and activity within a 12-hour period, but does not store information from past periods in the watch. To retrieve and review this information, you must use the iPhone edition of the app, which stores information as soon as you start wearing your Apple Watch, and then stores all information on a daily basis, so you can review it in one day, one week, or monthly increments.
The iPhone edition of the Activity app automatically installs onto your iPhone as soon as you begin using the Apple Watch edition. You don’t need to manually install it from the App Store.
NOTE
Without an Apple Watch feeding data into the iPhone edition of the Activity app, this smartphone edition of the app serves little purpose on its own.
After the Activity app icon appears on your iPhone’s Home screen, all you need to do is tap on that icon to launch the app. The current day’s activity data, in the form of the three colored activity rings, appears (see Figure 5.19). Either tap on the History icon at the bottom of the screen, or tap on one of the smaller activity ring icons along the top of the screen, each of which corresponds to a day of the week, to view that day’s data.
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FIGURE 5.19 View the current day’s activity data via the activity rings in the center of the screen. The current week’s data appears one day at a time along the top of the screen.
To see a Month view, tap on the “<” icon in the top-left corner of the screen (see Figure 5.20). You can then scroll up or down to see past or upcoming months. An activity ring icon appears for each day of the month (that’s already occurred). Tap on it to view that day’s Activity app data in detail.
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FIGURE 5.20 The Month at-a-glance view of the Activity app (iPhone edition).
As you’re viewing Activity data for a single day, the three colored activity rings display rather largely on the screen, along with the date. Scroll down on this screen to view individual activity ring data, and its corresponding graph for that day (see Figure 5.21).
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FIGURE 5.21 View details about each activity ring for any given day from your iPhone.
From any of these graphics, swipe your finger from right to left across the chart to view the same information using text and numbers (see Figure 5.22). Swipe from left to right to return to the graphic view, or simply scroll up or down to view additional information collected for that day.
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FIGURE 5.22 View Activity app information as a chart, or using text and numbers.
For example, if you look at the text data for the Move graph (and red activity ring), the number of active calories burned, along with your daily calorie burn goal, appears first, followed by the number of Active Calories burned again, the number of Resting Calories burned, and the Total Calories burned.
Look at the bottom of each day’s screen to see the total number of steps taken and the distance traveled (in text and number format, instead of graphics).
To view a separate graphics-based screen that shows the Achievements you’ve earned since day one of using the Activity app, tap on the Achievements icon at the bottom of the screen.
CAUTION
Although the Apple Watch’s built-in sensors are designed for accuracy, the watch itself (and the technology in it) is classified as a consumer-oriented product, and not a medical device. Don’t rely on the watch’s built-in sensors to offer 100 percent accurate activity-related data collection.
In the early weeks after the Apple Watch’s release, many fitness-savvy people who compared the results collected by the Apple Watch with data collected by other pieces of equipment did find discrepancies and inaccuracies, which Apple had begun to address through Apple Watch OS updates. At the time this book was being written, these issues had not been fully resolved.
Other optional devices, including fitness/activity trackers and heart rate monitors, are available from third parties, some of which are also classified as consumer-oriented products, whereas others are considered extremely accurate medical devices. If you require better data accuracy than what the Apple Watch can currently offer, consider using one of these other devices in addition to or instead of the Apple Watch.