On Tuesday, September 12, Apple Last years Apple Watches came with some big performance improvements, especially with the, dubbed “Wonderlust” Pros and Cons of Destination Half Marathons—iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.
Rumors are swirling about what products will be announced, with many media outlets speculating that we’ll see a new Apple Watch 9 and possibly an update to the Apple Watch Ultra, which was released last fall. But will there be any meaningful updates to the Apple Watch lineup this year? Maybe not, because the 10th (“X”?) version of the Apple Watch is just a year away. That means we could have to wait a while longer for any big, exciting developments, and instead settle for just minor performance tweaks this year.
Last year’s Apple Watches came with some big performance improvements, especially with the release of the all-new Apple Watch Ultra. That watch boasts 36 hours of battery life, dual-frequency GPS for better run-tracking accuracy, and a second side button that Apple calls an “action button” to quickly launch an app (or start a workout).
In advance of any announcements that Apple may make this year, here are three items from my wishlist that I’d like to see come to the Apple Watch ecosystem. While Apple has made considerable strides to bring the Apple Watch more into the sports world—especially with the AWU—there are some key features that still make The Best Songs to Add to Your Playlist this Month this year. This is the time of year that the company rolls out new devices.
Improved Battery Life
The Apple Watch Ultra showed improvements in run time and is able to last up to 36 hours of normal use. I found I can stretch it to two days when going for an hour-long jog each day. But, that’s still far less than any GPS watch from Garmin or Coros. Then again, none of those watches can connect to cellular, which I use a lot so I can leave my phone at home but still listen to music while I run.
If you leave on all the power-hungry features, you’ll have a hard time going any further than a standard marathon distance. And, that’s just not up to snuff these days when we’ve been conditioned to watches lasting many days or weeks.
So, for the AW to be a true competitor, battery life is going to have to improve. Significantly.
User-Created Routes
I love turn-by-turn directions on my running watch. When traveling, for example, I can plot out a route in advance using Strava’s heat map so I know the best places to run in a city that’s unfamiliar to me. Or, I can find new routes closer to home, ensuring that I don’t make any wrong turns that shorten or lengthen my intended run.
You can’t do this on an Apple Watch. Sure, it has a Maps app, but that doesn’t let you pick out your own route. And it’s limited to point-to-point directions—you can’t chart out a loop, for example.
Navigation, once limited to the backcountry-ready watches like the Garmin Fenix, is trickling down to more affordable watches. Apple Watch needs this.
You may know that the Workouts app on the Watch has a “Race Route” feature. That’s kind of like what I want, but it also has some significant shortcomings. One, you can’t actually create your own routes. Those are auto-generated based on places you’ve already run. Also, I don’t like the “race” aspect of it. I don’t want to race the route, I just want to be guided on my intended path.
Customizable Data Screens
Apple Watch came a long way by actually allowing you to change what metrics you can see on each screen—and giving you more screens, like split, segment, elevation, power, and stride analysis. But, every single data line is exactly the same size. You can’t alter the layout of those or the size of the text.
On a Garmin, for example, I can change a screen to have just one or two metrics, and those numbers can be huge. This is important because not all of us have great eyesight to see those small digits. I want to leave my glasses at home but still be able to easily read the distance or pace. That’s too hard to do in the current operating system.
Bonus Wish: Glove-Friendly
This is mighty nitpicky, because I know the Apple Watch is a touch-centric device and that the designers don’t want to clutter it up like a utilitarian sports watch. Still, I wish Apple Watches were compatible with gloves. I’m not talking about the gloves that let you operate a smartphone. I’m talking about the kind that keep you toasty in a Michigan blizzard.
The only way to do that: physical buttons. Apple Watch Ultra is a step in the right direction, thanks to the Action button. But you can’t do much more than start and stop a workout or trigger a lap split. You have to risk frostbite for anything else.
On Tuesday, September 12 Runner's World, guiding the brand's shoes and gear coverage. A true shoe dog, he's spent more than a decade testing and reviewing shoes. In 2017, he ran in 285 different pairs of shoes, including a streak of 257 days wearing a different model.
