WorkOutDoors App Review: Is this the best running app for the Apple Watch?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2024
- The Apple Watch is a phenomenal smartwatch, but it’s always been lacking in a few key areas when it comes to the native run tracking. There are of course lots of running and sports apps for the Apple Watch, but in the past we’ve found any we’ve tested wanting too.
That is until a whole lot of you commented on our Apple Watch Series 6 review suggesting we tried out the WorkOutDoors app. Run Tester Nick did just that, and in this video he reviews WorkOutDoors and aims to answer two key questions: is this the best running app for the Apple Watch?, and, can it replace a dedicated running watch?
JUMP TO IT:
00:00 Intro
00:28 Key Info
02:00 Apple Watch Series 6 Key Points
03:38 Running Performance Pros
08:44 Running Performance Cons
12:37 Alternative Apps
14:47 Verdict
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thank you for your detailed review. im about to buy my first AW this monday and i find this very useful and helpful!
No problem, glad it was helpful! Enjoy the watch and the app :)
Very helpful! Downloading it ASAP. Definetely a huge upgrade for the money
Thanks for this great review.
Will consider WOD.
Good in-depth review. Thanks. And look at you and your 75 VO2 Max! 😎🏃♂️
Very well done, thank you for the video.
Thanks!
Thanks for the review, gonna try it now 😎
No problem 👍
Awesome info Nick! Ive been using NRC for a year which im happy with but im keen to customise a run instead of having to always do a guided run to give me prompts. Its $10 here in Australia but pretty awesome its a one off payment! All my other options were subscriptions which aren’t worth it for me.
Tip for battery life...dont use always on. I can go for an hour run then a 2hr surf and battery will still last me all day.
Thanks glad you liked the vid! I do love the structured workouts, huge feature for me in general on watches and apps. And ta on always-on, I love having it on at all times tbh, and haven't had trouble getting through the day, but maybe on days with longer runs it might be worth considering :)
Great review. Thanks. Love that you measured your lap manually. Your talking to runners so no explanation required. 😂
Haha thanks
congratulations for the real review!
Thank u for the review :)
No worries!
Thanks for this been looking for a good iPhone run app so off to buy this now :)
Thanks for this great, in-depth review of the app. I'm a long-time Garmin user, and I've been considering switching to the Apple watch for a lot of reasons, but had heard bad things about the native workout app. This makes the decision much easier!
Glad it was useful! Yep the native app isn't up to snuff for running, but WorkOutDoors really is great. Hoping it might get access to the always-on screen with the new iOS update this year too
Fantastic analysis! Thanks
Glad you liked it!
Thanks for the amazing review!!! Can the app download maps while using cellular apple watch feature? Thanks
Great review of a great App! I’ve been using it for years and haven’t looked back
Thanks! Great to hear, it's really impressive.
Can't seem to know why my intervals workout hasn't synced with the Apple Watch. I created the workout, pushed the 'send' button and it appears as 'sent' but not 'on watch'. Help!
Great review, it works for 90% of running and training. Thanks for review. I have Fenix and wanted apple with comparable stats.
I completely agree with you, I think this is the best running app for the AW. Great video.
Thanks :)
Excellent review but I’m still hovering over the checkout button for an iWatch series 7 to put this app on to. Currently a Garmin fenix 5x user. One question though - does a text message or call coming through whilst workoutdoors is running affect the recording of the activity?
Very cool. I'm using!! Thank you for the tips. I have a doubt: in the native app of the apple watch I can give 2 clicks and mark the lap traveled. Can I do this in this app??
Thanks for the info, very helpful. It is possible to pair and uses stryd pod? and check the power form
Glad it was useful. The next update of the app will have Stryd support, not sure exactly when it will launch but it’s coming!
Does the app sync structured workouts from training peaks ?
Thanks you for your review! I agree with everything you did! (Great minds….). Anyway, I started using Work Outdoors this week because I moved to a mountain town and need the vector maps so I don’t get lost. I still love my Garmin 245 Music, so I get all my stats from the Stryd/245 and wear my Apple Watch on the other wrist just to get the Work Outdoors maps.
The maps are pretty great, and that's a lovely combo to have the 245 with Stryd on the other wrist!
I just got the AWU for Christmas and I am wondering what to do with my G245M!
Great Review thanks! Had a Apple SE now for around a month, got it for things other than running, but gave it a shot along with my Garmin F6. Works OK but a couple of things I’ve noticed. The runs are consistently recorded as longer on the Apple Watch compared to the F6, I’m assuming the Garmin is the more accurate here as Ive got GPS + GLONAS on. Also, really like WorkOutDoor and love the maps, but prefer the easier to read always on screen on the F6, and I need the Garmin training metrics. So for me its a useful extra for looking at maps and also music control is much better than on the F6, so now I use both watches.....and probably look like a bit of a tech nerd!......but that’s OK!
Thanks! Interesting, I’ve not tested the SE but have heard it’s not as accurate as the 6, so thanks for sharing your take!
It has Steps per Minute real time read out AW stock fitness apps do not have. A game changer for a 70 yr old who monitors cadence doing brisk walking and light jog.
Great video guys, had a question about Garmin gps. Which gps setting do you find to be the most accurate?
Haha i could spend hours on this! I’ve gone back and forth tbh, currently on GPS+Galileo, but was on GPS+Glonass for a long time. Both pretty good but both have problem spots near me!
Thanks for the review. Agree that it is the best app for AW. Far better then any other app on the market. I use it for hiking as well. The route/map is very useful. I don’t need to pull out my phone for direction and look for correct route. But need to charge it in middle of the day.
Yeah the map is great! I guess with long hikes the battery life is more of a worry than with the runs I do
Great review, I’m currently considering switching back to an Apple Watch series from a Garmin venu…can you use the side button to start/stop with WOD? Also can you remove the 3,2,1 start feature? 👍
In the pace setting for this app, it asks how it should track my current pace. The default is set to pedometer, should I change it to gps? Why would it be set on pedometer if it’s way less accurate. there is also a slideable bar for smoothness of pace, not sure what this is or where to set it. Any help would be appreciated thanks 😊
Hey dudes. Is run power a metric that’s configurable using WOD. Cheers 👍
Just downloaded WorkOutDoors today for my new AWU. It looks like information overload! Will need some time to adjust.
Thank you very much for the honest and personal review of the combo, you just gained a new follower!!
I'm started my journey into cardio as a part of my training-routine with multiple regular runs per week, on behest of my coach (Who structures and plans them according to my data). I do it in addition to my weightlifiting to improve my general health and cardiovascular fitness, as (unsurprisingly) only doing weights don't cut it in terms of making your body/system more resilient. Thanks to your awesome job on dissecting the watches, I'm deciding on a Polar V2/M2. I'm deeply invested in the Apple ecosystem, so I'd take the Apple watch in a heartbeat. But:
Is the Apple watch suitable as a tracker of your journey towards improving your general/cardiovascular fitness as, say Polar Flow, which seems to me the gold-standard on that topic?
Thanks for your kind words! So the Apple Watch will track your vo2 max and resting heart rate, but it’s definitely not on the level of Polar’s insight. There might be third party apps I haven’t yet come across that provide more depth, but a Polar will almost certainly be the better bet for this I think. Though I would still say it’s worth pairing a chest strap heart rate monitor to a Polar for accurate info, the wrist measurements still don’t cut it!
If you used training peaks for your post run data analysis etc would this, in your opinion, solve that data analysis issue you mention when using the work outdoors app?
Hi, could you show me your interval schedules on iphone so I can see your settings? thanks
I recently bought a new iphone. I was wondering if there was a way to transfer the workouts I've done previously to my new phone?
Is there a way to set a timer like if I’m doing the run/walk method. I would like to set that instead of counting in my head, but it doesn’t look like I can do that in Intervals. Or at least I don’t know how 🤷♀️
A question, please. Did you notice differences between km in workoutdoors and km in strava, once you updated your activities? I did, every single time... thanks
Did you use the Pedometer or the GPS setting to calculate current pace? Thanks!
I use the GPS, but use lap or 60-second pace. Current pace is never really that accurate on watches
Know somebody if the always on display works with the app? Thank you very much for the information!
It does not unfortunately, maybe in the future!
nice! how can you get rid of the annonying screen saver that appears every 2-3s? It’s nice to wake up the app by moving the wrist and seeing the data. But within 2-3s that annoying screensaver sets is…?!
Best app
Great review, thanks! I just installed the app and really like it. Is there any way to quickly access music (Apple Music, Spotify) when in a workout?
Thanks! Yep you can set up a shortcut to music, I think on mine I set it to three screen taps. Check out the commands section in the app to set your shortcuts
Long press on the screen and you can find a shortcut to music.
Hey man, great video, quick question, does the screen stays on when using the app or does it shut down and you have to bring your wrist up to make it work? I’m having this problem with an app I’m using and it’s really annoying , using the exercices directly on the Apple Watch is the only way to have your screen always on..
let me know how it works for you !
Thanks. This app does not work with the always-on screen at the moment I’m afraid. However, the upcoming watchOS software update should make the always-on option available on third-party apps, so fingers crossed it will happen soon!
How do I put the lap with the physical button?
Really good review. I think I’m going to give the app a try as I’m looking for a app to create specific workouts in.
How does it work with/along side Apple Music when listen to music with headphones. Does it pause the music and play run info?
There is an option to pause or to duck the music for the run alerts.
Apparently in iOS 8 developers can programme their app to be always ON. (since October 2021). I notice no upgrade from WorkOutDoors which is most annoying. Hmmm.
Do you have the setting 'Use Calibrated Distance Estimates' on or off? When it's off it only uses GPS and was wondering if it's more accurate being off?
Hi! I use calibrated distances and occasionally do a run with the native workout app in good GPS conditions to make sure the watch is well calibrated. Sometimes GPS only can be better, really depends on if your watch is calibrated well for you!
How does this app effect the battery on the Apple Watch? I’ve been using Nike run club, do you think it’d be a great app for upgrading to the Workoutdoors.
It’s about the same as any other GPS app in my experience. It’s def an upgrade on the Nike app in my experience, especially if you want more data fields and customisable workouts
How do you retrieve your manual intervals? Because I have all the other irrelevant bs I don't want on the workout but no intervals? I mean, even a Timex has my intervals saved.
is it also possible to couple the stryd foot sensor with it?
Not yet, but that is coming in the next update I think!
Best app currently for AW. I use it for hiking.
How do you send the run from your watch to the app?? My iwatch shows the run but when I go to the app there’s nothing there
That’s odd! Once you end the run it shows up straight away on the app for me. Maybe try restarting both watch and app?
Olá! Quando está fazendo um exercício e baixa o braço, ele mostra a hora sob o exercício. Quando levanta, volta ao exercício. Sabe como tirar isso? Obrigado!
Excellent review! Good with comparisons and realistic expectations for battery life.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it
@@TheRunTesters BTW, impressive marathon pace!
Haha thanks!
Sounds worth trying. One feature I require,...does the app track mileage on each pair of shoes?
Unfortunately, it does not.
I use Strava for that. All your workouts can be automatically sent to Strava.
Thanks for this video, did you ever find a way to keep the display on? It annoys me having to flick my wrist mid run. As a fat lad i have enough to worry about with breathing 😂
Are there audible prompts for interval training?
Yep there are
I've adjusted and adjusted. But the GPS is not great. The watch also gives intervals randomly, and doesn't give intervals when you try to start one. The watch goes to sleep all the time, so you need to do this wrist flick thing that doesn't really work all the time. Sometimes, due to the motion of your running, the watch will go to a different screen, then you can't navigate back. I know most of this is 'the watch' but I'm disappointed.
Really good video, my Apple Watch is the reason I started running nearly two years ago. I started off with the built in exercise / activity app to track my runs and then ran for nearly a year using the Nike run club app, it’s ok but doing structured workouts isn’t possible unless it’s a guided run so I understand the frustration of not having a physical lap button on the Apple Watch.
I’ve now moved to Strava Apple Watch app and honestly it’s worse than both the built in and Nike run club in terms of features and customisation. You can’t set a distance, time or pace to run to, only an “open run” and then it will only display either average pace or split pace (in km or miles, depending which unit you use).
Is this app really that easy to export to Strava? Even though I pay Strava a subscription I would potentially buy this app if it gives me more functionality on my runs
Thanks! It’s very easy to get to Strava once you’ve linked your account yep, you just hit the share button in the workout on the app, or you can share from the watch too looking at workouts in your workout history. It doesn’t do it automatically, but I quite like controlling when it goes up to Strava! I used the Strava app for a while, it doesn’t come close to WorkOutDoors :)
@@TheRunTesters You can set it up for auto upload (I’m like you though. I like controlling the uploads.) if you want.
Ah thanks for letting me know!
I’m in the same boat with Strava. Paid for 1 year subscription Strava, and now I find out it can’t do intervals. Going to give wod a go now
Great video!
Styd app suck on distance target structure training. It always multiply the target in km with a factor. The support says this is isolated issue. WorkOutDoors is a rescue. I stick to heart rate training with this app. I hope workoutdoors can integrate stryd pod.
Thank you. This review really helped me get the right running app. I have been looking for a while.
Did you test the gps accuracy of the Apple Watch 5, like you did for the Apple Watch 6?
Glad it helped! I did test the Apple Watch 5 when it came out yep, found that it wasn’t great on GPS, especially when I ran with my phone as well. To me it really seems Apple stepped up the accuracy with the 6 to be on a par and sometimes even better than running watches
Does it work well with SE, too?
Thanks!
Hi! Yep it does but I’ve not tested that watch and I have heard the GPS is less accurate than on the 6, but don’t know how true that is
@@TheRunTesters Thank you
Its a fantastic app with a huge disconnect for me... no data shown for route distance remaining or eta for a loaded route, both hugely useful for long distance running and hiking in the latter half of the day. It seems an absurd ommision really. It interacts with the route (off/on course, etc), but no distance??
That's a good point! One thing that's good about it though is I think the developer is pretty responsive, could try contacting them on Twitter or through the website, try and get that feature in an update maybe.
Are you able to share with us your workoutdoors settings that you find gives the best GPS accuracy? For example:
- use calibrated distances: on or off?
- source for distance and average pace: apple or GPS?
- source for current pace: pedometer, Apple or GPS?
- smoothing of current pace level: high or low?
Great questions. Answers about current pace seem to in very short supply.
Is it possible to connect the AW with a Heart Rate chest strap and use the WorkOutDoors App?? thanks
Yep it is, you can connect straps via Bluetooth
@@TheRunTesters perfect :) than AW cover all my needs, thanks for the quick response! very appreciate :)
Unfortunately it is not possible to use the always on function with the workoutdoors app and the apple watch during a run. But it works with the Stryd app now. Is there a solution so that it also works with the workoutdoors app?
It is something I’d expect to come to WorkOutDoors in an update in the future, but probably not that soon unfortunately.
@@TheRunTesters I changed the watch from Apple Watch 3 to Apple Watch 7 yesterday. However, I am very disappointed that the WOD app does not support the always on feature. Is support for the always on display feature of third-party apps a wish or an upcoming thing? I'm thinking about buying a garmin for this.
Thanks for the cid! Definitely going to give it a try, especially for some trail runs I’m planning on doing.
My main app for the last couple of years now has been Intervals Pro. It’s been great for structured workouts, where you can create multiple different sets of intervals within the same timer and they’ve added features every so often that have made it even better. It’s syncing is usually spot on, taking no more than a second or two (night and day difference between this and a Suunto watch I used to use, which took sometime tens of minutes to sync if you were lucky). Unfortunately, it does not have any mapping, and it is not as flexible to change things once you have already set them up. Everything has to be done on the phone, so you cannot change goals or the length of intervals on the watch itself, and cannot do anything with the timer already active. For instance, if I’m run walking a certain distance, but towards the end I want to change the run interval duration, I have to stop the workout and either choose another timer I already have setup, or go into the phone to make changes to the timer I was just using. Also, they allow you to customize the watch face , but there is no way to save a preset custom watch face that you can easily swap into your other timers, once you figure out a new setup that works better. The app has been close to being perfect for my needs but there are little quirks and “pain points” that make it a little less than that.
I’m curious to see how this all compares to Work Outdoors.
Does your apple watch have cellular connection? (Is this app good for GPS only apple watches?
Great review thanks. Not sure if I might have missed it in the comments below, but can you view average heart rate during a run on the watch (i.e. not after, as this is already supported by other apps)? This is a key metric I look at to see ensure I am not overcooking a run. Love the customisation!
Yep you can, there are all kinds of heart rate stats to pick from to show during a run
Hi. Do you have problems with the accuracy of the distance/pace when running on the track? I tried running both Apple Health app and WOD concurrently and Apple Health would give a more accurate measurement. Have you tried tinkering with the source of the current pace? It lets you choose between Pedometer, GPS, and Apple Health. Do you know what’s the difference between the 3?
So this is a very interesting point! I’ve not been able to use it on track yet owing to the lockdown here but will try as soon as i can, so far accuracy has been vgood even on short road loops. Haven’t changed source yet (i use lap or 60s rolling pace as better than current pace in general). I guess pedometer is just using the accelerometer in the watch to judge distance, gps is probably watch’s own gps, and apple health is maybe using your phone’s gps?
I’d also say that on the track I tend to just use watch as a stopwatch anyway though. I don’t really mind if the distance etc is wrong since I have the track anyway, but it is a good test of a watch’s accuracy!
hey man, that was very detailed. the cost is one time or yearly charges?
Anyway, I was hoping that you would give some coupon discount codes to purchase form this channel. Net up Garmin Venu sq???
As usual "a huge shoot from a fan"
Hi, yeah I had a lot to say haha, ran a little long. It's a one-off cost. We don't really do codes etc at the moment I'm afraid, but we have reviewed the Venu Sq here th-cam.com/video/5fTdITMhSCU/w-d-xo.html
@@TheRunTestersThanks Nick: Your team is awesome. Thanks for the URL. I noticed you run almost every day or alternate days is it.. When do you rest? Please share recovery workouts you undertake. Have you guys do cross workout? Like Cycling?
Thanks! I run 5-6 days a week generally, at least one rest day when I will do an easy cycle and some core stuff. I also do short yoga sessions three times a week, and of course at least half of my runs are pretty easy pace :)
Six bucks is a decent sandwich bro, chill LOL
No is not. The elevation difference between workoutdoors vs strange is massive!
You probably already mentioned this, but I don’t need to have my phone with me to be able to look at and control the map, correct? I want to buy a GPS model of the series 7. You think buying this app is worth it instead of using the built in running features in the Apple Watch? Great vid btw
Yep that's right, you can download map sections and send them to your watch to use without your phone. I would say that if you're buying an Apple Watch for running, this app is basically a must, it's so much better than the native tracking. Aside from the lack of an always-on screen, which hopefully will come in time. Thanks!
I trust you because of the medals hanging on the wall...
Workoutdoors doesn’t work for everyone, In my case the watch loses GPS, this seems quite a regular occurrence with Workoutdoors..
Have you tested the new Apple Watch os and workout app?
Sorry. I know what a mile is. I've been running for over 40 years. I know what my 10 minute mile is. WorkOutdoors says I ran a 10.40 mile. Not possible. I know what a mile is and the first mile is WAAAY long. It seems to get better after that but not great. I don't know about this watch. Basically my timex ironman does what I need. I wanted this for GPS and music. If it can't give me accurate readings? I did a 2.3 mile run. It was off by .05. That is almost 90 yards. In just 2 miles?
Has anyone else has experienced sudden battery drainage when using this app?
Ah that’s annoying! Nothing like that for me yet.
My Apple Watch battery lasts over 2 days
Interesting, with outdoor exercise?
@@TheRunTesters one out door run in that time, but I don’t have always on on.