Apple Double Downs On Running With Nike-Edition Smartwatch

Apple isn’t the first to add GPS functionality to a smartwatch, but it’s the first to make something that feels like a running watch.

And the company is doubling down on that with a Nike edition out Friday, while Nike is bringing features from its phone app directly to all models of Apple Watch.

I’ve found devices without GPS typically awful at measuring how fast and how far I’m running. And those with GPS typically do little more than measure how fast and how far I’m running. The basics are great for casual runners, but anyone who becomes a serious runner needs much more.

I’ve logged more than 400 miles over the past six weeks with the GPS edition of Apple Watch, known as Series 2. I’ve also run 34 miles with the Nike Plus version over the past few days; it’s essentially a Series 2 watch with a custom wristband and watch face. With both, Apple addressed many of the shortcomings in the original watch, GPS being just one of them. I’m not ready to ditch my Garmin running watch yet, but the Apple Watch comes close to meeting all my needs.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GPS

The original watch does a fine job of latching onto your phone’s GPS if you’re running with the phone, but with built-in GPS, you can leave the phone behind. Accuracy is on par with other good GPS watches, which is to say, measurements are sometimes off, especially when tall buildings block GPS signals. The watch automatically calibrates to my running style, so it’s better than non-GPS devices even when there’s no GPS.

Though GPS drains the battery more quickly, the watch still had about an hour of non-GPS use left after a marathon run of about four hours, 40 minutes. For normal use, Apple says you should get up to 90 minutes a day of GPS workouts; I’ve often gone longer without the watch dying before bedtime. It helps that I’ve disabled the heart-rate sensor during workouts.