Apple just launched their Series 10 watch with bigger screens and new features, such as sleep Apnea detection. These new watches will ship with watchOS 11 installed. Apple had previously previewed watchOS 11 in June at WWDC, and has since announced the launch date as September 19th for prior generations.
Could these updates bring the Apple Watch closer to its competitors in terms of health, fitness, and recovery metrics. Below we explore many of the new features and compare them to the existing Garmin metrics.
- Training Load: This feature will measure how workout intensity and duration impact your body over time. It provides insights into the strain of your workouts over the past seven days compared to the last 28 days, helping users make better training decisions. This is similar to Garmin’s Training Load and Training Status features, which also track workout strain and recovery.
- Effort Rating: After each workout, users will receive an effort rating based on data such as heart rate, GPS, and elevation. This can be manually adjusted to reflect additional factors like stress or soreness. Garmin has a similar feature with its Training Effect and Recovery Time metrics.
- Vitals App: The Vitals app will monitor various health metrics, such as heart rate and blood oxygen levels. When two or more metrics fall outside typical ranges, users will receive a notification with insights into possible causes, like illness or even factors like alcohol consumption or elevation changes. This mirrors some features Garmin users have come to rely on, like HRV Status, Body Battery and Stress Tracking.
- Sleep and Recovery Metrics: The Vitals app will also track users’ recovery during sleep and provide feedback on potential issues like stress or illness, much like Garmin’s Advanced Sleep Tracking and Training Readiness features.
- Customizable Activity Rings: Users can now customize their activity rings and choose to pause activity streaks on rest days. While there are no activity rings on Garmin, similar functionality does exist, including Garmin’s recommended rest days as well as the ability to pause training status if you are injured or just need a break.
- Enhanced Fitness App: New activity profiles, including sports like soccer, football, skiing, and more, are expected. This brings watchOS closer to Garmin’s wide array of activity profiles, which include detailed tracking for everything from skiing to outdoor hiking.
