It is very hard to get Apple Watch to respond to gestures from by sweating fingers during a workout. This reduces the usefulness of the workout app. Is there a solution?
Watch Sport 42mm, iOS 8.3
watchOS 2 ... It is supposed to allow you to use Siri to control the workout app.
I have the same issue with the touchscreen, and try to dry my finger on my shirt or something before hitting the virtual buttons. But when it is 95 degrees with 70% humidity, it isn't always easy to make that work.
Poor planning on Apple's part ... I guess they didn't expect people to sweat during workouts.
G3gator wrote:
I have found it useful to exercise with some clothes on. These provide an easy way to wipe sweat off the fingers.
George
Funny ... I'll try to remember that for tomorrow's run. No wonder people have been staring. 😁
In all seriousness though, if you live in the south like I do, you are hard pressed to find any dry areas on your clothes in which to wipe your sweaty fingers anytime after about 20 minutes into the outdoor run or ride.
But hopefully this will become moot when watchOS2 comes out.
Poor planning on Apple's part ... I guess they didn't expect people to sweat during workouts.
Apple is so lucky to have you around to point this usage case. They wouldn't have thought of it on their own in a million years.
Obviously, I was just being sarcastic.
Also obvious is the fact that they put out the first version of the watch most likely knowing about this issue. It is very difficult to get the watch to pause during a run or ride when you have sweat on your hands.
I also pointed out that they have a solution in watchOS 2.0.
It would also be nice to have an auto-pause feature for running / cycling outdoor workouts since it would be obvious you weren't moving by the accelerometer or GPS data. Even inexpensive running watches have an auto-pause option.
I had the same problem this morning -- first time running with it. I also have a Garmin, so wore both to see how close they were. Unfortunately, for some reason the Apple watch did not start until I was about .8 miles into the run -- not sure why, but all of a sudden, I heard a tone and saw the watch count down 3-2-1 and start. When I finished the run I couldn't remember how to stop the watch, and was trying every combination of pushing and swiping I could think of. Finally pressed the face hard enough to show the stop/pause option. By this point, I was soaked with sweat, along with every stitch of my clothes, and swiping was impossible. I had to wait until I had access to a towel before accomplishing anything.
Attempting to dry fingers on sweat-soaked clothes does not work. And while adding Siri functionality would help, it would not be an adequate solution for serious runners. On that note, Apple needs to add the ability to program varying interval timers to accommodate such things as hill repeats and speed training. The essentially disposable Timex Ironman Triathon 100 lap model has those things.
Correct -- I had no illusions that the Apple Watch would replace my Garmin. For one thing, I hate carrying my phone when I run. But, it is still disappointing. And, according to other threads, the watch won't function in "extreme" temperatures. According to Apple's specs (not exactly disclosed in the nice "Guide" videos), the functional temperature range is between 35 and 95 degrees F. Here in the mid-west, that pretty much eliminates running between December and March, and July-August.
I have this problem too. Getting the workout app to stop after a run when you are soaked with sweat is tough. Would be nice if you could press digital crown or side button to make the timer stop. I try blowing on my fingers near the end of my workouts but with this humidity it does not help much.
"Would be nice if you could press digital crown or side button to make the timer stop"
Yes - THIS! This would solve the issue and make the watch 1000x better as a fitness watch.
Although it still won't solve the problem of the fitness app randomly stopping its recording - which mainly seems to happen in the rain because the touchscreen is getting confused as wet clothes touches against it. I've had that happen in Strava, Runkeeper and Runtastic. The solution is covering it up completely - which is not exactly the point of taking it running in the first place!
IMO Apple needs to figure out these issues with its touchscreen if its going to be taken seriously in the fitness watch space
Thanks - I have duly done so, here's hoping they can. I've suggested 2 features which sort of combine
1) Workout apps can get access to the digital crown or side-button to start/stop rather than only the screen (solves "sweaty finger" issue)
2) Workout apps can temporarily disable/lock the touchscreen during workouts (solves accidentally stopping a workout via a wet bit of clothing like a shirt sleeve/cuff)
Apple being awesome I'm sure are working on it right now 🙂
When using the built-in Workout app, to avoid accidental interactions with your watch during your workout, you can lock the screen.
At any time after starting a workout, press firmly on the display and tap on Lock. When you are ready to end the workout, press firmly again and first tap on Unlock.
I hadn't realised you could lock the screen on the built-in Workout app, thanks for that.
Does anyone know if there are any other running apps that have a screen-lock feature?
I much prefer apps that map your run and have more features like Runtastic/Strava/Nike+ etc vs the built-in Workout app. Perhaps one day the Workout app will get a makeover 🙂
If you would like to suggest that Apple considers adding new fitness-related features, you can do so here:
I have found it useful to exercise with some clothes on. These provide an easy way to wipe sweat off the fingers.
George
Your finger doesn't have to be dry you just have to remove the sweat droplets. I just shake my hand and it works.
How can I make the watch respond better to my sweaty fingers during a workout?
