Apps WorkOutDoors: New workout features

[cfc]

The always on problem was resolved for me, at the moment, after updating do WatchOS 10.5 a few days ago.

That is very interesting. That slightly takes the pressure off the need to release a new version.

 

[co05]

Hello,

I put the cadence metric on the first page during my race. Throughout my race, it was fairly stable at 171. However once the race was over, my average cadence was only 163. I do not understand why ? When I look at the details, my running cadence varied between 140 and 185, which seems surprising because my running pace was stable.

I don't really understand why…
Thanks!

 

[cfc]

Hello,

I put the cadence metric on the first page during my race. Throughout my race, it was fairly stable at 171. However once the race was over, my average cadence was only 163. I do not understand why ? When I look at the details, my running cadence varied between 140 and 185, which seems surprising because my running pace was stable.

I don't really understand why…
Thanks!

Please could you send the wkt file for that workout to info@workoutdoors.net and I will take a look when I get a chance. To do this tap the Export button 3 times quickly.

 

[co05]

Please could you send the wkt file for that workout to info@workoutdoors.net and I will take a look when I get a chance. To do this tap the Export button 3 times quickly.

Allright! I just sent the email. Thank you for your prompt response

 

[cubodado]

Sorry that you are having problems transferring maps. Apple have broken something in iOS 17.5 such that the iPhone app no longer gets informed when the map files have been transferred to the watch.

The maps are actually getting transferred, and are usable on the watch, but it doesn't look like they have been transferred because the iPhone app is not being informed. So you will probably find that the maps actually work fine when you try to use them when offline on the watch.

Several developers have complained about this on Apple's forums, and submitted bug reports, so hopefully they will fix it soon.

In the meantime I have possibly worked around it in a beta if you want to try that? If so then please email me at info@workoutdoors.net. I can't guarantee that it works because it is very early days and no-one who has tried it so far has reported back. When someone does then I will probably roll it out to all beta testers.

In the new beta the watch app now explicitly sends a message to the iPhone app to confirm that the maps have been transferred, instead of relying on iOS to do it, as it should do and which it did in the past.

It's getting to the stage where I will probably need to release a bug-fix release to the App Store, not only for this workaround but also for the always on display workaround for the problems introduced in watchOS 10.4. I was trying to avoid this because a release is usually quite time consuming and I am trying to focus on the navigation coding, but it is looking more and more necessary.

Noticed it too… went for a run in a new town, tried to download maps but didn’t have feedback of download completed, but the map did in fact work offline anyway.

 

[muellered]

That's good to hear. Thanks for testing that.

Hi Ian,

is there a timeline on when you plan to release the new version of the app with the navigation?
I have a few hikes lined up in June and was wondering if it will already be out by then. If not, i would like to try the beta version.. and maybe provide some feedback, if that's still an option. Cheers!

 

[cfc]

Hi Ian,

is there a timeline on when you plan to release the new version of the app with the navigation?
I have a few hikes lined up in June and was wondering if it will already be out by then. If not, i would like to try the beta version.. and maybe provide some feedback, if that's still an option. Cheers!

I was hoping to have a beta ready about now, but unfortunately it's now not looking likely for another couple of months.

This is partly because I have got carried away with the new features and added more than I planned to. I was aiming to just add navigation (if included in the GPX file) and waypoints. However I found out that GPX files don't often contain navigation so I needed to add route importing from TCX and FIT files.

I also decided that it was a good time to add target workouts because that functionality is similar to following a route. And that resulted in 78 new metrics, most of which are probably overkill (I doubt many people will want to compare their average ground contact time with that of a previous workout in real-time).

Then I decided that, as I was rewriting routes, then it was a good time to add climb detection, and that required lots of new alerts, screens and graphs.

I have also added the ability to merge cells, to give much more flexibility in the screen formats. This was mainly to show larger elevation profile graphs for route screens, but it is also useful for any type of data. It particularly makes the screen with 18 small fields more useful because you can merge fields in many ways. For example I like merging 2 or 4 fields into one larger field showing a particularly useful metric whilst other metrics remain smaller.

The majority of the coding for all these features is now complete and it's now a case of debugging and alpha testing, but that will take a couple of months, especially in terms of handling all the possible navigation waypoint types.

I also spent a month or so investigating whether it was possible to provide offline routing by using the map data, but unfortunately this data is geared for display and didn't contain the necessary information (e.g. turn restrictions). It worked for 95%+ of the time, but I didn't think that was good enough. I may revisit it in the future though, because offline routing would be very useful. I was tempted to just provide it for walking/hiking where turn restrictions etc don't matter, but in the end decided against it.

Also Apple have been changing things in iOS / watchOS which have broken the app (the always on display in watchOS 10.4, and now the map transfer in iOS 17.5). As a result I have had to do more support work, coding workarounds, beta creation etc than I expected. Usually the operating systems are quite stable at this time of year but, in my experience at least, that hasn't been the case this year.

But these are all just excuses and at the end of the day it won't be ready for a while. Sorry about that. Hopefully it will be worth the wait because there will be a lot of new features.

 

[assquatch]

I recently started using a chest strap HRM (Polar H10). Works well with the app but I don't use it on every run. It seems a little clunky to go into the settings and switch to watchOS HRM. Is there a way it can just fall back to watch or allow me to pick before starting the workout? Or maybe some hotkey thing to make this easier?

 

[cfc]

I recently started using a chest strap HRM (Polar H10). Works well with the app but I don't use it on every run. It seems a little clunky to go into the settings and switch to watchOS HRM. Is there a way it can just fall back to watch or allow me to pick before starting the workout? Or maybe some hotkey thing to make this easier?

When starting without the chest strap present you should see a start screen which shows that it can't find the sensor, and shows a big grey "Start Anyway" button instead of the usual green "Start" button. Just tap the grey button and it will use the watch HR.

 

[assquatch]

When starting without the chest strap present you should see a start screen which shows that it can't find the sensor, and shows a big grey "Start Anyway" button instead of the usual green "Start" button. Just tap the grey button and it will use the watch HR.

Ah thanks, I did not realize it would do that.

 

[muellered]

I was hoping to have a beta ready about now, but unfortunately it's now not looking likely for another couple of months.

This is partly because I have got carried away with the new features and added more than I planned to. I was aiming to just add navigation (if included in the GPX file) and waypoints. However I found out that GPX files don't often contain navigation so I needed to add route importing from TCX and FIT files.

I also decided that it was a good time to add target workouts because that functionality is similar to following a route. And that resulted in 78 new metrics, most of which are probably overkill (I doubt many people will want to compare their average ground contact time with that of a previous workout in real-time).

Then I decided that, as I was rewriting routes, then it was a good time to add climb detection, and that required lots of new alerts, screens and graphs.

I have also added the ability to merge cells, to give much more flexibility in the screen formats. This was mainly to show larger elevation profile graphs for route screens, but it is also useful for any type of data. It particularly makes the screen with 18 small fields more useful because you can merge fields in many ways. For example I like merging 2 or 4 fields into one larger field showing a particularly useful metric whilst other metrics remain smaller.

The majority of the coding for all these features is now complete and it's now a case of debugging and alpha testing, but that will take a couple of months, especially in terms of handling all the possible navigation waypoint types.

I also spent a month or so investigating whether it was possible to provide offline routing by using the map data, but unfortunately this data is geared for display and didn't contain the necessary information (e.g. turn restrictions). It worked for 95%+ of the time, but I didn't think that was good enough. I may revisit it in the future though, because offline routing would be very useful. I was tempted to just provide it for walking/hiking where turn restrictions etc don't matter, but in the end decided against it.

Also Apple have been changing things in iOS / watchOS which have broken the app (the always on display in watchOS 10.4, and now the map transfer in iOS 17.5). As a result I have had to do more support work, coding workarounds, beta creation etc than I expected. Usually the operating systems are quite stable at this time of year but, in my experience at least, that hasn't been the case this year.

But these are all just excuses and at the end of the day it won't be ready for a while. Sorry about that. Hopefully it will be worth the wait because there will be a lot of new features.

That is quite a lot of rework being done to improve the app and although i'm marginally sad that the navigation isn't here yet, i'll be patiently waiting like I have been till now to fully cherish the updates you will bring out eventually! Until then. I guess I'll have to be "satisfied" with "just the map" (/s)

 

[aldo82]

Hi, is there anyway to get the always on display to update each second? I actually thought it used to do this but at the moment I am doing strict run walk intervals on the return from injury and I find if I don’t fully raise my wrist then the time displayed isn’t correct and I keep missing my interval time. If I do raise my wrist enough then the time will suddenly jump to the current. It would be great if it still updated each second so the time and metrics (pace etc. ) are current even if the wrist isn’t raised fully. Is this possible?

 

[cfc]

Hi, is there anyway to get the always on display to update each second? I actually thought it used to do this but at the moment I am doing strict run walk intervals on the return from injury and I find if I don’t fully raise my wrist then the time displayed isn’t correct and I keep missing my interval time. If I do raise my wrist enough then the time will suddenly jump to the current. It would be great if it still updated each second so the time and metrics (pace etc. ) are current even if the wrist isn’t raised fully. Is this possible?

Are you using the latest version of watchOS (10.5)? Apple changed something in watchOS 10.4 which stopped the always on display updating when the watch is lowered. I built a beta that works around this but I have heard that watchOS 10.5 fixes the problem.

If possible you should update watchOS to 10.5 but do not update iOS because the latest versions of that (17.5 and 17.5.1) introduce an issue with transferring maps from the phone app to the watch app. They are successfully transferred but with 17.5 and 17.5.1 iOS does not inform the phone app so it looks like they haven't been transferred.

I hope that makes sense. Basically update watchOS to version 10.5 but do not update iOS.

 

[WesFromParis]

Hi, I’m on 10.5 yet AOD still freezes when my wrist is lowered. Maybe it is just me…

 

[cfc]

Hi, I’m on 10.5 yet AOD still freezes when my wrist is lowered. Maybe it is just me…

Maybe watchOS 10.5 doesn't fix the problem after all. It did seem too good to be true.

Try rebooting the watch and if that doesn't work then I can add you to the beta program if you want. If so then please email info@workoutdoors.net.

 

[assquatch]

Hey, seeing something funny and wondering if you could shed some light. Just did 5x1k running outdoors (messed up the name, and I did the last rep in my cooldown section).

The individual "fast" intervals pace averages are all above 6:22/mi pace, but in the aggregate data below it shows an average of 6:22/mi pace. How is that possible? Thanks

 

[cfc]

Hey, seeing something funny and wondering if you could shed some light. Just did 5x1k running outdoors (messed up the name, and I did the last rep in my cooldown section).

The individual "fast" intervals pace averages are all above 6:22/mi pace, but in the aggregate data below it shows an average of 6:22/mi pace. How is that possible? Thanks
View attachment 2381404

That is odd. At first glance it looks like the summary row for the 4 fast intervals is showing the incorrect total time: 15:50 instead of 16:00, which would explain the pace being slightly out.

Please send the wkt file for that workout to info@workoutdoors.net and I will take a look. To do this tap the Export button 3 times quickly.

 

[aldo82]

Are you using the latest version of watchOS (10.5)? Apple changed something in watchOS 10.4 which stopped the always on display updating when the watch is lowered. I built a beta that works around this but I have heard that watchOS 10.5 fixes the problem.

If possible you should update watchOS to 10.5 but do not update iOS because the latest versions of that (17.5 and 17.5.1) introduce an issue with transferring maps from the phone app to the watch app. They are successfully transferred but with 17.5 and 17.5.1 iOS does not inform the phone app so it looks like they haven't been transferred.

I hope that makes sense. Basically update watchOS to version 10.5 but do not update iOS.

Hi thanks for the reply. I am already on 10.5 and the latest iOS but seeing this problem. Have there been any other reports of the issue on 10.5? Should I try the beta version?

 

[cfc]

Hi thanks for the reply. I am already on 10.5 and the latest iOS but seeing this problem. Have there been any other reports of the issue on 10.5? Should I try the beta version?

Try rebooting the watch and if that doesn't work then I can add you to the beta program if you want. If so then please email info@workoutdoors.net.

 

[Fulltopuk]

Hi - greatest app on my AWU2 - As a runner I am torn between km and miles displayed. Is it possible to display both? It would be OK to use one as the base and calculate the other on the fly? Pace is the main issue as running with endurance runners they always want to talk in minutes per mile. Thanks again

 

[cfc]

Hi - greatest app on my AWU2 - As a runner I am torn between km and miles displayed. Is it possible to display both? It would be OK to use one as the base and calculate the other on the fly? Pace is the main issue as running with endurance runners they always want to talk in minutes per mile. Thanks again

That has been low down on my to-do list for a while because it is rarely requested. However it is slowly rising as result of recent requests.

If I were to add just 6 extra metrics for Distance (Miles), Distance (Km), Current Pace (Miles), Current Pace (Km), Average Pace (Miles), Average Pace (Km) then would that suffice for most people? Otherwise it would be a lot of work to allow different units for every metric!

 

[assquatch]

Hi - greatest app on my AWU2 - As a runner I am torn between km and miles displayed. Is it possible to display both? It would be OK to use one as the base and calculate the other on the fly? Pace is the main issue as running with endurance runners they always want to talk in minutes per mile. Thanks again

+1! I’d also love that. Some of my training runs include 100m, 400m, 800m, 1000m, 1200m intervals. Running really uses both metric and imperial units (unfortunately).

That has been low down on my to-do list for a while because it is rarely requested. However it is slowly rising as result of recent requests.

If I were to add just 6 extra metrics for Distance (Miles), Distance (Km), Current Pace (Miles), Current Pace (Km), Average Pace (Miles), Average Pace (Km) then would that suffice for most people? Otherwise it would be a lot of work to allow different units for every metric!

If you could also do interval distance remaining, or let the interval distance target unit control that.

 

[cfc]

+1! I’d also love that. Some of my training runs include 100m, 400m, 800m, 1000m, 1200m intervals. Running really uses both metric and imperial units (unfortunately).



If you could also do interval distance remaining, or let the interval distance target unit control that.

Using the interval distance target units sounds a good idea generally. I will have a think about it. If it is just a case of adding a few metrics then I may sneak it in soon, but it may need to be done properly. Maybe with some way of specifying the units for each metric.

If so then I will probably hold fire until I revisit the whole area of units in the future. I plan to look into it at some time because I need to add knots / nautical miles, and show pace /100m for swimming, /500m for rowing etc. It won't be for a while though.

 

[cfc]

I have just released version 5.4 to the App Store. It is only a bug-fix version that I am mainly releasing because it contains a workaround for the map transfer issues with iOS 17.5. I was hoping to wait a couple of weeks until Apple release betas of iOS 18 and watchOS 11, to make sure that this new version worked on them. However I was getting too many complaints and angry reviews so I decided to release now.

It may take a day or so to get through Apple's systems and appear on each country's App Store. I have requested a phased release as I always do, which means that automatic updates are spread over the next week, but manual updates can be requested at any time (once the new version is available on the store).

This version also contains several other bug fixes, including a workaround for the always on display issues with watchOS 10.4.

Many thanks to all the beta testers who have been using it for the last few months. I really appreciate their help and feedback. The changes are relatively minor and there haven't been many problems during testing, so I am hoping that the release goes smoothly. That may be optimistic though...

I have also decided to raise the price by a dollar because I haven't done that for a while and people often tell me that the app is worth more than the current price!

 

[nexusone2012]

I have just released version 5.4 to the App Store. It is only a bug-fix version that I am mainly releasing because it contains a workaround for the map transfer issues with iOS 17.5. I was hoping to wait a couple of weeks until Apple release betas of iOS 18 and watchOS 11, to make sure that this new version worked on them. However I was getting too many complaints and angry reviews so I decided to release now.

It may take a day or so to get through Apple's systems and appear on each country's App Store. I have requested a phased release as I always do, which means that automatic updates are spread over the next week, but manual updates can be requested at any time (once the new version is available on the store).

This version also contains several other bug fixes, including a workaround for the always on display issues with watchOS 10.4.

Many thanks to all the beta testers who have been using it for the last few months. I really appreciate their help and feedback. The changes are relatively minor and there haven't been many problems during testing, so I am hoping that the release goes smoothly. That may be optimistic though...

I have also decided to raise the price by a dollar because I haven't done that for a while and people often tell me that the app is worth more than the current price!

I would easily pay $50 or more for your app knowing it was going to be supported by either you or a team for a long time. Your app is the only reason I have an Apple Watch. I would have an Epix Gen 2 Pro otherwise. Keep up the amazing work. Your app actually is an advantage over a Garmin thanks to the faster processor and easier to control maps.