Gadgetory

the Apple watch series four has stepped up its fitness game it's got more activity options better training tools a longer battery life and in a sleeker more comfortable designed but $400 or more is a lot to pay for for a fitness tracker that shares a lot of the same features as its predecessors having that bigger screen during workouts really made a difference I wasn't expecting it to but it's not just the screen that's bigger it's actually the numbers so finding your data on a run when you're on the go and you really have to keep your eyes on the road is a lot faster and those extra seconds could mean you don't trip on that run I for one track my heartrate and I like to do it on the go and this pretty much applies to any other activity where you do have to keep your focus the other big advantage of the series 4 in terms of fitness is the battery life apple says it can last up to six hours of continuous outdoor activity tracking compared to the roughly 4 hours you'd get on the series 3 it's still a lot less than other designated fitness trackers in the market but it's a big bump for distance athletes considering an Apple watch where it's really gonna make a difference is if it holds up to that six hours of continuous activity tracking that Apple says and that's why we're here I'm gonna go on a six-hour hike or pretty much until both of these watches die to see if there really is that much of an advantage pretty much at the one hour mark over here and I kind of want to check the battery so now this is the Apple watch series for and we're at 88% an hour into the hike and this is the Apple watch series 3 and we are at 73% we are at the halfway point which means 3 hours into this hike I am definitely going to want to check to make sure that the series 4 is at least at 50 percent battery life I'm gonna start with this one oh wow it is doing better than expected at 56% at the three hour mark which means this is probably gonna hold up to the claim and then some now let's check the series three three hour mark to the 28 percent battery life obviously you're not going to hold up the six hours but I'm curious to see how long it goes three hours a pretty decent amount of time okay series three just died at 4 hours and 13 minutes and I'm really hoping that it recorded this hike it was at 1% and I thought I had time to stop the workout but it just died but this one is still going with 39% of battery life that's a significant increase over last year's series 3 so here we are at the 6 hour mark I honestly did not think we'd make it this far myself or the Apple watch for that matter and the series 4 is still going strong I'm at 11% battery life which means I might still have another 15 20 minutes of hiking to go that's compared to the 4 hours of the series 3 now obviously your mileage may vary because well I for one didn't have the music playing you might like to work out with music but at the same time I could have conserved battery by reducing the brightness I probably didn't need about a hundred percent either way the series 4 definitely holds true to the six-hour claim that Apple stated in the keynote and that itself might be the reason why you would splurge on the series for if it's important to you for all the new fitness features you don't really need a series for older models of the Apple watch up to the series one also got some important fitness updates from watch OS 5 starting with automatic workout detection within a few minutes of your workout you'll get an alert and vibration on your wrist prompting you to begin tracking and if you decide to accept you'll even get retroactive credit for anything you did up until the alert but it doesn't work for any kind of workout the watch can only detect indoor and outdoor running walking swimming open water or pool elliptical and rowing machines but no cycling Apple has also added hiking and yoga tracking to the roster of activities you can now select on the watch and if you're a runner like me then you're getting a whole new set of tools to train with my favorite has been the pace alert essentially the watch is giving you a gentle nudge when you're below or above your target pace and it's really kept me from slacking off during my usual running route and I can see it being beneficial when you're training for a race or just race against your friends watch OS 5 adds a competitive streak to the activity sharing by allowing you to challenge your friends to a 7-day ring closing competition I'm gonna be honest I was already competing against my friends who shared their activity they just didn't know about it now it's official and it adds a whole new level of competitiveness to the game which is good because it has made me step up my workouts but on the other hand it's made me borderline compulsive about closing those move rings even if it's just for a medal at the end of the week I need it the series 4 has more to offer for athletes but the Apple watch was already a great workout buddy and if that's what you're looking for in a SmartWatch then you'll still get most of the same great features on the older models for less but then of course you still have to factor in all the other non fitness features in the watch so make sure to check out our full review of the Apple watch series for on CNET calm you