Distance measures

[HeavyFoot]

Does anyone else find the Apple Health app overestimates distances covered? I think the step counter is accurate but the distance seems to overestimate by 15% compared with my SportsTracker (like Strava). Good for the ego perhaps, but not much help. How does it work? By GPS tracking or average step length?

[Buddy34 Graduate10]

I've got a health app on my Samsung phone and it tracks walks and runs automatically but is way out.

Yesterday I ran 16.42km according to Garmin, Samsung health says 18.7km.

I thought the phone apps works with gps but not sure. 😊

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to Buddy34]

I make that about 14% too generous which fits in. A bit like Tesco and M&S selling waist sizes 2 inches less than the truth!!

[Buddy34 Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

🤣🤣

[Chicken1966 Graduate10]

I’ve found that the gps on the watch is iffy at best. When you zoom in on the map it gives you see dots where it has lost the gps and then resumes. It draws a straight line in and either adds or removes distance.

I make sure I start my running app from my phone

[UnfitNoMore Graduate10]

My health app is currently showing 54% more milage for today than my watch 🤣. It doesn’t use gps (on my model of iPhone at least) as far as I know, so it’s a guesstimate based on the step count for sure. Even if it was using GPS, a lot depends on how often it requests location (which can make a difference between apps) and as it’s an always on service it couldn’t be asking often or battery life would take a big hit.

Strangely my watch underestimates most runs... which while not great for the spirits of this runner immediately post run, does tend to make the event I’m training for a little easier come race day!

Is this on iPhone or Apple Watch? The watch does detect that you’ve started running and records even if you don’t press start... so that would be using some GPS I’d imagine.

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Very interesting. This is from an iPhone (I fought off the temptation to buy an Apple Watch).

[UnfitNoMore Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

Me too... I really don’t need that level of being available to people, so I’m on a Garmin. Apps are the most accurate way of measuring our runs though.