Pace difference on app and Apple watch

[Duckaroo]

Hello I’m using an app couch to 10K we hitch I’m loving but the pace is always different than what a run on a Apple Watch says .I’ve checked I have set up correctly does anyone else have this issue?

[javo123j Graduate10]

I've always had differences between the watch and phone. I find the watch more accurate with distances run

[damienair Administrator]

I only use my watch, it is a Garmin Forerunner 35, pretty basic but it is accurate and easy to use. My phone also works but will never be the same, pace and GPS tracking will be different. So I just use my watch.

[Cmoi Graduate10]

It's unlikely you'll get identical results with two different devices Duckaroo as the GPS won't measure exactly the same. I wouldn't be concerned about it. I find Strava is usually slightly more generous than Garmin, but not always!

[nowster Graduate10]

It depends on the GPS receiver in the watch and the phone.

For example, my watch (Garmin vivoactive3) only has a limited GPS receiver which can only receive a small number of satellites at any one time. However, it's on my wrist, so has a better view of the sky most of the time. More recent Garmin models have much better GPS receivers.

My phone (Pixel 3a), on the other hand, can receive all available satellite systems (Navstar GPS, Glonass, Galileo and Beidou), all at the same time. It tends to be more accurate in challenging conditions. It's usually in a pocket against my belly during runs, so has a less clear view of the sky.

Swings and roundabouts.

The GPS system is incredibly clever and also incredibly fragile if anything interferes with its weak signals. It works with signals that need to be accurate to within a billionth of a second (nanosecond).

(Aside: short billion, thousand million, or milliard.)

[Duckaroo]

Thankyou for reply I have Apple Watch and iPhone which doesn’t make sense thought it should be the same although I’m using a app for running on iPhone

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to Duckaroo]

It doesn't necessarily apply that the watch and the phone will use the same GPS chip with the same settings. Also where you have the phone during a run will affect what signals it can receive.

[Duckaroo in reply to nowster]

Ok Thankyou for your help

[Yesletsgo Graduate10]

Nike Running Club always measures my local Parkrun course as 4.88km. I run an extra couple of hundred yards before I start so that the stats look neat on my app