I don’t know anything about Apple watches ... is there any downside to using the 3 for the swim smooth app compared to the new one (that’s much more expensive)? So basically the steps are buy the watch, sign up for monthly swim smooth, and go swim?

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

Great question on the model comparison. I'm unsure of the answer---I know the Swimsmooth website states that the full functionality is compatible with Apple Watch 2 and newer. I believe you're correct on the steps--it appears you get 3 free swims on the paid plan as a trial.

When I messaged with swimsmooth, it seemed that anything applewatch 2 or above worked the same.

I went for an applewatch 3, smallest version on the idea that i didn't want it to be obtrusive in this sole use. The downside is that the interface is clearly designed for someone without old man eyes and with tiny finger tips. It works, but ...

BTW, after scouring ebay, etc., I ended up getting a new one from dailysale.com ... seems fine but didn't come in an oem box (refurb?).

Finally, the upload to the iphone is wonky. Unlike my garmin that simply syncs the activity easily and intuitively, on the iwatch, it was a little trickier to learn how to get my data onto my phone.

1) you have to rotate the crown and then push the screen (with wet fingers) to stop the timer on the activity and see a summary of the swim

2) you have to scroll down to another area that says "finish and save"

3) later (could be 5 minutes, could be 2 hours later), the swim insights will show up in the swimsmooth app on the iphone .. i'm still not clear whether this is uploading directly to the iphone via bluetooth and analyzing locally or whether it's uploading to the cloud on a wifi connection, analyzing in the cloud and pulling down

a few other notes:
- it says 3 free swims but mine demanded payment after 2 ...?
- it only analyzes the wrist it is on. So, switch mid-swim or just change it up every other swim
- if my form was great and I just needed strength/cardio work, I don't think i'd bother with this
- I really wish I could get swim stroke insights for discrete, sub-segments of a swim (e.g., hit lap button after warmup, when doing certain drills, fast 100's, breathing right, breathing left, etc.), instead, I have to do separate swims for each segment ... and, it just is too wonky to be worth that. So, my iterative improvement will be more drawn out

this seems pretty key - if you do anything other than freestyle in your swim session then the results will be useless. even if you mix it up with some sprints and some endurance sets it sounds like you'll be getting recommendations based on averaging out the different form used. this could be good in picking up faults common to your stroke but probably just becomes a mess.

sounds like it needs a tool whereby you can select a section of a swim session and get analysis on that only. you could then try out a few different things in a session and compare results. you could achieve all this by recording them as different swims but it sounds like there is a lot of faffing about involved in that (and eliminates the trial period) not to mention that you then end up with multiple short swims messing up your all important strava feed ;)

i'm very interested in the concept but sounds like it is a ways off being up to the standard i would expect for a paid service

Looks like a legitimate concern -- which they should fix rather quickly with a software update?

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"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden

OK, thanks for your post - good observations, except that you can pause the workout during drills. I also didn't find the stop & upload fiddly at all. Need to rotate the crown to get rid of the water on the watch, then you're good to go.

A few screenshots - these people know how to do user experience.

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"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden

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"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden

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"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden

I have been using the app with a Apple 6 watch.. (was until recently a Garmin only person starting 2009 with the 310)
The app and watch combo are great, I really like the insight to what i need to work on, what drills help correct balance etc.

I’ve now been using the app for about 2.5 weeks with the Apple 3 watch and am really enjoying it as well. The stroke analysis has been really insightful for me. It’s also extremely clear that I need to work on my pacing.

The app has been giving me a hard time about my allegedly atrocious pacing as well, but I assume that's down to the miscounted pool lengths.

The two workouts I used it in, I was also wearing my Garmin on the other wrist. Used SwimSmooth for stroke insights and Garmin exports for everything else.

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"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden

I really want to try this, but don't have an Apple Watch, so have been having an internal debate on the topic. I think it's obvious that they would know some periods of a swim are going to be drill or stroke or whatever, and apparently so did they. I sent them a message asking about this issue and this was the response . . .

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

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