Tried it for a couple of 2500m swims- using an apple watch
The stroke feedback is pretty cool
The stroke type detection and accuracy of lap counting is not as good as the other app I regularly use, and there is no way to edit the swim (that i could find) afterwards.
So what puzzles me is if the accelerometers are accurate enough to produce those heat maps of the hand entry point - essentially 1-2cm variability, how is it that it can’t detect when you turn?
Those heat maps must have two elements in them. 1) the variability of the persons stroke. 2) the variability of the accuracy of the sensor. Now the garmin (not yet availalbe on swim smooth) sensors are in there to allow the detection of running cadence, footsteps for daily tracker, swim stroke identification, cadence and length detection. That’s what it/they were designed to achieve by Garmin. So to be able to pick up detail needed here - that’s a big step up. So perhaps they over speced the sensors and this software is tapping into that additional data garmin ignored.
For the Apple watch, I don’t know - are there other apps, native or aftermarket that use the accelerometers for high precision stuff?
But, in fairness then I’m also thinking the other way. The garmin (and every other) footpod is able to work out very accurately the stride distance (to the CM) which is kinda akin to the recovery arm distance. So that’s plausible for the swimsmooth app. But I’d have thought I’d have seen some running app that leveraged the footpod data to show if I was bringing my foot too high/not high enough, the arc of the stride, where the acceleration was (up or forward). As running dynamics is a way bigger market than swimming dynamics (random totally un-evidenced statement, but I’d guess so given the previous chatter about it).
I’d be keen to try the app, and I’d be certainly looking to deliberately do some odd things with my stroke (noting that this isn’t fully optional), such as deliberately wide for 10 lengths, then deliberately narrow for 10 lengths, and then narrow/wide alternating to see how well the watch picks those up.
Only a brief reply to the comment re doing odd things…the app will average out your stroke from over the session, so you would need to do each deliberate thing in a single session, then next session do the next thing. In terms of how I have “tested” it, basically I have done a few detailed video sessions where we have done the analysis, then looked at what the app said I was doing, as much as I thought my hand pull through for instance was how it should be, the video analysis and app showed how I was pulling through with a lot straighter arm than I thought.
One thought/comment: I basically never have a problem with laps being out except when doing drills/kick work. But, I open turn and don’t flip turn so am always giving the arm with my watch on it a solid hit on the wall, it would be interesting to know if there are more issues with lap counting with flip turns versus open turns??!!
