Subj : I love the Apple Watch's new offline maps tools but it won't rep To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Wed Jun 19 2024 18:00:05 I love the Apple Watch's new offline maps tools but it won't replace my Garmin Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2024 16:56:00 +0000 Description: Can watchOS 11's offline routes tool for Apple Watch topple Garmin's maps? Probably not. FULL STORY ====================================================================== watchOS 11, the next free software update for Apple Watch users, isnt officially out until September. However, theres plenty of new features to talk about in more detail, such as the new offline maps and route creation features. At last, you can now create custom circular routes for city walks, hikes, runs and other activities with your iPhone, Mac or iPad, and sync them to your Apple Watch for use. Now, even if your watch is offline or away from your phone, the map is still very much in use, which is huge for watchOS 11 . Previously, maps had to be run through your best iPhone , even if that phone was offline, unless you had an LTE or internet-enabled watch as part of your cellphone plan. However, now you can create a roundtrip route and itll sync to your watch for your use, even while offline. One of the only things separating the Apple Watch Ultra 2 from the rest of the best running watch crowd is its lack of GPS features, specifically offline maps and turn-by-turn directions. When I used my Garmin Epix Pro for long-distance training, I would create a course in Garmin Connect a circular route that hit the distance goal I needed to hit for that week sync it to my watch as a GPX file, and then head outside to start my workout. Garmin Connect makes all this very easy to do, and even has a machine learning-powered route creation tool to create circular routes of a particular distance. Just choose where you want your loop to take you North, South, East or West and Garmin does all the legwork for you. Once the route was all synced to my watch, I would follow the arrow on my watch, which would beep at me every time I needed to hang right or left, and I could swipe up to see my speed and workout metrics at the press of a button. (Image credit: TechRadar) Once the route was all synced to my watch, I would follow the arrow on my watch, which would beep at me every time I needed to hang right or left, and I could swipe up to see my speed and workout metrics at the press of a button. Unfortunately, Apples circular routes arent directly tied to your Workout app, which is what makes the feature fall completely flat for me. I dont think Im an edge case in wanting to start a workout on the Workout app, such as a run or hike, and view where Im going with a single swipe or at one touch of a button. These two workouts, particularly Hiking, should have a maps functionality built-in. Sure, you can see a breakdown of your route once youre finished, but in order to see where youre going during, you have to exit the Workout app and open the Maps app, swapping between the two whenever you need metrics or directions. As someone who frequently hikes, runs and makes use of features such as Back to Start on the best Garmin watches , having a clear separation between Maps and Workout seems crazy to me. Why would you want to follow turn-by-turn walking directions if youre not on a hike? While the features released on watchOS 11 are currently in beta, theyre unlikely to change in a meaningful way as we inch closer to release, were just testing for bugs and glitches. Therefore, we hope Apple makes a change to more closely link Maps and Workouts on the Apple Watch 10 and later next year in watchOS 12. Otherwise, its going to be hard for me to justify replacing my Garmin Epix Pro with an Apple Watch for any length of time beyond testing. You might also like: The Apple Watch 10 is rumored to have a larger screen and a thinner design Better battery life is a must for the Apple Watch 10 The best Apple smartwatches you can buy right now ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/smartwatches/i-love-the-apple-watchs- new-offline-maps-tools-but-it-wont-replace-my-garmin --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .