Is The Apple Watch Nike+ Finally A Watch That Can Do It All?

I’m not 100 percent a numbers person or a total gearhead, but I have been in a committed relationship with my Garmin 220 for the past few years. It gives me just the amount of data I need during a run. I also often wear a Fitbit for activity tracking from time-to-time, plus a regular watch I wear when I don’t want to look so sporty.

My Garmin is good for running, but doesn’t track activity. My Fitbit is good for tracking activity, but very inaccurate when used for running. While I know there are watches on the market that do all of these things, the Apple Watch Nike+ is the first watch in this category that I’ve had the opportunity to test.

So the question I’m looking to get answered during my wear-testing of the Apple Watch Nike+ is this: Can I finally have one watch that does it all—run tracking and activity tracking that looks good enough to wear no matter what activity I’m doing?

Here are my findings after doing a variety of workouts including a 21-mile training run while using the Apple Watch Nike +. I hope they help you decide if the Apple Watch Nike+ is for you.

What I Liked Best About The Apple Watch Nike+:

• The built-in GPS technology means you can run untethered to your phone and still track your run. I prefer running without my phone.
• Bluetooth technology means wireless headphones are a cinch to use.
• Listening to music is made even easier because you can download an entire iTunes playlist from your phone to play directly from the watch.
• It is always collecting data about your location in the same way a smartphone does, which means you do not have to stand around and wait for a GPS signal.
• Considering how many functions this watch has, it’s rather small in size. It isn’t bulky and fits well.
• Use Siri to start and stop a run using the Nike+ app.
• Customizable screen allow you to show the data you want to see while running.
• The Nike+ app is simple to use and doesn’t overwhelm me with too many functions.
• The native activity app will allow you to track workouts other than running.

What I’d Like To See Added Or Changed:

• The ability to program an interval workout directly into the Nike+ app.
• Currently, if you want to review your splits after your run you can only see them in the apple activity app, not in the Nike+ app.
• The battery life of the watch with both the heart rate monitor and music on will last up to 3 hours and 45 minutes. This means if you’re running longer than that you’ll need to turn off the heart rate monitor and any music. Without those two things, running the battery will last up to 5 hours and 30 minutes. At the end of a 3 hour and 15 minute run, with both the heart rate monitor and GPS turned on, I still had 22 percent battery life.

Nike will continue to make updates to the app and add more functions over time so it will be interesting to see how it evolves over time.