gyroscope, accelerometer and thermometer.
Some watches even have a blood oxygen
saturation sensor, which is admittedly a
more casual feature.OPTIONAL EXTRAS
Talking about casual features, most high-
end running watches come fully loaded
with these, whether you want them or not.
Some of them are actually useful, like
smart notifications, Bluetooth, third-party
app integration (eg Strava) and on-board
music storage, while others can just be
disabled if not needed. For example,
Garmin allows users to customise theMost watches have
different battery life
depending on what
they are used for
BEST FOOT FORWARD
Hit the ground running with these handy beginner running tips
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UXQWLPHVsensors that provide accurate enough
readings to give you a really good idea of
your performance.
Another important feature to have is an
integrated GPS chip. Running watches that
use ‘connected GPS’ need a smartphone to
be around with them to track location
outdoors. Getting a watch with a built-in
GPS chip means you can go out for a run
without having to carry the bulk of a
smartphone with you.
Other sensors that you might need and
are often included in decent running watch
models are barometric altimeter to measure
air pressure and elevation, digital compass,
widgets on its watches, making it super easy
to move all the unwanted features of the
watch out of sight.
Battery life is also an important factor –
most watches have different battery life
depending on what they are used for.
‘smartwatch’ mode refers to when the
watch is not used for activity tracking
while ‘GPS’ mode is when the GPS is
active, ie you are tracking an outdoor run.
GPS tends to drain the battery significantly
so it might happen that a watch’s
smartwatch battery life is one week while it
only lasts 24 hours or less in GPS mode.
High-end running watches have all
manners of battery saving options so youcan squeeze out some extra juice when the
battery is about to die.
And finally, you should pay attention to
build quality and not settle for a watch that
has good sensors but ‘protects’ them using a
case that’s made of subpar materials. The
lens should be scratch resistant and the case
at least reinforced polymer, but ideally
stainless steel or titanium, a light yet
extremely durable metal. T3 MARCH 2021The complete guide to...