A month ago I hit a blogging goal so I rewarded myself by taking a part of that week’s blog commission to purchase the iWatch Series 3. Through the last few weeks, I’ve used it for many different work outs – spin class, indoor runs, outdoor runs, BBG, HIIT work outs.

When I shared this on my Instagram stories, I received DMs asking how the iWatch Series 3 compares to my previous smart watch, FitBit Blaze, and overall how I’ve been enjoying it! So with that, let’s hop in..

iWatch Series 3 Review

Which watch iWatch Series 3 watch do I have?
I have the Apple Watch Nike+ with a 38MM face and silver metal. S has the same watch, but the 42MM which is a larger face. The watch also comes in black and rose gold metal. I elaborate below on the difference between the Nike+ or the regular watch.

What are my main priorities with a smart watch?
I feel like the intentions with smart watches somewhat vary per person due to their lifestyle so understanding if our wants/needs are aligned will let you get more out of this review.

As many people, my reasonings for using a smartwatch is for tracking my fitness routine. My initial reason for wanting a smart watch last year was to have insights into my outdoor runs and monitor my heart rate during spin class – since lowering it and rising it is how to burn massive cals. The awesome spin studio I go doesn’t have heart rate monitors on the bikes, so a smart watch would allow me to see how high my heart rate was during a push or hill and see it go back to resting.

Additionally, I wanted to track my calorie burn. Understanding the calories burned from my work outs was monumental in understanding my health and body. This also pushed me during my workouts. When I see that I only have burned 300 calories during a spin class, I can push myself even harder for the remainder of the session.

And honestly, my smart watch keeps me on track food wise. If I did a killer workout and burned 500 calories, is that worth negating that with one donut? ONE DONUT? Nope. It really helps me keep a perspective on calories.

A bonus to smart watches like the Nike iWatch Series 3 and FitBit Blaze is that they can send you reminders throughout the day for things like getting your body moving [which is easy to forget if you live the cube life] and for water intake! I get a monumental amount of water in each day with help from these reminders and tracking my in take.

DESIGN
The iWatch is a piece I can wear on my wrist that’s cute. Other smart watches just aren’t there yet. They are clunky and not something I could pull off wearing 24/7. With that said, they look way more sleek than some of the Garmin’s out there! I’d say when it comes to sleekness and aesthetic, the iWatch takes the cake.

You can also switch out your bands and customize the watch face. I have the light grey perforated band for working out that comes with the Nike+ iWatch Series 3. I then additionally purchased this pink silicone one. The watch face options are endless. The Nike+ edition of the iWatch comes with three watch faces, not available to the regular watch. But for all of Apple’s watches there are so many options from your own photos, Mickey Mouse or a traditional clock face. Lol.

ANALYTICS
Oh man – do I love the analytics and data the iWatch pulls. This is lightyears away from the FitBit data. I find it more accurate and way more insightful. While the FitBit Blaze tracks your current heart rate, step count and calories burned, Apple takes it to a deeper level of drilling into this data with charts, timing break downs, etc. This is probably the biggest difference between the two watches (other than design) in my book.

ACTIVITY TRACKING
FitBit tracks your steps, heart rate and calories burned [although they factor in what you burn while sleeping which I think it BS. So you start off with 300+ calories already burned each day]. You can even track your sleep cycle. I did this once, but since I sleep like a rock I just did it to test the feature out. It’s not something I did frequently [sleeping with a watch on feels unnatural], but may be a selling point if you are not a great sleeper because the iWatch does not have this functionality.

The iWatch has an activity ring that tracks three things: movement, exercise and standing.
Movement is noted by the red ring and is a track of your burned calories. You can customize this number for your own goal. So my goal is to burn 500 a day, but you could input a number higher or lower to be benchmarked off.

Exercise is the green ring and everyone has a set goal of 30 minutes a day. To determine your exercise, Apple watches your heart rate and movement data. So basically if your heart rate is pumping, it counts. This could be an intense HIIT workout, spin class or even a brisk walk if you’re working intensely enough.

Standing is noted wit the blue ring. The iWatch tracks how many hours out of the day you stand which has been really insightful since I work at a desk all day. If you are standing or walking for at least one minute each hour, you’ll get that hour checked off as complete. If you have not stood up during the hour, at 10-of the watch will ping you a notification to stand. This allows you to try and get that hour completed! The goal is set standard for everyone to stand for at least one minute for twelve hours. I never realized how much I sat during the day before this!

In addition to the activity ring, the watch tracks your steps, heart rate, total distance walked/ran and flights of stairs climbed.

For improvement here, I’d love an update to customize what activities are displayed in the rings. This way, if you wanted to track your steps more closely that could be there instead of exercise. I work out very frequently and always hit the exercise goal so while it’s a good reminder if I look down during the workday and it’s at 6%, that means I need to get my booty up, I’d rather see steps there!

WATER IN TAKE
One huge life changing feature of the FitBit Blaze and now the iWatch are the water reminders and tracker! I get a notification every hour to drink water. This sounds like a no brainer, but you don’t realize how much water you haven’t drank all day until you stop receiving these reminders. I have a goal to drink 80 ounces a day and with everything else in life I need to mentally remember, being able to log my water in take within two seconds is awesome.

ENCOURAGEMENT
Yes – I did put encouragement as a section here. The one and only transition it took for me to get used to from my FutBit Blaze to the iWatch Series 3 was that my FitBit was a bit #Extra.. which I liked!! I told S, I miss the huge hoo-rah of hitting a certain fitness goal within the FitBit. The iWatch does send a notification to the watch’s face when you hit a goal, but it’s not as extreme so sometimes I miss the firework celebration Lol. it’s just less of a production. What can I say? 😉

BATTERY LIFE
Many reviews of the iWatch Series 1 and 2 screamed from the rooftops about how horrible the battery life was. One of the biggest leaps in improvement from the pervious models to the iWatch Series 3 is the battery life is much better. I only need to charge my watch every three to four days. The key is turning it off when you sleep! IF I don’t do that, I need to charge it every other day. At night when I take my watch off, I just power it down. If you’re comparing brands, I’ll note that my FitBit Blaze needed to be charged once a week and I never powered it down at night.

WORK OUTS
I love the work out selection on the watch and find that the data for activities is much more accurate than on my FitBit. Since the iWatch is water proof, you can even use it while swimming!

Okay so for work out selection it has anything from walking, cycling, running, swimming, HIIT, elliptical, rowing, stair master and more. There are options for indoor/outdoor for certain work outs as well like spinning, running, etc.

During my work out I can see the time elapsed, heart rate (key for spin!), distance and calories burned. For running, I also see my average pace, monthly miles ran and total monthly runs. I used to get this data from an app on my phone, but now I don’t need to lug a heavy phone with me or have it strapped on my arm. Having only a watch on during my runs is so freeing! You can also save music straight to your watch.

One very minor improvement here would be to remove work outs from your scroll. I haven’t figured out a way to do this, so maybe I just haven’t found the option yet, but you can do this on the FitBit. That way I don’t need to scroll through things I never do like rowing or the elliptical and instead just have a list of the work outs I do.

NIKE RUN CLUB
Since I am an avid runner and tracking my runs is one of the main reasons I use a smartwatch, I purchased the Nike edition of the iWatch Series 3. This includes a few additional watch faces, but most importantly guided runs and challenges. Since I will be half marathon training agin soon, I thought this was an awesome feature! You can sign up for challenges which essentially serves as a training schedule for marathons, half marathons, 10ks, 5ks or just a source of motivation!

The Nike+ watch is the same price as the regular version so if you’re an avid outdoor runner or complete road races, this is a great option. If not, there really isn’t a purpose so I’d just grab the regular version.

BBG SWEAT APP
On days I am not spinning or running, I stay active by doing BBG or Tone It Up. I haven’t been doing the formal BBG, structured plan, but rather just use the work outs to tone. I have the print outs from five years ago, but hated them. Juggling my phone timer with the boring paper just wasn’t something I enjoyed. I do like the Sweat app a lot more! It’s ~$20 a month so for each month I either use this or my TIU app so I am not paying for both. Switching it up between both keeps it fun too.

I love the Sweat app because on your phone you can see the work out movements, the seven minute circuit timer, calories burned and heart rate. That data also comes through on your watch! You can move to the next circuit super quick by clicking the little arrow. I just find having it on my wrist so convenient so I’m not fumbling with my phone timer and for me it just makes the work out a little less dreadful.

Anyways, I liked the app on my phone before getting my watch, but it’s a whole other level of convince having it on my wrist! There are so many apps you can configure to your watch, but wanted to note this one since I know so many girls that are interested in BBG.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES
There are so many additional features on this thing! You can configure many apps, make phone calls, receive texts, make phone calls, have calendar reminders, find your iPhone (!!!!) and more. I’ve been learning something new that it can do every day!

While there are so many benefits to having a smart watch, I wanted to share my favorite aspects with you today. If you love fitness and running, I cannot suggest this device enough to stay on track, have deeper analytics and just understand your fitness routine and body on a much greater level! While I recommend the iWatch Series 3, the FitBit Blaze is such a great starting pint and an awesome tool that I was glued to for a long time. I think while the design may be a bit clunky, if you’re using it for fitness who cares?! It’s a great, more affordable alternative to the iWatch.

What are your thoughts on the iWatch or smart watches in general? Xo Mindy

SHOP THE POST
NIKE IWATCH SERIES 3 [WHAT I HAVE] I PINK STRAP I IWATCH SERIES 3 REGULAR I FITBIT BLAZE [MY OLD WATCH] I FIT BIT VERSA [NEW VERSION OF MY OLD WATCH]