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Apple Watch Series 3 Can Now Track Skiing and Snowboarding Activity

Wednesday February 28, 2018 4:30 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple has announced that skiers and snowboarders can use Apple Watch Series 3 to track their activities starting today.


Apple Watch apps snoww, Slopes, Squaw Alpine, Snocru, and Ski Tracks have each been updated to take advantage of custom workout APIs released in watchOS 4.2 that enable tracking of specialized metrics:
  • Total vertical descent and horizontal distance
  • Number of runs
  • Average and maximum speeds
  • Total time spent
  • Calories burned
While not all of this information is available in the Activity or Workout apps at this time, some of the apps do have integrations. Ski Tracks, for example, features 17 different snow workouts that can earn credit towards Activity rings, while Snocru contributes active calorie measurements to the Activity app.

The ski and snowboard tracking is limited to Apple Watch Series 3 models, which are the only ones with a built-in altimeter to track elevation. TechCrunch's Katie Roof shared a closer look at some of the updated apps, which are now available on the App Store and require watchOS 4.2 or later.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5, watchOS 6
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
[ 88 comments ]


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cuwickliffe
17 months ago

Siri “good job falling down a mountain, shall I call ski patrol?”


"Here are some websites on ski poles."
Rating: 18 Votes
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nfl46
17 months ago
This watch keeps getting better and better.
Rating: 10 Votes
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cknibbs
17 months ago

And one more reason why I want this thing even though I really don't need it and would probably get bored of it after a while...:oops:


It’s not an entertainment device?

I find my Apple Watch (Series 0) gets most of its use from Apple Pay, complications like the weather/messages, notifications, telling the time (lol). It’s great for at a glance info, and for encouraging me to leave my phone in my room so it doesn’t distract me from my kids while still making sure I don’t miss important notifications (I have most notifications turned off).
Rating: 9 Votes
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chiefsilverback
17 months ago
Nice update, just in time for the end of the season (on the east coast)!
Rating: 6 Votes
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Detektiv-Pinky
17 months ago
Timely upgrade, now that winter is almost over in the northern hemisphere... :(
Rating: 5 Votes
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theAuthenticBlackfrog
17 months ago

Series 2, any love for it?


Series 3 only, because of the altimeter? Annoying. Altitude can be determined w/ GPS. Just a ploy to push upgrades? Booo.
Rating: 5 Votes
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SevenSeas
17 months ago
Siri “good job falling down a mountain, shall I call ski patrol?”
Rating: 4 Votes
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jav6454
17 months ago
Series 2, any love for it?
Rating: 4 Votes
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QuarterSwede
17 months ago

And one more reason why I want this thing even though I really don't need it and would probably get bored of it after a while...:oops:

I don't know. It's still my favorite electronic device. It's so useful constantly that it's surprising. I can triage all my notifications on my wrist without pulling my phone out. I can decline the massive amount of robocalls that have gotten cleverer recently. The complications are immensely useful (quick access to messages, mail, weather, my shopping list, etc). It's really the swiss army knife of electronic devices and well worth the money.
Rating: 3 Votes
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Glmnet1
17 months ago
And one more reason why I want this thing even though I really don't need it and would probably get bored of it after a while...:oops:
Rating: 3 Votes

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