Mostly the training analysis, not the data. Apple Watch records what a Garmin records, often without extra sensors: GPS, heart rate, running form, power. What it does not do is pull that together into a verdict on your training. That part you can add back with an app. A few things, such as battery life, you cannot.
What changes, feature by feature?
| On your Garmin | On Apple Watch | How to fill the gap |
|---|---|---|
| Training Status (Productive, Maintaining, Overreaching and so on) | Training Load: your last 7 days against the previous 28, from Well Below to Well Above. No verdict on whether training is working. | Kiiro gives you a status from Undertrained to Overtrained. See Does Apple Watch have a training status like Garmin? |
| Acute load and load focus | The same Training Load view, based on effort ratings | Kiiro shows acute load, fitness level and load balance, calculated from heart rate |
| VO2 max | Cardio Fitness in the Health app. It usually reads lower than Garmin’s. | Nothing to fix. Treat it as a new baseline. See Why is my VO2 max lower on Apple Watch than on Garmin? |
| Running dynamics | Cadence, ground contact time, vertical oscillation and stride length, measured by the watch itself on recent models | See what good values look like |
| Running power | Built in since watchOS 9, no pod needed. The numbers differ from Garmin’s. | See running power on Apple Watch |
| Heart rate zones | Five zones, automatic or manual | See how Apple Watch sets zones |
| Comparing efforts on a course | Race Route: race your last or best time on a route, live | Kiiro keeps every run on a route side by side. See comparing runs on the same route |
| Body Battery, Training Readiness, HRV Status | Vitals: overnight heart rate, breathing rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen and sleep, flagged when they leave your typical range. No single readiness score. | Kiiro does not give a readiness score either. It shows your resting heart rate and HRV trends next to your training load status, so you can read them together. |
What can no app fix?
- Battery life. Days become a day or two. Most people settle into charging while they shower.
- Your history. Years of Garmin Connect data do not move across by themselves. Kiiro reads what is in Apple Health, so your training load starts from your first Apple Watch workouts. Give it about six weeks before you trust the status, because fitness level looks back that far.
- The numbers themselves. VO2 max, power and training load are calculated differently on every platform. Do not carry targets across. Start new baselines.
What do you gain?
Worth saying, because the question is usually asked in a bad mood after the switch: running form metrics and power with no chest strap or pod, a very good optical heart-rate sensor, and everything stored in Apple Health, where any app you choose can read it without uploads or exports.
How do I set up the first week?
- Record runs as Outdoor Run in the Workout app, so the watch can estimate VO2 max and record form metrics and power.
- Check your date of birth, height and weight in the Health app. Zones and VO2 max depend on them.
- Set your heart rate zones if you know your maximum. The automatic ones are a population estimate.
- Install Kiiro and connect Apple Health. It reads the workouts you already have.
- Wear the watch snug. Most odd heart-rate readings in the first minutes of a run are the sensor, not you.
Related questions
- Does Apple Watch have a training status like Garmin?: Not under that name. Apple Watch has Training Load, which tells you whether your last week was more or less than usual, but no label such as Productive or Detraining. Here is what it offers and how to get a status.
- Why is my VO2 max lower on Apple Watch than on Garmin?: Because they are two different estimates, and Apple's tends to read low. Neither watch measures oxygen. Both infer VO2 max from heart rate and pace, with different methods and different workouts.
- What is a good cadence, ground contact time and vertical oscillation?: There is no single good value. All three depend on how fast you run, your height and your build. Here are typical ranges for recreational runners and how to use the numbers from your Apple Watch.
