Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets
Reload this Page >

Head Unit Mirrored with Apple Watch

Notices
Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets HRM, GPS, MP3, HID. Whether it's got an acronym or not, here's where you'll find discussions on all sorts of tools, toys and gadgets.

Head Unit Mirrored with Apple Watch

Old 09-17-21, 09:07 PM
  #1  
gkamieneski
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 480

Bikes: Pinarello Gavia TSX; Bianchi Intenso

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 163 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 90 Times in 61 Posts
Head Unit Mirrored with Apple Watch

I am surprised that no one has built a “dumb” head unit yet that you could mount on your stem to show mirrored information from the Apple Watch. I mean, I have a Cateye Padrone Smart, and all I ever use it for is to mirror the Cateye App running on my iPhone under my saddle. At the end of the ride, I upload to Strava.

Seems it wouldn’t be too much trouble for someone to manufacture a device that will mirror the GPS and HR data from the watch, so one doesn’t have to look at their wrist.
gkamieneski is offline  
Old 09-18-21, 08:31 AM
  #2  
njkayaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,241
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4222 Post(s)
Liked 1,322 Times in 916 Posts
Wahoo made something like this.

They stopped making it.
njkayaker is offline  
Old 09-18-21, 09:29 AM
  #3  
unterhausen
Randomhead
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Happy Valley, Pennsylvania
Posts: 24,364
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Liked 3,664 Times in 2,497 Posts
I have a friend that bought a wahoo reflekt. He said it never worked that well. Well, his language was somewhat stronger than that.

It wasn't that cheap. I think it was aimed at people like him: he had never used a gps before.
unterhausen is offline  
Old 09-18-21, 04:39 PM
  #4  
Seattle Forrest
Senior Member
 
Seattle Forrest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 23,208
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18883 Post(s)
Liked 10,645 Times in 6,054 Posts
In addition, cyclists using Apple Watches as head units most be a fairly small market and probably doesn't justify the R&D from a profitability standpoint.
Seattle Forrest is offline  
Old 09-18-21, 07:53 PM
  #5  
gkamieneski
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 480

Bikes: Pinarello Gavia TSX; Bianchi Intenso

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 163 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 90 Times in 61 Posts
The Cateye Padrone Smart mirrors my iPhone perfectly and I know there are a slew of Apple Watches with GPS. Yes it’s a niche market but still I am surprised Cateye or even Apple have not made a head unit to mirror the watch.
gkamieneski is offline  
Old 09-18-21, 08:07 PM
  #6  
Seattle Forrest
Senior Member
 
Seattle Forrest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 23,208
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18883 Post(s)
Liked 10,645 Times in 6,054 Posts
I think you've discovered a market niche waiting for a creative entrepreneur! 🙂
Seattle Forrest is offline  
Old 09-19-21, 12:30 AM
  #7  
scubaman
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 114
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 33 Post(s)
Liked 69 Times in 37 Posts
Originally Posted by unterhausen;[url=tel:22235493
22235493[/url]]I have a friend that bought a wahoo reflekt. He said it never worked that well. Well, his language was somewhat stronger than that.

It wasn't that cheap. I think it was aimed at people like him: he had never used a gps before.
FWIW, I used a Wahoo RFLKT for several years, with a heart rate strap and the Cyclemeter app on my iPhone. It worked fine for me. However, I did not try to use it for navigation. I first used a Garmin Edge Touring for that, with mixed experience; and then I replaced both the RFLKT and the Edge with a Wahoo ELMNT, which has been terrific and I still use.

The concept of using the “brain” of the device you already have, together with a smaller handlebar-mounted display etc, still seems pretty clever to me.
scubaman is offline  
Old 09-19-21, 07:14 AM
  #8  
njkayaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,241
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4222 Post(s)
Liked 1,322 Times in 916 Posts
Originally Posted by gkamieneski
Yes it’s a niche market but still I am surprised Cateye or even Apple have not made a head unit to mirror the watch.
It's too small a market (way too small) for Apple to be interested in.
njkayaker is offline  
Old 09-19-21, 09:37 AM
  #9  
Iride01 
I'm good to go!
 
Iride01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 14,811

Bikes: Tarmac Disc Comp Di2 - 2020

Mentioned: 50 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6100 Post(s)
Liked 4,732 Times in 3,262 Posts
There have been a few companies offering head up displays that use data collected by your device and display it to you on or through your glasses.

Garmin Varia Vision was one of them that my son uses and I really wish I'd gotten one before they discontinued it. Even looking down at my device on the out front mount is sometimes just as bad as having to take a hand off the bars to look at a watch. Though it looks like it'd obscure a lot of your vision it really doesn't.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/530536

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/01/...ision-hud.html

There are still other forms of HUD's for cyclist's out there too. At least there were a few.
Iride01 is offline  
Old 09-19-21, 10:17 AM
  #10  
njkayaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,241
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4222 Post(s)
Liked 1,322 Times in 916 Posts
Garmin has a "screen mirror" (not quite) function on the Edges for their watches. It seems the main point is for triathletes (and similar) who use a watch across different activities.


https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?fa...TwAwBffjoJcWT8
njkayaker is offline  
Old 09-19-21, 11:05 AM
  #11  
Seattle Forrest
Senior Member
 
Seattle Forrest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 23,208
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18883 Post(s)
Liked 10,645 Times in 6,054 Posts
Don't use a watch in a (competitive) triathlon, it's too much drag in the water.
Seattle Forrest is offline  
Old 09-19-21, 12:18 PM
  #12  
unterhausen
Randomhead
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Happy Valley, Pennsylvania
Posts: 24,364
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Liked 3,664 Times in 2,497 Posts
I haven't used it much for swimming, but switching my garmin watch between activities is a real pain. I suppose I would get better at it if I did it a lot. But also, maybe this is why triathletes crash so much.
unterhausen is offline  
Old 09-20-21, 03:39 PM
  #13  
gkamieneski
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 480

Bikes: Pinarello Gavia TSX; Bianchi Intenso

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 163 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 90 Times in 61 Posts
Please, I'm just exploring here the chance to use the Apple Watch as a cycling GPS unit. I know it does HR, speed and distance and I don't need maps or route planning. Also, this is not about heads up displays or other Garmin devices.

It seems pretty clear that there is not a dumb HU that could be mounted on the stem to display Apple Watch data. I guess I am surprised. If I could get my Cateye Padrone Smart pair with the Apple Watch over BLE as it does with the iPhone, that would be the ticket.
gkamieneski is offline  
Old 09-20-21, 03:49 PM
  #14  
njkayaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,241
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4222 Post(s)
Liked 1,322 Times in 916 Posts
Originally Posted by gkamieneski
Please, I'm just exploring here the chance to use the Apple Watch as a cycling GPS unit. I know it does HR, speed and distance and I don't need maps or route planning.
You got the answer: "no chance" with a bunch of reasons why.

Originally Posted by gkamieneski
It seems pretty clear that there is not a dumb HU that could be mounted on the stem to display Apple Watch data. I guess I am surprised.
Given that Wahoo tried it for phones and discontinued the product fairly quickly, it shouldn't seem surprising at all.

Originally Posted by gkamieneski
If I could get my Cateye Padrone Smart pair with the Apple Watch over BLE as it does with the iPhone, that would be the ticket.
You'd also need the Cateye app running on the watch.

================

The Cateye Padrone Smart Plus is $190. The battery life is 4 months.

You can get a Garmin 530 that costs $300 and does everything without needing a phone. And you'd avoid any possible BT connection flakiness. The only downside is that you'd have to recharge the 530 more frequently.

Last edited by njkayaker; 09-20-21 at 04:25 PM.
njkayaker is offline  
Old 09-20-21, 04:21 PM
  #15  
gkamieneski
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 480

Bikes: Pinarello Gavia TSX; Bianchi Intenso

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 163 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 90 Times in 61 Posts
Agreed. Cateye would have to write a scaled down app for the Apple Watch. Also, the Plus is not necessary as the Padrone Smart works well enough.
gkamieneski is offline  
Old 09-20-21, 04:40 PM
  #16  
njkayaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,241
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4222 Post(s)
Liked 1,322 Times in 916 Posts
Originally Posted by gkamieneski
Agreed. Cateye would have to write a scaled down app for the Apple Watch.
A few companies jumped into writing apps for the Apple watch and ended-up discontinuing them.

Did you send an email to Cateye about it?

Originally Posted by gkamieneski
Also, the Plus is not necessary as the Padrone Smart works well enough.
The Padrone Smart is $100. The Garmin 130+ is $200.

It doesn't seem Cateye is making the Padrone Smart anymore.

Maybe, the Digital (about the same price) replaced it?

Last edited by njkayaker; 09-20-21 at 04:46 PM.
njkayaker is offline  
Old 09-20-21, 04:49 PM
  #17  
adamrice 
mosquito rancher
 
adamrice's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Austin TX USA
Posts: 931

Bikes: Bob Jackson 853 Arrowhead; Felt VR30; Kinesis UK RTD; Hujsak tandem

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 206 Post(s)
Liked 181 Times in 133 Posts
Aside from the problem of the market size probably not justifying the R&D, the Apple Watch just doesn't work that way. It basically acts as an iPhone peripheral; I am pretty sure it doesn't send standard Bluetooth signals that a head unit could use—it does connect to headsets by Bluetooth, but that's a different device profile. Everything else is mediated through the iPhone, which is why you can't use it as a HRM, either, but there is are iPhone apps that will retransmit an Apple Watch's heart-rate data over Bluetooth.
__________________
Adam Rice
adamrice is offline  
Old 09-20-21, 05:10 PM
  #18  
njkayaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,241
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4222 Post(s)
Liked 1,322 Times in 916 Posts
Originally Posted by adamrice
Aside from the problem of the market size probably not justifying the R&D, the Apple Watch just doesn't work that way. It basically acts as an iPhone peripheral; I am pretty sure it doesn't send standard Bluetooth signals that a head unit could use—it does connect to headsets by Bluetooth, but that's a different device profile. Everything else is mediated through the iPhone, which is why you can't use it as a HRM, either, but there is are iPhone apps that will retransmit an Apple Watch's heart-rate data over Bluetooth.
This doesn't seem to be entirely true for the later models. You can make/get calls on the watch without a phone.

Even if it doesn't allow it currently, there's no reason the watch couldn't send HR via BT (it's just a profile). If it can do all the phone stuff, it would be able to transmit HR.
njkayaker is offline  
Old 09-21-21, 04:46 PM
  #19  
adamrice 
mosquito rancher
 
adamrice's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Austin TX USA
Posts: 931

Bikes: Bob Jackson 853 Arrowhead; Felt VR30; Kinesis UK RTD; Hujsak tandem

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 206 Post(s)
Liked 181 Times in 133 Posts
Originally Posted by njkayaker
Even if it doesn't allow it currently, there's no reason the watch couldn't send HR via BT (it's just a profile). If it can do all the phone stuff, it would be able to transmit HR.
Technically, you're right of course. Practically, well, good luck convincing Apple.
__________________
Adam Rice
adamrice is offline  
Old 09-21-21, 05:04 PM
  #20  
njkayaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,241
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4222 Post(s)
Liked 1,322 Times in 916 Posts
Originally Posted by adamrice
Technically, you're right of course. Practically, well, good luck convincing Apple.
Convincing Apple would be hard.

===============================

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/echo-h...h/id1494679144

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blueheart-bluetooth-heart-rate/id1485503543

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/heartcast-heart-rate-monitor/id1499771124


This app sends the data to a a $40 receiver that retransmits it to ANT+. (Seems like getting a separate HR monitor would be simpler.)

ttps://apps.apple.com/us/app/heartbe...t/id1485336131

Last edited by njkayaker; 09-21-21 at 05:13 PM.
njkayaker is offline  
Old 09-22-21, 05:32 AM
  #21  
njkayaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,241
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4222 Post(s)
Liked 1,322 Times in 916 Posts
Originally Posted by gkamieneski
Seems it wouldn’t be too much trouble for someone to manufacture a device that will mirror the GPS and HR data from the watch, so one doesn’t have to look at their wrist.
https://theapplewatchtriathlete.com/...or-apple-watch

These are cheap but some of them appear to be discontinued.

(These have existed for years for Garmin watches.)

No, HR, of course, but HR straps aren't that expensive and appear to work better than using your wrist.
​​​​​​​
https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/c...-rate-monitors

Last edited by njkayaker; 09-22-21 at 05:39 AM.
njkayaker is offline  
Old 09-22-21, 08:32 AM
  #22  
adamrice 
mosquito rancher
 
adamrice's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Austin TX USA
Posts: 931

Bikes: Bob Jackson 853 Arrowhead; Felt VR30; Kinesis UK RTD; Hujsak tandem

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 206 Post(s)
Liked 181 Times in 133 Posts
Originally Posted by njkayaker
I have the Heartcast app myself. These apps all require you to use an iPhone as a gateway, so you're back to the "Apple Watch as an iPhone peripheral" problem, and the OP is looking for a way to link the Apple Watch directly to a head unit. And I'm saying that ain't gonna happen.
__________________
Adam Rice
adamrice is offline  
Old 09-22-21, 08:35 AM
  #23  
njkayaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,241
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4222 Post(s)
Liked 1,322 Times in 916 Posts
Originally Posted by adamrice
I have the Heartcast app myself. These apps all require you to use an iPhone as a gateway, so you're back to the "Apple Watch as an iPhone peripheral" problem, and the OP is looking for a way to link the Apple Watch directly to a head unit. And I'm saying that ain't gonna happen.
That isn't really useful, then.
njkayaker is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.