The Software Gap: Garmin vs Apple Watch

Both Garmin and Apple Watch are packed with sophisticated sensors that capture detailed data from your body. The hardware is remarkably similar—yet Garmin runners get advanced metrics like Training Load, VO2 Max, and Training Readiness while Apple Watch users don’t. The difference isn’t the sensors. It’s the software.

The Sensor Suite

Both devices use nearly identical sensor technology to collect physiological data:

Optical Heart Rate Sensor (PPG)

• What it measures: Blood volume changes through your skin using LED lights and photodiodes
• What it captures: Heart rate (beats per minute), heart rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen saturation
• Both devices: Use multi-wavelength optical sensors on the wrist

GPS + GNSS

• What it measures: Satellite positioning for location tracking
• What it captures: Distance, pace, route, elevation changes
• Both devices: Support multi-band GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo) for improved accuracy

Accelerometer

• What it measures: Linear acceleration in three axes
• What it captures: Arm movement, cadence, stride patterns, step count
• Both devices: High-frequency 3-axis accelerometers

Gyroscope

• What it measures: Rotational movement and orientation
• What it captures: Wrist angle, movement quality, running form indicators
• Both devices: 3-axis gyroscope for motion tracking

Barometric Altimeter

• What it measures: Atmospheric pressure changes
• What it captures: Elevation gain/loss, vertical oscillation, altitude
• Both devices: Barometric sensors for real-time altitude tracking

Compass (Magnetometer)

• What it measures: Magnetic field direction
• What it captures: Heading, navigation bearing
• Both devices: Digital compass for orientation

Same Data, Different Outcomes

Here’s the critical insight: both watches collect the same raw sensor data. When you run with an Apple Watch or a Garmin, both devices are recording:

• Heart rate samples (typically every 1-5 seconds)
• GPS coordinates and timestamps
• Accelerometer data showing your movement patterns
• Barometric pressure for elevation
• Gyroscope data capturing your wrist motion

The raw data streams are functionally identical.

The Garmin Advantage: Purpose-Built Software

What sets Garmin apart isn’t better sensors—it’s decades of running-specific algorithms that transform raw sensor data into actionable training metrics:

Advanced Running Metrics

• Training Load: Combines heart rate zones, duration, and intensity into a single stress score
• VO2 Max Estimation: Uses pace, heart rate, and HRV patterns to estimate aerobic capacity
• Training Status: Analyzes recent training load trends (productive, maintaining, peaking, overreaching)
• Recovery Time: Calculates optimal rest periods based on workout intensity
• Running Dynamics: Uses accelerometer data to measure cadence, stride length, vertical oscillation, ground contact time
• Lactate Threshold: Detects the pace where lactate begins to accumulate
• Training Effect: Quantifies the aerobic and anaerobic benefit of each workout

All of these metrics come from the same sensors that Apple Watch has. The difference is Garmin’s proprietary algorithms that know how to interpret running-specific patterns in the data.

The Apple Watch Gap

Apple Watch excels at general health and fitness tracking, but it lacks the specialized software layer for serious runners:

• Heart rate data: Captured beautifully, but not analyzed for training load or recovery
• GPS data: Tracks your route, but doesn’t assess pacing strategies or predict race times
• Motion data: Counts steps, but doesn’t extract running dynamics or form insights
• Sleep tracking: Records sleep, but doesn’t connect it to training readiness

The hardware is there. The software isn’t.

Surgent’s Mission: Building the Missing Layer

This is exactly what Surgent was created to solve. We’re building the running-specific software layer that Apple Watch deserves.

Our approach:

1. Access the same data: We use Apple HealthKit to pull the same sensor streams Garmin watches collect
2. Apply running science: Our algorithms are trained on running-specific patterns—how heart rate responds to tempo runs, how accelerometer data reveals fatigue, how HRV trends predict readiness
3. Deliver runner metrics: Training Load, VO2 Max estimation, Training Readiness, recovery insights, and more

Our Data Pipeline

1. Sensor Data Collection — Pull heart rate, HRV, GPS, motion, and sleep data from HealthKit
2. Signal Cleaning — Remove sensor artifacts, smooth GPS noise, interpolate gaps
3. Feature Extraction — Identify running-specific patterns in the raw data
4. Model Processing — Apply machine learning models trained on elite running data
5. Metric Generation — Output actionable insights: when to train hard, when to rest, how fit you’re getting

Quality & Accuracy

We treat Apple Watch sensor data with the same rigor Garmin applies:

• Calibration: Personalize to your baseline metrics (resting HR, max HR, typical pace zones)
• Noise rejection: Filter out HR spikes from sensor shifts or cadence lock issues
• Confidence scoring: Tag interpolated or uncertain data so you know what’s reliable
• Validation: Compare outputs against validated running physiology research

The Bottom Line

You don’t need to buy a Garmin to get Garmin-level running insights. Your Apple Watch already has the sensors. Surgent provides the software.