Validity and Reliability of the Apple Watch for Measuring Heart Rate During Exercise
Open accessAbstract
We examined the validity and reliability of the Apple Watch heart rate sensor during and in recovery from exercise. Twenty-one males completed treadmill exercise while wearing two Apple Watches (left and right wrists) and a Polar S810i monitor (criterion). Exercise involved 5-min bouts of walking, jogging, and running at speeds of 4 km.h−1, 7 km.h−1, and 10 km.h−1, followed by 11 min of rest between bouts. At all exercise intensities the mean bias was trivial. There were very good correlations with the criterion during walking (L: r=0.97; R: r=0.97), but good (L: r=0.93; R: r=0.92) and poor/good (L: r=0.81; R: r=0.86) correlations during jogging and running. Standardised typical error of the estimate was small, moderate, and moderate to large. There were good correlations following walking, but poor correlations following jogging and running. The percentage of heart rates recorded reduced with increasing intensity but increased over time. Intra-device standardised typical errors decreased with intensity. Inter-device standardised typical errors were small to moderate with very good to nearly perfect intraclass correlations. The Apple Watch heart rate sensor has very good validity during walking but validity decreases with increasing intensity.
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Three studies (23 comparisons) examined interdevice reliability for heart rate, with analyzed sample sizes ranging from 13 to 21.
“Three studies (23 comparisons) examined interdevice reliability for heart rate [24,26,58], with analyzed sample sizes ranging from 13 [24] to 21 [26].”
From Reliability and Validity of Commercially Available Wearable Devices for Measuring Steps, Energy Expenditure, and Heart Rate: Systematic Review (2020) · cites this paper as [26]
Apple Watch showed very good interdevice reliability at 5-s epochs during treadmill bouts at 4, 7, and 10 km/h, with reliability increasing and standard typical error decreasing with increasing pace [26].
“Apple Watch showed very good interdevice reliability at 5-s epochs during treadmill bouts at 4, 7, and 10 km/h, with reliability increasing and standard typical error decreasing with increasing pace [26].”
From Reliability and Validity of Commercially Available Wearable Devices for Measuring Steps, Energy Expenditure, and Heart Rate: Systematic Review (2020) · cites this paper as [26]
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Khushhal, A., Nichols, S., Evans, W., Gleadall-Siddall, D., Page, R., O'Doherty, A., Carroll, S., Ingle, L., & Abt, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Hull (GB)
- Sheffield Hallam University (GB)
- Northumbria University, Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Corresponding author
- Abt, Grant
- ORCID
- Venue
- Sports Medicine International Open
- Publisher
- Georg Thieme Verlag KG
- Published
- 2017-10
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 06
- Pages
- E206-E211
- ISSN
- 2367-1890 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6226089
- OpenAlex
- W2766894515
- Cited by
- 92
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 2.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Sports Medicine International Open (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Edinburgh Napier Research Repository (Edinburgh Napier University) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Sunderland Repository (University of Sunderland) (acceptedVersion)
- Repository@Hull (Worktribe) (University of Hull) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Repository@Hull (Worktribe) (University of Hull) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Northumbria Research Link (Northumbria University) (submittedVersion)
- Research at York St John (York St John University) (submittedVersion)
- SHURA (Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive) (Sheffield Hallam University) (submittedVersion)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Open Access Institutional Repository at Robert Gordon University (Robert Gordon University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Non-Invasive Vital Sign Monitoring
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Keywords
- Apple Watch, heart rate monitoring, wearable sensors, exercise intensity, treadmill exercise, heart rate recovery, measurement validity, measurement reliability, inter-device agreement
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