Calorie Count on Apple Watch Ultra is low

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Level 1

5 points

Calorie Count on Apple Watch Ultra is low

I connect a Polar H10 Band to both my watch and iphone. I start the same Functional Strength Training on the watch and on the Polar Flow app on the iphone. The Polar Flow app shows 441 claories which is what I expected for that workout (which was very similar to my Garmin Fenix which I just replaced with the Apple watch Ultra) but the watch shows a "Total" calorie count of 305. Heart rate statistics for both Polar flow and Apple watch are exactly the same. The age, weight etc setup is the same on both the watch and Polar flow. The apple watch is definitely calculating a low calorie count, how can this be fixed?

Posted on Feb 9, 2023 02:59 PM

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Answer 1

abie37 Author

Level 1

5 points

Feb 12, 2023 02:28 PM in response to LD150

I've used photo sensors from Garmin, Fitbit and now Apple and none of them work for HIIT or Gym sessions. The only way to get accurate heart rate data for these sessions is via a belt like the H10. Either way I've done the comparisons, and calorie burn on Apple (using the H10 belt) is substantially lower than Garmin, Fitbit and Polar when doing the same session. The algorithm Apple uses to calculate estimated calorie burn produces results that are 30-40% lower than other devices.

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Answer 2

LD150

Level 10

95,631 points

Feb 10, 2023 03:17 PM in response to abie37

They are estimates and Apple and Polar probably use different algorithms. They will differ, neither is probably correct.

I find the photo sensor on the watch far more reliable than H10, so unless you keep all your records on Polar Flow I'm surprised you still use it, all that spit and gel!

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Answer 3

LD150

Level 10

95,631 points

Feb 12, 2023 04:06 PM in response to abie37

https://apple.com/feedback

Tell them, we can't change their algorithms.

H10 was nothing but trouble for me. Skin too dry.

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Calorie Count on Apple Watch Ultra is low

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