I’ve watched the WWDC keynote. I heard lots of talk about new emphasis on activity and fitness monitoring capabilities for the watch and phone. I’m wondering whether that might include new BT communications for the watch, specifically, an ability to pair with cycling computers to broadcast real time heart rate measurements. I don’t think that was mentioned.
I really dislike chest straps. I have a device from Scosche that I can strap to my upper forearm that works pretty well, but at the moment I cannot FIND it (and I know of no way to use FindMy to find it (they actually make a device that integrates in semi-hidden fashion with the water bottle mount on a road bike and incorporates licensed built-in FindMy technology from Apple (without inserting an actual AirTag). It would be cool if they could do the same for a heart rate monitor…
So far I have heard nothing about any changes like this for watchOS 11. The Apple Watch can already pair with BT bike computers in watchOS 10 but I think that the info is only one way, from the bike computer to the watch - not from the watch to the bike computer. See Go cycling with Apple Watch - Apple Support (ME) for (slightly) more info than this.
See also this for more inf on the existing ability to connect bike computers.
I have attached my Wahoo sensor (crank cadence and wheel rotations, but no power meter) to my watch so for indoor rides on the training stand I get cadence and distance measurements in my workouts (using the stock workout app.)
This has been a wish for years. There are apps that say they can send HR from an AW, but I’ve never gotten a single one to actually work. One or two will pair with my Garmin Edge, which supports Bluetooth sensors, but they never seem to actually send HR. Anyway, Apple should implement broadcasting HR using the standard Bluetooth protocol; after all, it sends it to the paired iPhone. You shouldn’t need an app for this.
I’ve often said that I’ll believe that Apple is actually serious about cycling when they support ANT+ sensors on the Apple Watch (including radar, and the rarer ones like temperature). This would be another; Apple should broadcast HR from the AW, both ANT+ and Bluetooth. Of course it won’t matter to me, since I have both a Garmin HRM-Pro and a Scosche Rhythm optical band.
I very much like my Scosche arm band, but I can’t FIND it (maybe Scosche could license AirTag tech from Apple and update their band). I know it’s here in the house SOMEWHERE, but that somewhere could be a pocket in a forgotten garment that won’t show up for months. Still, I’d prefer to have one elastic something constricting my arm or chest while I ride (I REALLY dislike chest straps).
A quick check at Amazon shows various AirTag clips that might work with a Scosche, presuming you find it again.
I’ve been wearing chest belts since I got one with my Edge 705 back in 2008. That was a Garmin hardshell, and as of two years ago I use an HRM-Pro. The reason I got the Pro was that Garmin now provides something called “cross country ski power” if you have an appropriate Garmin watch and the Pro. (I tried it during the 4 days I got to ski last winter, and I don’t really know what to think of it). So I don’t mind chest belts. The Scosche, which I bought out of curiosity and because they were having a serious sale, comes in handy when I forget to put the chest strap on; there’s less clothing that has to come off to get it on my arm.