💬 Discussion 💬
Apple Watch app for padel
Hey everyone 👋
I built a padel-focused app for Apple Watch called PadelWatch. It analyzes steps, heart rate and calories to generate padel-specific metrics. It also uses a trained model to recognize stroke types, impact intensity and fatigue trends.
I’m sharing it with the community and would appreciate any feedback from players who try it.
App Store link: [https://apps.apple.com/app/padelwatch/id6757535190](https://apps.apple.com/br/app/padelwatch/id6757535190)
If you have trouble opening the link, you can search for “PadelWatch” on the App Store.
Comments (30)
u/UrbanDrift55w ago
Does it needs to have the Apple watch in the same hand as the racket?
4
Yes. To detect strokes, the Apple Watch must be on the same arm as the racket.
If you play with it on the other arm, you can still use the app, but strokes won’t be counted.
2
u/subitism5w ago
If I open a tennis workout from the Workouts app when I start a match - is this going to be in conflict with your app if it's running too?
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u/Visionjcv5w ago
I’ve got a game tomorrow night and going to try this out, just installed it.
One question - since it asks for the wrist and racket hand, surely the app needs you to have the watch on the same side as your racket hand to give you the insights?
3
u/StackOverfl0wed5w ago
seems extremely unlikely it would detect shot types with any sort of reasonable accuracy if it was on the wrong hand
2
Exactly 🙂
For stroke insights, the watch needs to be on the same arm as your racket. If you wear it on the opposite arm, you can still start a session, but strokes won’t be counted.
1
You’re right — it really wouldn’t.
Stroke detection relies on the motion patterns of the racket arm, so wearing the watch on the non-racket hand wouldn’t give reliable shot classification at all.
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u/Virtual-Committee-765w ago
Also interested in whether watch should be on racket hand
1
To detect strokes, the Apple Watch must be on the same arm as the racket.
If you play with it on the other arm, you can still use the app, but strokes won’t be counted.
1
Yes. To detect strokes, the Apple Watch must be on the same arm as the racket.
If you play with it on the other arm, you can still use the app, but strokes won’t be counted.
1
u/andrew_barratt5w ago
Thanks but I just use the PadL app for scoring and that integrates with health kit too. Frankly getting sick of every app provider trying to nail a vastly over priced subscription offering.
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u/StackOverfl0wed5w ago
Interested in the model - what sort of model is it? What's your dataset size (# of players, # of samples per stroke, etc)?
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It’s a supervised neural-network model trained on Apple Watch motion data.
You can follow how the model evolves here: [https://padelwatchapp.web.app/](https://padelwatchapp.web.app/)
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u/StackOverfl0wed5w ago
Cool thanks for the info! Btw, it looks like your sample size is small: 283 strokes with 40-50 samples per class and 7 players. A NN could be the best solution, but definitely make sure it's very shallow as it'd super easy to overfit. I would also experiment with more simple classification models to avoid overfitting
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u/zE_______4w ago
Hmm, I noticed there is no trial version. You might want to consider offering one, since it makes it much easier for people to test the value before committing.
For comparison, apps like https://apps.apple.com/dk/app/padelio-track-padel-activity/id6502829514 at least let users get a feel for the experience first.
Also a bit disappointing to see another subscription model. I completely understand the need to support ongoing development, but from a user perspective it can be hard to justify subscribing without being able to properly try it out. A short free trial or limited free tier could probably help get more players on board and give better feedback.
Like a limit on matches per week / month or something.
Do something different to so it can be pushed to the masses.
1
Actually, there *is* a free trial available 😊
You can use the app for free indefinitely, with access to everything except the stroke detection features. So you can fully experience tracking, stats, and the general workflow before committing.
On top of that, there’s also a 7-day full premium trial where you can test the stroke classification and all premium features without any restriction.
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u/renseministeren5w ago
I'm using another app currently but I will try this on Wednesday!
Is there a trial?
1
Yes 🙂 there is a free trial, so you can test the app before subscribing.
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u/renseministeren4w ago
Just tried it tonight and here's a few notes:
* I like the design and functionality.
* the stats and insights are really cool.
* there seems to be a mistake in count if strokes. I get that the detection of types can never be exact, but it recognized 106 strokes (I usually get 450-500 using TennisKeeper) and it only detected 2 strokes as serves.
* max speed at 65 seems slow. I usually detect around 140. I'm not saying 140 is the precise number but it is a big difference.
I would totally be down to test it further due to the insights and stats, but right now I wouldnt want to pay after the trial. If you're down to let me test and give feedback on an extended trial or something
https://preview.redd.it/a9ifsyluvxig1.jpeg?width=1206&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=76f6005a0f981d97bbb744f2fe08e4dce50c7419
let me know
2
u/zE_______4w ago
Does it "return" steps / workout to the health app?
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Yes, the steps are synchronized normally. They appear in the Health app just like any other activity from Apple Watch.
1