I had often wondered about that myself. I came to the conclusion that stride length was unnecessary as Samsung Galaxy Watches measure steps, not stride distances. Steps are derived from a step motion algorithm. Distance, if required by the user, is provided via the GPS.
Samsung Health has a sort of estimate of distance, likely based on leg length statistically derived from height measurements. As such, mileage may vary, literally, because a walking stride, a power walking stride, and a running stride all differ in length.
If distance is provided to the watch via GPS, then what GPS is available to the watch when using an indoor track?
I use an indoor track (no access to the open sky for GPS) that is measured in tenths (10ths) of a mile. After a walk, I'm finding that the distance displayed on the watch is 14% greater than the actual distance around the track.
I would expect the watch to be within 5% with the actual distance, but 14% is quite a bit of difference, hence wanting the ability to calibrate stride length to my needs.
This is a good answer, though it is still frustrating. I am recovering from a broken ankle so my stride is shorter than normal, making my Galaxy 6 think my .5 mile walk was .75. I changed it so that Health now gets it's distance data from MapMyFitness directly from my phone instead. The distance is now much closer to actual distance. That makes more sense for geographical distance, but I think Health is more accurate in terms of relative distance based on stride, steps, and time—which makes more sense from a health standpoint.
Some GPS devices can resolve down to 1 meter depending upon the algorithm used in the GPS. Regardless of whether you are running in a straight line or on an elliptical track, the GPS can still resolve small distances. Depending upon the type of indoor track, a GPS can still work. When I was in college many, many years ago, I ran 3 to 5 days a week on a 1/8th mile indoor track covered by an inflatable "bubble." A GPS would certainly penetrate that and likely something much more substantial. I can get a GPS fix sitting in my living room.
I agree with you that there should be ~5% differential in distance run, but perhaps the GPS resolution is +/-3 meters (or more), so the calculation is even more sloppy. Whatever they do appears to be baked in, with no means to calibrate the means of measurement. I think you should probably refer this to Samsung under the "Contact Us" field in Samsung Health, and ask for assistance. 14% differential is pretty wild, and they could provide some help in a subsequent release of the Samsung Health software.
Thanks for the info, I plan to submit a ticket to SS.
BTW, is your living room inside a wood frame building? GPS signals generally penetrate wood, that's why you can get a signal. However, when in a commercial bldg. with a metal roof and/or concrete between you and the sky, the signal (at least the Public version of the signal) can't penetrate.
I'm not arguing the point, but I've acquired GPS fixes in a variety of building types in the past, but I agree that a metal roof can certainly attenuate radio waves. Good luck with the support ticket and a Happy New Year to you.
When i am outside walking, i have the distance mapped out so i know how far i have walked, sometimes my galaxy 6 watch will tell me i have walked 1 mile when i have only walked half a mile. How can i regulate this to give me accurate steps/distance?
My S3 watch would undercount my steps and distance slightly, although occasionally it would just stop counting for anywhere from a minute to all afternoon, even if I rebooted it. I hoped my new watch6 would be better. It is better on distance but way off on steps. I have worn the watches together and the watch6 consistently reports 2/3 the steps of the old watch, which is itself still a bit low when I count the steps myself. (2000 steps = apprx. 1970 = apprx. 1300). I have tried extra long steps and the old watch still counts steps about as usual, the new one becomes more accurate. Basically, it seems to divide the distance by the stride of someone at least a foot taller than I am walking outdoors quickly, or if I was speed walking on a track as fast as possible for a short distance! There is definitely something amiss here!
GPS does not help when walking/jogging on a treadmill. Would love a solution, my watch track quite a significant difference from what the treadmill says I have walked.
