Anyone who uses one of the top Apple Watch models probably knows about the Activity Sharing feature, which allows you to share statistics and activities with contacts. You may even have invited or been invited to a competition or two.
Contests on the Apple Watch are easy to set up, but can only be held one-on-one and run for a basic seven-day period. While the competition is in progress, you’ll see a score at the top of the Sharing screen with a running tally to determine how you measure up and who’s in the lead. But what does this score actually mean, how is it calculated, and how can you get the most out of Apple Watch contests?
Fill your activity rings
When you start a competition with someone, you earn points to fill your three Activity calls. These include:
Move: The largest red ring is the Move ring. As you move throughout the day, you burn calories, and the Move ring will calculate the calories you’ve burned in relation to your movement. Set a goal, and as you reach that goal, the ring slowly closes.
Exercise: The second green ring is for training. It is easy to close by doing at least 30 minutes of activity a day. This can be as involved as a 30-minute intense cardio workout or as simple as a half-hour brisk walk. The default and recommended amount is 30 minutes, but you can adjust this to suit where you are in your fitness journey.
Stand: The inner light blue ring is the Stand ring. This ring moves throughout the day as long as you stand for at least one minute every hour. You can set the number of standing minutes to be whatever you want, although it is recommended to stick to around 10-12 per day to coincide with your waking hours. Apple Watch can send reminders when it’s time to get up and walk around, so you don’t use up any of those valuable standing hours (and the points associated with them).
How are points calculated in competitions?
The point system is based on the percentage of activity rings that you close, and each percentage equals about one point. The maximum you can earn per day is 600 points, which would be for not only closing all three rings, but also doubling your goals. Thus, the maximum number of points that can be earned for a weekly competition is 4,200.
Since it’s impossible to stand every hour for 24 hours a day if your target is 12, most people won’t earn 600 points by doubling targets in all three rings. But you can work on doubling the goals of the Move and Exercise rings.
The competition itself is simple: Whoever has the most points at the end of the week wins.
How to view results from Apple Watch Competitions
While a contest is in progress, you’ll see the running tally at the top of the Sharing tab, including the other person’s score, your score, and how many days are left.
When a competition is over, the statistics will disappear from this section. You can tap on the person’s name on the Sharing tab and you’ll see Competition Wins at the top, noting how many they’ve won against you and vice versa.
Under your tab you will see a prize for a competition win if you have secured one. It will note who you won against and the most recent date of the win, which is useful if you tend to have ongoing contests with the same person.
Finally, there is the Summary tab. You can scroll down to see all the prizes you’ve earned, including how many contests you’ve completed. If you select Show more here, you can scroll left to see your wins and who they were earned against.
What to consider when looking at Apple Watch competition results
Remember when you’re in a competition with another Apple Watch user that everyone has different activity goals. If your goal is 30 minutes of exercise a day, burning 500 calories and getting 12 hours of standing, but your friend has a goal of 25 minutes of exercise, burning 400 calories and 10 hours of standing, they have an unfair advantage. It will presumably be easier for them to close their rings with less work, and thus also get more points. It’s also hard to compete with someone who is a hardcore athlete using the Apple Watch Ultra.
That said, if the numbers are tailored to everyone’s fitness level, this may be the fairest measure to keep things level with both your ability and theirs. You also need to take into account things like age, weight (thinner people may burn calories at a slower rate), and gender (men tend to burn calories at rest faster than women).
However, if you’re competing with people who are all at the same fitness level, consider asking everyone to change their activity ring goals at least temporarily throughout the seven days of the competition so it’s a fair game.
And always remember: Apple Watch contests are meant to be fun and motivating. You don’t have to take a loss too seriously, nor rejoice too much after a victory. Ultimately, closing your activity rings should be a satisfying experience. If you can’t do this every day, don’t feel discouraged. Try to do better week after week and find small ways to get more steps, burn more calories and enjoy the experience.