Featuring integration with Strava, we take the New Balance RunIQ for a full test run.
We were pretty excited about the launch of the New Balance RunIQ watch in February and wanted to see how the watch performed on the run. Sole Motive’s Retail Manager Duncan Hall, an avid runner, took the watch out on a few runs (including one in the rain!) and reviewed its performance for us.
The watch was really easy to set up – there is a step-by-step guide on screen. After completing some updates it synced with my phone straight away and found GPS signal really quickly. It also displayed my text and WhatsApp messages. The watch is powered by Intel and you could tell from the start that it’s a very slick and impressive piece of technology.
It was a comfortable fit for me, I had no issues or rubbing with the rubber strap and the watch size/weight is pretty standard for a GPS watch that has so many features built in.
The heart rate monitor seemed accurate. But I don’t normally use one, so I don’t really have anything to compare it with.
A GPS signal was found pretty quickly, even right outside the store in Melbourne’s CBD (a lot of watches struggle with this).
At first I did hit the wrong button a couple of times (probably as I’m used to a different watch) but once I got used to the watch interface it was simple to use.
There is a dedicated Strava app that integrates with your Strava account. This will track distance, laps and heart rate data and then uploads all this data to Strava as soon as you finish. I’m a bit of a Strava geek so loved the fact the activity was instantly available to see all my data, such as elevation and which course segments I had run.
The battery life was fine for the one-off or shorter run but I think you will have to recharge it after each run.
I could start playing music instantly through the quick launch icon, which was great. You can download your favourite playlists to the watch. It was also easy to pause and change volume. It also added a widget for podcasts so I could listen to them as well.
I loved the slick interface. Navigating around the watch was smooth, and there were no lags. Being to listen to music, sync with Strava and receive messages on the run was great.
I think the watch could do with a bit more battery life, especially when you don’t have a chance to recharge between runs.