iSmoothRun Pro, an app for runners compatible with almost everything

Applications to accompany us when doing sports there are many in the App Store, but each and every one of them has some peculiarity that makes us wish that there is a better alternative. Today we take a look at iSmoothRun Pro, which without being perfect has something that I love: extreme compatibility.

Pebble and more

The best thing about this application is that it is designed to cover a large number of accessories, and that allows us to have all BT 4.0 heart rate monitors, Scosche accessories, Withings scales, the entire Wahoo range and something that will be an important factor for those in the same situation: the Pebble smartwatch.

Currently to see the pulsations in the Pebble there is nothing better than this application. There are some hacks and apps under development, but with iSmoothRun Pro we will have a direct connection with the heart rate monitor and the data sent directly to the watch, so we can know the heart rate in real time without having to look at the iPhone, something that becomes an odyssey if, for example, we carry it in an arm holster. And the best part of all this is that the application does not have the unfortunate RunKeeper glitches on the Pebble, wasting less battery and always displaying the correct characters.

It can improve

The connections section and the functionality of the application cannot be doubted, but the design It is possibly the element where the app is seen to be lagging a bit more. The bottom bar is the one that comes with the iOS SDK by default, the interface in general feels very basic and even outdated in some respects, all of which is related to the fact that well-designed apps like Runkeeper have a much larger team than the application that we have in this entry as the protagonist.

On an iPhone 5 with iOS 7 beta and a connected Polar BT 4.0 heart rate monitor the performance has been good but the Pebble did not always show the heart rate on the screen, insisting on showing the pace per kilometer constantly. After several attempts I have managed to show the heart rate, but not without failures since despite the pulsations coming out, the watch indicated that this was the rhythm we were taking. In any case, there is no need to draw conclusions from this either, since it is the first version with Pebble support and I am using iOS 7 beta, there is time to improve.

If design is not really important to you and you have other things as a priority, this app may be interesting if you like running or cycling. It's not the cheapest, it's not the prettiest, but it does the job and is compatible with countless accessories.