apple watch has serious usability issues

i try to go for a run and it frequently drops the heart rate recording. this has been a problem going back years across basically all updates or straps. it’s incredibly frustrating but if it helps anyone else, it usually drops the bpm signal very quickly after starting the workout, so i came up with a work-around:

• prematurely begin the workout recording
• stand still and wait for it stop reporting bpm
• pause the workout and then open the heart rate app
• wait until it’s got the bpm signal back
• unpause workout and actually begin the run

the other major issue is that it’s got 32gb of storage (19gb available) but is somehow incapable of keeping enough audio music or podcasts downloaded to last me 1 hour without my phone. like c’mon! what’s more ridiculous is that watchOS has no “up next” queue for when it runs out of songs. you either workout in silence or have to fidget with it in the middle of the run. (btw i’ve gone into settings and it just says “watch will try it’s best to download the playlist”. in 2025 apple cant reliably download a podcast or playlist???)

anyway, the watch is 4.5 years old and the non-replaceable battery is catching up fast (loosing ~40% for a 1 hr workout). when it dies completely i probably wont buy another apple watch