Oregon Hikers

I have read reviews and done research on the Apple iWatch 6 and the SE (cheap version of the 6) with GPS only. I had a 2 and although it showed elevation/elevation gain, it only displayed while running the fitness app and only when I had completed my hike and was reviewing the summary.

I would like to be able to look at my watch while hiking and see what elevation I am currently at with the fitness app still running. Better yet, I would like to look at my watch and see what elevation I am at anytime and not just when using the fitness app.

Apple product info suggests the 6 can do this with the "always running altimeter" but when I did a live chat with an Apple rep, they said it only displays in the fitness app & in the summary. I find this hard to believe... no improvement from the Apple 2 that is 5 yrs old??

Are there any Apple 6 or SE users reading this who have any knowledge or experience about this that can comment?

Many thanks.

You can get current altitude from the Compass app on Series 5 and later.

On Series 6 and SE, you can add an altimeter complication to any watch face.

Unfortunately, the native fitness app does not display altitude when tracking a hiking workout.

You can use a third-party app (such as WorkOutDoors) that has very customizable interface for hiking. I can set it up to show my current altitude, total elevation gain, average slope, and a bunch of other data (like mini-maps and GPS route).

But if you just want to see altitude on a watch face, the Series 6 or SE will do that just fine.

I use the Gaia GPS app for all my hikes. They have a very good Apple Watch companion app that works with it so I have altitude as one of the bits of info showing up for that which leverages the altimeter info on the watch.

I will definitely check out the WorkOutDoors app and thanks for the info on the compass reading for the newer Apple watches.

Also, appreciate the endorsement for Gaia GPS app. That is on my list to check out as well.