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SwingVision Makes me Want to Play Tennis Again
Before we talk about this app, can we just give some appreciation for simple, clever app design? This tennis app has nothing but a vivid…
Before we talk about this app, can we just give some appreciation for simple, clever app design? This tennis app has nothing but a vivid yellow tennis ball on a green background but the curved lines on the ball are shaped like an S, referencing the app’s name. Just wonderful work that falls perfectly in place. Ok, with that out of the way, let’s go ahead and talk about the ridiculous amount of amazing data SwingVision collects and analyzes about your tennis game.
Here’s how you set this up. Install the SwingVision app on your iPhone. Mount your iPhone high on the rear fence behind you. Start playing! Using your iPhone’s camera and a bit of AI, it can record your whole game, giving you a breakdown on all of your various swing types, the speed of your hits, and where on the court your balls — and your opponent’s — land. It’s an incredibly cool visual breakdown of the match.
Post-match, you can view a recording of your two hour match that comes down to only 30 minutes as it will automatically remove all the time in between shots. You can also filter the types of shots you want to see, such as the ones you missed, the ones that went out of bounds, or the ones that hit a certain speed.
While you play though is what I really love. The AI can act like a referee, calling shots for you automatically. If you have an Apple Watch you can use it to challenge a shot. Just hit the challenge button and it will review the shot and show you an image on your watch of the ball and judgment on whether it was really in or out.
You can share your playbacks with friends and track your games with them from the app too. Each player has their own profile and will track all the scores and TV-quality highlights from each match. On your Apple Watch, you’ll be able to track a workout that syncs to the Health app and shows your rings, calories burned, heart rate, and how far you ran. Metrics are tracked over time, showing how much you’ve played, won or lost, how many different opponents, and more.
The detail work here is incredible, as are the color choices. I love the dark aesthetic of the app that helps the colors pop and the way it handles so much data. With so many numbers and metrics to present, it’s way too easy for that to bog down the app, yet SwingVision still looks visually stunning. With the tie-ins to Apple Health, this is definitely something I can’t wait to try before the weather turns cold for the winter.
But enough about other people's apps.
