The results are in, the races have been run. After testing out four running apps for Apple Watch, I have finally come to my conclusion on what I think is the best running app for Apple Watch.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t run nearly as much as I wanted to this year. My time as I mentioned, before has been almost completely gone to my job, and I’ve also been under the weather and run down. Still, I was able to log in some runs using the four apps I mentioned.
The Apps
And The Best Running app for Apple is…
Well that honestlty depends on what you want.
If you want a simple interface with no audio cues and quick syncing – the standard Workout App is the best running app for Apple Watch. It gives you the amount of information you want and syncs back to your phone quickly. However, I didn’t like that the audio cues were just beeps. I like my App to tell me how far I’ve gone and what my pace is. The Workout app does offer that information, but only on the Apple Watch Face.
So for my needs, the best running app for Apple Watch is Strava.
If you like audio cues and sharing your runs on social media, I would highly recommend Strava. Strava offers plenty of metrics on the Apple Watch face but also offers verbal audio cues about distance and pace. It doesn’t sync back to the iPhone as quickly as the Workout app does, but it will sync eventually. There’s also a screen on the Watch app that shows any unsynced runs. A long press on any of those and it will force a sync with the phone app.
The runner up for best Running App on Apple Watch for me was Nike Run Club. It is similar to Strava, but I don’t feel like you can get as much information from it either through the screen or through audio cues. It is still a capable running app, and if you don’t want as much info on your wrist, this is a great option.
Going Forward
Personally, I’m going to be running with Strava. I felt like it checked off most of the boxes I was looking for in a running app. It had the data I wanted at a glance, it provided audio cues at mile intervals, and sharing to social media was pretty much a breeze.
It wasn’t the quickest at syncing back to your phone, but as long as you remember to check it after a few minutes you should be good. Also, it syncs with the Achievement App (the app that pays you to work out) better than the other apps that I checked out. I tend to get more points when I run with Strava.
Is Strava perfect? No.
In fact, if the Workout App had audio cues, I would probably switch right now. I would love for Apple to add the audio cues as well as beef up the social sharing options. The Workout App is also the app whose metrics I trust the most.
Wrap up
While not the most critical of deals, I’m glad to know that I’m not really missing out on anything by using Strava. I’m going to continue using it, and I hope the developer continues to improve on it.
How are your workout goals going this year? What app are you using to track your runs? What would convince you to change? Let me know in the comments.