Apple Watch Learns Runners' Strides Over Time, Becoming More Independent From iPhone
After talking with Tim Cook onstage at the March 9 "Spring Forward" media event, model Christy Turlington Burns has kept a weekly blog on Apple's official website with updates on her preparations for the London Marathon next month.
In this week's post, Burns mentions in passing that the Watch will not only learn a user's stride after a few exercises when paired with an iPhone, after a while the Watch will be able to act independently in tracking fitness-related stats without needing to be tethered to an iPhone at all (via MacObserver).
Burns shows off the ease of exchanging Apple Watch bands in this week's blog post
The post, titled "The Art of Vacation Training", finds Burns on a bit of a break from her usual training regimen while on vacation with her family in the Caribbean. Still finding time to put in a 14-mile run in one day, Burns discusses how her personal Apple Watch has since learned her stride and speed, the Watch becoming less reliant on the iPhone in the fitness-tracking departments the more she uses it.
I switched up my runs between the treadmill at the hotel gym and outside. After you run with Apple Watch and your iPhone a few times, the Workout app knows more about your stride. So you can run on a treadmill or outside without your phone and still get a really accurate workout summary.
Apple's presentation of the device, ever since its reveal last September, has been of a Watch in nearly constant need of contact with an iPhone. Although Burns' blog post only appears to confirm the Watch's fitness-focused apps can sufficiently work sans iPhone, it's still an interesting piece of information, especially for users planning to use the wearable as a sole workout device.
Check out the rest of Burns' blog post, and her earlier entries, on Apple's official website.
Popular Stories
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past.
The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2.
watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC.
It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3.
Mac users can download the macOS Sequoia update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15.
With...
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Visa wants to pay Apple approximately $100 million to be the new payment network for the Apple Card, reports The Wall Street Journal. As of right now, the Apple Card is on the Mastercard payment network, but that is set to change because Apple is ending its partnership with Goldman Sachs.
Both American Express and Visa are vying to replace Mastercard as Apple's card services provider, while...
