Best Fitness Apps That Work With Apple Watch in 2026

Your Apple Watch already automatically tracks steps as part of your daily activity, but if you want a more dedicated app to really dial in your progress, then StepsApp is the one. You can use the app to set calorie goals and count steps, with charts and unimeal review animations to track your progress. Workouts include Map Tracking, Heart Rate Zones and Insights, as well as GPS integration. If you’re truly passionate about walking and want a more dedicated, detailed look at your progress on foot, you’ll get more out of this app than Apple’s bog-standard Workout app. Focus is a productivity timer you can use on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch to help you break down big tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks.

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Todoist on iPhone is one of the best productivity apps out there, and its Apple Watch counterpart doesn’t disappoint. For any scheduled Reminders, swipe up from the bottom of your Apple Watch screen on watchOS 10 and you can view the widget easily. You can’t hope to get the most out of your Apple Watch without some of the best Apple Watch apps on the market. Cardiogram uses the heart rate data that your Apple Watch collects, and offers insights as to how your heart reacts to certain foods, exercises and more.

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Adding this app to your watch is a no-brainer, since it’s free and could save your bacon if you find yourself in trouble in the great outdoors. What3words divides the world up into 57 trillion 3m squares, each of which has a unique three-word code assigned to it. If you’re lost or hurt and can’t see a landmark that will help describe your position, then simply giving the three-word code for your location will help your contacts or the emergency services find you. The app is used by over 85% of the UK’s emergency services, including 100% of ambulance services.

• Sure, successive governments may be intent on making leisure centres and community pools a thing of the past, but MySwimPro is a great tool for those pining for a paddle.
• The SE doesn’t offer as bright or large a display as the Series 11 and Ultra 3, but unlike previous versions of the watch, it does have an always-on screen option.
• In addition to logging your food, this app allows you to track your training sessions, including weights, sets, and reps. Furthermore, MyFitnessPal offers self-guided workouts.
• These HIIT style workouts will help you increase your aerobic capacity and muscular endurance.
• It begins with setting up the smartwatch just like we would any other exciting new piece of tech.
• Strava is a popular fitness-tracking app that caters to runners, cyclists, and other outdoor enthusiasts.

Do I need the newest Apple Watch for these apps?

On busier days, the ring quickly picks up on my tension, pinpointing exactly when I feel most stressed (and when I’m able to relax again). For me, my stress usually correlates with work hours, and my restorative periods align with when I’m relaxing with my husband and dog in the evenings. These types of workouts translate to improved athletic performance and overall health.

It allows you to create and track custom workouts based on time or distance intervals, or your heart rate zone. You can also configure your Apple Watch to show more than just five metrics, which is nice if you want to see your heart rate, elevation gain, current pace, time, and distance all at once, like I do. Most smartwatches will track your basic health metrics such as steps and calories, while devices with built-in GPS make for perfect running, cycling and swimming companions. Many of the watches here also sync up so you’ll receive notifications via your watch, saving you the need to dig out your phone as often. For the best overall experience, especially if you have a lot of other Apple products, an Apple Watch is the clear winner.

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It goes without saying that most people will be plenty satisfied with the Apple Watch’s default sleep tracking. Sleep Cycle costs $39.99 per year and has apps for iPhone and iPad as well. At 4.7 out of 5 stars, you’d be hard pressed to find many third-party sleep apps that beat it. Although the Apple Watch itself displays some of these metrics, a good Apple Watch Fitness App will add amazing enhancements to these metrics in ways that can help you improve your overall health and fitness. They can also help you make more sense of these metrics and how the can specifically help motivate you and keep you focused on obtaining your goals. You can even monitor your stress level with an Apple Watch Stress Monitor App.

Apple’s native Workout app comes pre-installed and covers a wide range of activity types, from running and cycling to strength training and HIIT. It records heart rate continuously, estimates calories burned, and writes everything to Apple Health automatically. The Activity Rings system is a surprisingly effective motivator for daily movement. For casual exercisers or anyone who just wants to log cardio without installing anything, the built-in app is solid and free. Besides telling time and displaying notifications, an Apple Watch functions primarily as a health and fitness tracker.

Supporting 38 languages, iTranslate Converse has a super simple interface that lets you speak directly into your Apple Watch’s microphone after tapping the big orange button. To translate what you said into the language you have chosen, you simply release the orange button. Whether it’s ordering a drink in Spanish or asking for directions in French, this Apple Watch app will have you covered. Flo Period & Cycles Tracker offers an insight into your menstrual cycle, with the Apple Watch app offering quick glance information. Calm is an excellent app for meditation and managing stress, offering everything from breathing exercises to stretches. Rather than focusing on step count, Apple uses Move and Exercise Rings to present how much you’ve moved in a day.

Is the Apple Watch good for tracking workouts?

MyFitnessPal syncs nutrition data, while Headway keeps your mental fitness sharp with book summaries. Streaks builds healthy routines, and Sleep++ analyzes rest quality without subscriptions. If you’re just starting, Nike Training Club (NTC) is one of the easiest fitness apps for beginners. It gives you workouts that match your level, so you don’t feel lost. With Apple Watch support, you can follow workouts, see your heart rate and calories, and track your progress, all without needing advanced gears. The SmartGym Apple Watch app is an award-winning workout app that’s so good it even features in Apple’s own TV adverts for the Watch.

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These maps contain critical information such as distance, elevation gain, difficulty levels, photos, and reviews. Whether you’re an experienced hiker or just starting, AllTrails has everything you need to make your outdoor adventuresuccessful. Like its predecessor the Series 8, the Apple Watch Series 9 is marketed directly at fitness fans. The latest Nike+Apple collaboration includes a series of interchangeable watch bands aimed squarely at runners, while the improved health function closely monitors heart rate, rhythm and blood oxygen levels. Developers are now racing to produce apps and services aimed at the millions of people who take their Apple Watches on a run.

Best Apple Watch Fitness Apps

And sometimes, it’s a zombie apocalypse simulator that makes you race to avoid being eaten alive. A Strava subscription – £47.99 for the year or £6.99 a month – unlocks a whole heap of extras and mapping features, too. Its route planner is impressively intuitive, and can be drawn along roads, ramble routes or by following the heat maps of others who’ve discovered new pathways themselves. Strava has long been the map app of choice for off-road mountain bikers and joggers of all terrains. It syncs with pretty much all GPS watches and head units and is pretty great at making solo running social through its friend features.

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Spotify is my go-to streaming platform on my iPhone, with more music on offer than I’ll ever be able to listen to in a lifetime. It also features weekly song recommendations based on your listening preferences, and an easy-to-navigate user interface. You don’t need to own a pair of Nike sneakers to use the Nike Run Club app either. In fact, it’s completely free for all users, and a crowd favorite among the pavement pounders on our staff. Think of it as your personalized running coach, with stat tracking, training advice, and even motivational messaging.

If you want to train at home without buying gear, Home Workout – No Equipment is a great fit. This fitness app gives you simple routines for strength, cardio, and core that you can do anywhere. With Apple Watch support, you can track heart rate, calories, and time right from your wrist. It’s simple to use, packed with workout options, and updated often.

Athlytic uses all the data your Apple Watch collects on you and turns it into insights that can help you meet your health and fitness goals. Whilst Apple offers plenty of data within its Health app, not all of it is translatable. For example, Apple doesn’t offer a feature like Garmin’s Body Battery where it will tell you if you should be resting or exercising on a particular day. To find a weekly step count on Apple without a third party app, you have to dig into the Health app and it’s not possible to add steps as a complication on a Watch Face either. The Pedometer++ app enables both of these features however, and it will also present walking distance, active calories and heart rate data too, along with some nice looking maps. You don’t need any gear, just your Apple Watch and some space to move.

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It comes with 11 total workout types, including Strength and Yoga. The App features real time metrics, which allows you to see important stats like your heart rate onscreen. The Apple Watch is considered the gold standard for iPhone users, but other options, like Fitbit or Garmin smartwatches, also work very well with iOS. You may find that they don’t offer the same level of integration but do bring you excellent health tracking features and longer battery life. So if you’re primarily looking for a fitness tracker with basic notification functionality, these can be great alternatives. MyFitnessPal is also a good health and fitness app that helps you track your nutrition, exercise, and overall wellness.