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).

Turlington Apple Watch

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.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

space black mbp

Apple Potentially Facing Worst Leak Since iPhone 4 Was Left in a Bar

Monday October 7, 2024 3:03 pm PDT by
Alleged photos and videos of an unannounced 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 chip continue to surface on social media, in what could be the worst product leak for Apple since an employee accidentally left an iPhone 4 prototype at a bar in California in 2010. The latest video of what could be a next-generation MacBook Pro was shared on YouTube Shorts today by Russian channel Romancev768, just...
Alleged M4 MacBook Pro Leak Video

Alleged M4 MacBook Pro Unboxing Video Reveals These Four Upgrades

Sunday October 6, 2024 6:10 pm PDT by
An alleged unboxing video for an unannounced 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip was uploaded to YouTube today by Russian channel Wylsacom. The video was later linked to on social media platform X by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. It is possible that this is the same MacBook Pro box shown in photos that were shared by leaker ShrimpApplePro in late September, as he claimed that this MacBook Pro...
watchos 11 vitals

Apple Watch Users Report Vitals App Detecting Illness Before Symptoms Appear

Monday October 7, 2024 5:34 am PDT by
Apple's new Vitals app for watchOS 11 appears to be impressing some users with its ability to detect potential illness days before symptoms manifest, according to recent reports on Reddit. The Apple Watch app, which analyzes key health metrics measured during sleep over the last seven days, appears to be providing early warnings of impending sickness for at least some Apple Watch wearers...
iPad mini review thumb

iPad Mini 7 Coming Next Month: What to Expect

Tuesday October 8, 2024 6:16 am PDT by
Rumors strongly suggest Apple will release the seventh-generation iPad mini in November, nearly three years after the last refresh. Here's a roundup of what we're expecting from the next version of Apple's small form factor tablet, based on the latest rumors and reports. Design and Display The new iPad mini is likely to retain its compact 8.3-inch display and overall design introduced with...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Tuesday October 8, 2024 5:45 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.1 Beta 6

Monday October 7, 2024 4:27 pm PDT by
We're nearing the end of the iOS 18.1 beta testing process, but Apple is continuing to make tweaks to refine built-in features ahead of when the software launches. With testing winding down, there are fewer new additions, but Apple has made changes worth noting. The new beta is available for both developers and public beta testers. Control Center In the Control Center, Apple has added new...
M4 Real Feature Red

Gurman: Apple to Launch First M4 Macs and Potentially iPad Mini 7 on November 1

Sunday October 6, 2024 6:40 am PDT by
Apple will announce several new M4 Mac models around the end of October, with the company planning to launch at least some of them as soon as Friday, November 1, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple will launch a new M4 version of its low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, as well as higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

Waiting for a New Apple TV? Here's What the Latest Rumors Say

Tuesday October 8, 2024 8:57 am PDT by
The current Apple TV was released two years ago this month, so you may be wondering when the next model will be released. Below, we recap rumors about a next-generation Apple TV. In January 2023, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that a new Apple TV was planned for release in the first half of 2024:Beyond the future smart displays and new speaker, Apple is working on revamping its TV box....

Top Rated Comments

finnns2000 Avatar
125 months ago
According to the experts who have never worn the thing, you constantly need the iPhone around it so this can't be true!

experts who have never worn the thing

have never worn the thing

experts

never
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mad Mac Maniac Avatar
125 months ago
Yes, Yes, Yes!!! I wondered (and even posted) about this months ago. Fantastic news! True GPS data is less important to me than accurate distance. This lessens the need to bring my iPhone on runs.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PBG4 Dude Avatar
125 months ago
That's EXCELLENT for the tracking side...but I'm still tethered if I want to listen to music, track my run by GPS, etc.

Correct on the GPS, but the watch has 2GB for music.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ahlsn Avatar
125 months ago
I get that it's cool to know your route, but how is that a show stopper for anyone?! Having GPS to know your route is 100% useless data as far as anything but motivation is concerned, it's only convenient data.

Not really. The entire fitness/running/cycling community with Strava and similar services is built upon GPS data. That's how you share workout with friends, automatically log time in segments where you can compete with friends and pro athletes. Logging distance without GPS data would be pretty pointless to me.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Onimusha370 Avatar
125 months ago
thats kinda cool!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
profets Avatar
125 months ago
As a runner and triathlete I'm quite curious to see how well it works.

Though I can't imagine the watch alone can be as accurate as a GPS based watch, regardless of the algorithms and measurements it's using.

Hoping to see GPS in future versions, but I don't think I'll replace my TomTom watch for workouts just yet.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)