RunKeeper takes on the Workout app, launches a dedicated Apple Watch application
RunKeeper, the popular running app for iOS, has received an update adding a brand new (and, we might add, an expected) feature: support for Cupertino’s incoming Apple Watch.
The move means RunKeeper fans can use their new smartwatch, rather than their iPhone, to check on key health and fitness data when running, walking, cycling, or undertaking indoor cardio (like the elliptical, yoga, or crossfit). Information including your total distance, your current pace, and your speed should appear on the Apple Watch’s display, making it easier to glance at the data while maintaining your speed. As someone who uses RunKeeper to track hikes, support for the Watch is something I’m pleased to see – though I’m unsure whether Apple’s Workout app, which is built into the Watch OS and includes a similar feature set, will offer everything RunKeeper currently does and more.
Here’s a complete list of changes in version 5.5 of the app:
- RunKeeper for Apple Watch: the most magical thing to happen to running since the iPhone!
- Leave your phone in your pocket as you start, view, and complete your run all from the Apple Watch.
- Keep the day’s notifications (and all those annoying emails from your boss) away as you just tune into and enjoy your run. It’s almost like your phone isn’t there, except it is.
- Follow your training plan workouts with notifications right from the watch. Really awesome for when you think you’re about to die from that speed interval.
Earlier this year, RunKeeper added Spotify integration and a “Today” widget for Notification Center to its iOS application. Before this, Health integration, a smart “Stopwatch Mode,” and support for Breeze reached the app through a series of updates.
RunKeeper is the latest in a long line of apps to add support for the Apple Watch, and as such a number of impressive titles are going to be available for the smartwatch come launch day, this Friday. In fact, a growing number of apps are available to preview at WatchAware, our sister site which focuses entirely on covering Cupertino’s incoming wearable. We’ll be sharing our pick of our top 10 Watch apps in advance of Friday here at AppAdvice, too, so be sure to look out for that.
In the meantime, RunKeeper 5.5 can indeed be downloaded on the App Store now: it’s available free of charge, and is optimized for the iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple Watch.
See also: Popular video capture app 10 has been updated for camera control on Apple Watch, A new support document examines how the Apple Watch measures your heart rate, and What you should know about Tidal’s subscription pricing.