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You Can Use the iOS 16 Fitness App for Activity Tracking Without an Apple Watch

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The Fitness app on the iPhone has long been available as an activity tracking tool for those who own an Apple Watch, but in iOS 16, Apple wants to make the app an activity tracking option useful even for those who don't own an Apple Watch.

fitness-app-ios-16.jpg

With iOS 16, you can track your activity using the iPhone motion sensors. The iPhone can keep tabs on steps, distance, and third-party workouts, giving you an estimate of your calories burned.

You can set a daily move goal even if you don't have an Apple Watch, using the iPhone to track your progress toward reaching the goal. The updated Fitness app is useful for people who don't have an Apple Watch or another kind of activity tracker and who would like to be more active.

The Fitness app looks almost identical to the Fitness app available to Apple Watch owners, but it does not include a Fitness+ tab as that feature is restricted to the Apple Watch, nor does it have Stand and Exercise rings.

For more on what's new in iOS 16, make sure to check out our hands-on video.

Article Link: You Can Use the iOS 16 Fitness App for Activity Tracking Without an Apple Watch
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/06/07/ios-16-fitness-activity-tracking-on-iphone/
Has anyone gotten this to work?
If so, how?
Currently trying out an AWatch, again, love the fitness aspect if it, hate everything else about it…miss my 5lbs mechanical watch.
 
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If I'm tracking steps and calories burned solely on my iPhone, but then I put my Apple Watch on, will it synchronize Activity between the two?
 
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Before Apple Watch… didn’t the health app or something similar track steps and walking? I could have sworn that was a thing and was marketed as keeping your iPhone in your pocket to count steps
 
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alanvitek said:
Before Apple Watch… didn’t the health app or something similar track steps and walking? I could have sworn that was a thing and was marketed as keeping your iPhone in your pocket to count steps
Click to expand...
Yes, the Health app has been able to track everything for years -- steps and even going up flights of stairs. The Fitness/Activity app just puts an interface over the info.
 
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tdar said:
The sad news is that you loose this if you have a Apple Watch.it’s one or another.
Click to expand...
What exactly are you losing? I’ve had the fitness/activity app on my iPhone for over 5 years… came with the AW
 
BJMRamage said:
The Health App might currently track steps and flights (stairs not beer) the Fitness App has RINGS. Those rings are now a Lockscreen option.

I would REALLY like the idea of mapping my walks or hikes since I don’t have an AppleWatch.
Click to expand...
Used Apple Watch S4 is really cheap. You can get it for like $200+. Then you'll get everything including new watchOS, and even Fitness+.
 
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It’d be nice if Apple bought out a company like MyFitnessPal so that you could track and look up calories too. That fitness app would be a powerhouse
 
now i see it said:
Tracking steps has been available natively on iPhone since the iPhone 4 (long before the Apple Watch was invented)
Click to expand...
Yea, thank you and a few others who confirmed this for me. That’s what was thinking was it was way before Apple Watch came out that me and my friends kept our phone in our pockets as step counters.
 
Nate Weir said:
If I'm tracking steps and calories burned solely on my iPhone, but then I put my Apple Watch on, will it synchronize Activity between the two?
Click to expand...
Yeah its been doing step tracking on both device for ages. They introduced step tracking on iPhone a LONG time ago, i believe since iOS 12(?).

You can see where you steps are coming from by going to Health > Steps > Show All Data. When you click on a date, itll show you steps from phone and watch.
 
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matrix07 said:
Used Apple Watch S4 is really cheap. You can get it for like $200+. Then you'll get everything including new watchOS, and even Fitness+.
Click to expand...
It’s not about the money, it’s about the fact that i don’t like the AW as a watch, and prefer my nice big 5lb mechanical watch. I LOVE the fitness stuff on the AW, I’ve said it many times the person who invented those Rings should get a Noble Piece Prize, that person(s) will save millions of lives; BUT I hate the AW for everything else -- I don’t like it as a watch, I hate that it takes over all the notifications (screen lighting up and dinging) from my phone, I hate that instead of looking at my 6” phone I’m now reading everything on 1.77” “watch” that I need to turn my wrist and twist my neck to read.
 
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k.alexander said:
It’s not about the money, it’s about the fact that i don’t like the AW as a watch, and prefer my nice big 5lb mechanical watch. I LOVE the fitness tuff on the AW, I’ve said it many times the person who invented those Rings should get a Noble Piece Prize, that person(s) will save millions of lives; BUT I hate the AW for everything else, I don’t like it as a watch, I hate that it takes over all the notifications (screen lighting up and dinging) from my phone, I hate that instead of looking at my 6” phone I’m now reading everything on 1.77” “watch” that I need to turn my wrist and twist my neck to read.
Click to expand...

I…think the Watch may just not be for you then. It seems like you dislike everything it’s supposed to be.

You could get the extra expensive version with the heavier case and the metal link band and make it super heavy though, if you miss how heavy and expensive traditional watches are.
 
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k.alexander said:
It’s not about the money, it’s about the fact that i don’t like the AW as a watch, and prefer my nice big 5lb mechanical watch. I LOVE the fitness tuff on the AW, I’ve said it many times the person who invented those Rings should get a Noble Piece Prize, that person(s) will save millions of lives; BUT I hate the AW for everything else, I don’t like it as a watch, I hate that it takes over all the notifications (screen lighting up and dinging) from my phone, I hate that instead of looking at my 6” phone I’m now reading everything on 1.77” “watch” that I need to turn my wrist and twist my neck to read.
Click to expand...

All fair enough if you don’t like it but you should be aware that watch notifications are completely customisable. You can have it effectively just be a watch if you prefer. It won’t alert you to things if you set it so it doesn’t. I can totally see why you might prefer a proper watch but annoying notifications isn’t a valid criticism of Apple Watch. Ten minutes in the phone app is all that’s needed to configure it to better suit your needs. It also has silent mode, theatre mode and even airplane mode 👍
 
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