Get fit with Workout Buddy

Be more elite athlete than couch potato with Apple Intelligence

- DAVID CROOKES

STAYING MOTIVATED DURING a workout isn’t always easy. When fatigue sets in or your mind wanders, you can feel tempted to quit. Apple has long been thinking of ways to keep you moving. Millions of people seek to close their Activity rings, earn badges and streaks, engage in monthly challenges, sign up to Fitness+ ($9.99/month or $79.99/ year), monitor health, and set daily Move goals. If that wasn’t enough, Apple has now launched Workout Buddy.

Baked into watchOS 26, Workout Buddy uses Apple Intelligence to analyze your fitness history and current workout data to issue verbal encouragement through Bluetooth headphones. Close to closing an Activity ring? It’ll aim to get you to completion. Making good progress? It’ll tell you so.

Workout Buddy also dishes out praise and works across many different workouts, from runs and walks to cycles, strength training, and HIIT (high-intensity interval training). So long as you’ve got an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone and a compatible Watch, you’re good to go.

MANAGE WORKOUT BUDDY