Strava for Apple Watch
2018—2019
Strava built one of the first activity tracking apps for the original Apple Watch, but as watchOS rapidly improved, the original codebase quickly grew outdated. As Strava expanded its multisport recording initiative to allow for recording many more activities in addition to running and cycling, the Strava app on Apple Watch provided a great opportunity to build a new recording experience with direct heart rate and elevation data.
Apps for watchOS need to be focused and lightweight, and the limitations of the platform made for an exciting challenge, stripping down the recording experience to just a handful of app screens. We redesigned the Start Screen to the bare essentials to start recording, and added new features to the Recording screen including swappable stats and a new recording control menu with brighter icons and a water lock control.
With the release of Apple Watch with LTE, we were also able to bring Beacon to Apple Watch. Beacon is a safety feature that allows a trusted contact to follow your activity in real time, and with Beacon on Apple Watch, athletes could leave their phone at home and stay safe on the trail.
Timeline
2 months (watchOS4)
1 month (watchOS5)
Team
Product Designer
Product Manager
iOS Engineer
Role
Lead Product Designer,
Core Experience Team, Strava
Strava on Apple Watch provides a glanceable live recording screen, with key stats visible at arms length, including elapsed time, speed, distance, and heart rate. When the athlete stops moving, the recording will automatically pause. With watchOS 5, we were able to include media controls accessible right from the recording screen.
With our new multisport recording platform, Strava for Apple Watch can record both indoor and outdoor activities in a variety of sports, including running, cycling, hiking, and snow sports.
A quick settings view while recording provides access to water lock, recording controls, and the ability to start and stop Beacon from transmitting.