You may like<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t interrupt your workouts <\/p>\n
To put my new Workout Buddy through its paces, I set out on several different runs over two days \u2014 an easy 7-mile run one day, followed by a 6-mile tempo session and a 2-mile recovery the next. The tempo session was built on my Apple Watch<\/a> as a Custom Workout.<\/p>\n Each run, excluding the tempo session, started with the Workout Buddy\u2019s \u201cpep talk,\u201d which went over how many miles I\u2019d run this week or my current streak of closing my rings, along with phrases like \u201cGreat job starting your run!\u201d and \u201cYou\u2019re crushing it!\u201d Then, each mile, Workout Buddy would tell me my average pace for the mile, my heart rate, and what I was listening to.<\/p>\n At the end of the run, it gave me a summary of my workout, again, excluding the tempo run. During the custom workout, Workout Buddy didn\u2019t seem to work \u2014 instead, I had the normal reminders to change pace during the work and recovery phases of the workout. Perhaps it\u2019s something I hadn\u2019t toggled on in Settings, or perhaps that was Workout Buddy, but all of the \u201cgood job\u201d messaging was gone.<\/p>\n Like all AI, it has its quirks <\/p>\n Apple isn\u2019t the first brand to add AI to its fitness trackers \u2014 we\u2019ve seen it from Whoop, Garmin<\/a>, Oura, Strava, and Samsung. Yet like pretty much every other brand on the market, Apple\u2019s AI isn\u2019t foolproof. On one run, Workout Buddy told me how many minutes I\u2019d run that year \u2014 sure, running something like 4,000 minutes is an achievement, but it\u2019s not a milestone I\u2019ve ever tracked before.<\/p>\n Another thing to note is that you have to have your iPhone with you to use Workout Buddy, and not all iPhones are compatible. Your iPhone has to have Apple Intelligence in able to use Workout Buddy, so you\u2019ll need an iPhone 15 Pro\/ iPhone 15 Pro Max, or iPhone 16.<\/p>\n To be really useful, it needs to do more <\/p>\n While I didn\u2019t hate Workout Buddy as much as I was anticipating, like all of these AI fitness features, in order to be truly useful, it needs to do more.<\/p>\n Apple has erred on the side of caution with an overly positive tone, but what I want is my Workout Buddy to tell me that the last rep was slower, so I needed to dig in to finish the workout strong. Of course, Apple probably wouldn\u2019t ever do this, as they wouldn\u2019t want to risk people getting injured, but even if the messaging was \u201cthat last mile was slower, but this weeks training load is up 60%\u201d, or \u201cyou\u2019re slowing down but you\u2019re going up-hill. Your grade-adjusted pace is as follows\u2026\u201d it would be more useful than regurgitating what\u2019s on my wrist already.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting, this is a Beta version of watchOS 26, and often Apple will hold things back to coincide with the potential release of new watches this fall. What I\u2019d hope to see is AI that gets smarter the more you run with it. If your Workout Buddy could remember your last run on a certain route, and tell you when hills were coming up, or how your current performance compared, that might be more helpful.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, if Apple, like most of the best Garmin watches<\/a> have done for years, could consider your current week\u2019s training load, and how well you\u2019ve slept the night before, and suggest workouts for you, that could take a lot of the guesswork out of training, and enhance the tool. Plus, prevent you from overtraining and picking up an injury that might keep you from the start line.<\/p>\n (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n Apple has always fallen behind its competitors in its lack of coaching, recovery, and training features, but Workout Buddy seems to be a hint of what\u2019s to come \u2014 Apple using the expertise of its Fitness+ Coaches and blending this into the Workout app.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t for a second believe Workout Buddy can replace the expertise of real-life coaches, but I\u2019ve always performed best when I\u2019ve had someone pushing me to work harder, not congratulating me on getting out the door. It’s the reason some of Peloton<\/a>‘s instructors have become household names \u2014 they don’t just hold your hand, they push you to get fitter. Perhaps Apple could follow Oura\u2019s lead and give users different AI personalities to subscribe to, so you can pick a coach that\u2019s right for you.<\/p>\n I just hope when Workout Buddy rolls out this fall, its personality is a little punchier, because it has the potential to be a useful tool for runners.<\/p>\n![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/YsAUKJkgv8cgKfv3DrGxX.jpg\")
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