Not all iPhone owners know that, starting with the 5S model, an additional coprocessor began to be built into the smartphone. One of its functions is precisely measuring the number of steps that the owner of the phone has taken.
In fact, the iPhone counts your steps by default, it's just that the data isn't visible anywhere. To see them, you need to go to “Settings” -> “Privacy” -> “Movement and Fitness” and activate “Fitness Tracking” there:
How to Track Your Steps on iPhone
You can use the standard “Health” program, but for me, it is not very convenient and informative. I recommend installing the Pedometer program, it is free and available in the App Store.
In the app, you can set a goal and see statistics for each day, showing both steps and the approximate distance in kilometers:
Also, “Pedometer” can show the number of steps for the current day directly on its icon. It's very convenient - you don't even need to open the application:
If you have any questions, we are always happy to help you!
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Let's figure out how to turn on the standard pedometer from the Health app on the iPhone, calibrate it and see what available pedometer apps are available in App Store.
This article is suitable for everyone iPhone models 11/Xs(r)/X/8/7/6 and Plus on iOS 13. Older versions may have different or missing menu options and hardware support listed in this article.
Turn on the pedometer on iPhone
First you need to enable the tracking option, which is enabled by default. Many users turn it off to save battery power.
We follow the instructions:
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Using a pedometer in the Health app on iPhone
Launch the “Health” application. In the “Meddata” menu, click on the “Activity” card. IN this section All user activity for the month, week and day is located. If you scroll down a little, you can see the Walking and Running Distance menu.
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It displays detailed statistics on the steps taken. To get a detailed report by day, click on a special calendar chart, which is orange.
In order not to search for this or that value every time in the entire tree, you need to display it in the “Favorites” menu in the form of a gadget. You can use the “Add to Favorites” switch for this.
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In the “Sources” item, you can manage all connected devices.
Calibrating the iPhone pedometer
The built-in pedometer on your iPhone may require calibration. To do this, you need to use any free sports program.
Let's consider the process iPhone calibration using the example of the Runtastic application:
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After calibrating the data, the gadget demonstrates more accurate activity indicators.
Best Third-Party Pedometer Apps for iPhone
Many users rely on pedometers during their daily walks. How accurate is step counting? Let's look at the 6 best pedometers.
These applications were studied for several weeks. After the walk, the results were checked and the steps were counted manually. The screenshot below shows a diagram with the obtained data.
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M7 - Steps
This pedometer attracts with its clear and minimalistic interface. The program shows in one of the tabs the number of steps taken per month, week or day.
The user can scroll left or right in the window to view previous days' results. By clicking on this data, you will not receive any other additional data.
You can view your activity for the month in the form of a list with different dates or a graph. The program runs in the background once a day to transfer data about the steps taken. There is almost no damage to the battery.
The experimental data obtained for M7 - Steps are quite accurate, they coincide with other applications that have an M7 coprocessor. After a day of use, the program's pleasant interface seems boring, and the lack additional options may disappoint users. The software is useful for those who do not need anything other than the actual counting of steps.
Stepz
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The program relies on data received from M7. The difference with the previous application is additional features and bright design.
The program has a color scale that shows the number of steps you took per day, the distance traveled in miles, and your average for the week. On the bright green line above you can see maximum number completed steps.
The maximum number of steps on the scale is green, the average is orange, and the minimum is red. It turns out that the scale is a fairly clear and understandable guide.
If you click on the statistics, the bar graph will change from steps to miles traveled. If you wish, you can also study the number of steps taken per month, week or day.
Stepz pedometer is as accurate as any other pedometer best app. The development has a different design, but remains accessible and understandable for a beginner.
Walker M7
Free program Walker M7 relies on information from the M7 coprocessor. The app shows accurate data and provides more functionality, unlike the previous two pedometers.
Walker M7 not only counts steps, but is also able to distinguish between walking and running, tracks your route, monitors blood pressure, weight and calories burned. The resulting information can be shared on Evernote, Facebook or Twitter.
The application shows the number of steps in a circle on the main screen of the program. On the right, you can indicate whether you are going to run or walk, which will help the software track your steps more accurately. The distance traveled, your speed, calories burned and walking time are also displayed on the screen.
Using the buttons in the upper right corner you can open an additional list of options. They include the following:
- Ratings.
- Map.
- Statistics.
- Charts.
In the graphs you can switch between distance, steps and calories. If you scroll to the right, you can get information about the user's weight, blood pressure and the amount of accumulated fat.
In statistics, user activity is demonstrated in the form of a color chart. If you swipe to the left, you will see data about a walk, and to the right - about running.
Walker M7 has advanced functionality and is capable of accurately displaying information. It is possible to independently enter data about your blood pressure or weight.
Pacer
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In the application, you can see recommendations that will help you lead a more active lifestyle and track some health indicators. The home screen shows your daily steps, calories burned, and activity time. The level of activity and progress during the day are also displayed here.
If you scroll to the right, you can see a graph of activity for the day. Another swipe will give you access to a button you should press when going on a long walk or run.
Pacer has three built-in fitness plans:
- Build Your Own Plan.
- Walk 4 Weight Loss.
- Reach 10 thousand steps (Couch To 10K Steps).
In the application you can compete with your friends in the results achieved.
Breeze
On the main screen of the application, the received data is shown in a circle, which is located on a rather pleasant background. A group of 7 small circles (the user's progress over the week) will be filled depending on the approach to the given goal. If you click on one of the circles, detailed information for the past day will be shown.
Quite often, Breeze does not display the route traveled and geolocation, but only shows a bubble with counted steps. The application also informs you about your progress and sends motivational messages too often. The program is functionally and visually pleasing.
Moves
On our list latest app became Moves, which shows movement graphs, steps, starting point of departure, final destination. The software is incredibly well developed, everything functions perfectly.
The number of steps taken while walking or running is published in colorful circles. The time spent on them is demonstrated. If you scroll down, it will show a graph that you can swipe left and right. This will allow you to view statistics for previous days.
Using the application, your stop locations are determined. This territory can be designated independently, for example, work, gym, home.
You can click on a line or any stop to view it on the map. Routes are indicated by different lines:
- The bus or car is gray.
- Bicycle - blue.
- Walks are green.
If the application makes a mistake, each of the lines can be corrected. Of all the apps, only Moves was able to truly distinguish walking from cycling.
All of the programs listed have advantages and disadvantages. Each user chooses the software that is suitable for its functionality and design.
5 (100%) 5 people
For someone "Pedometer" It may seem like a useless toy, but this is what was always missing. I remember how, with a tenacity worthy of better use, I tried to count the number of steps from the railway stop to the house, but invariably lost my way somewhere at the end of the second thousand.
There. For objectivity, I decided to measure the same distance with two pedometers: from point A to point B, and back - from B to A.
Free version The Pedometer application, in addition to the number of steps, tracks time, distance, speed, average speed and calories burned. In addition, on the screen you can observe how one of five diagrams changes over time: km/h, min/km, step/min, beats/min, kcal/min. Thanks to the Pedometer, I learned a lot of useless numbers, for example, that from the corner of the Avenue business center to the Lopukhinsky Garden there are 460 steps and 330 meters, at the exit from the garden it turns into 1010 steps and 723 meters (and also 35 kcal).
In addition, it turned out that with a normal fast step, I reach a speed of 5.1 km/h, and with a fast-fast step - 5.7 km/h. This means that if you strain, puff and sweat for an hour, you will only be able to win a measly 600 meters. Small doubts about the reliability of the data crept in only because even if I tried to walk at a fast, fast, fast pace, the number on the screen remained the same - 5.7. Only later on the speed diagram, which resembled a saw, did I see that at times the teeth of the saw reached 6.2 km/h.
Apparently one of the two of them was lying, especially when stopping at an intersection; only after 5-10-15 seconds of motionless waiting did the digital speed reluctantly begin to decrease from 4.6 km/h. Deciding to trust “algebra to geometry,” I silently counted 50 steps and looked at the screen: during this time the gadget counted 51. Normal. By the way, constantly looking at the screen should be considered useful: perhaps this is akin to the effect achieved by an individual who wants to lose weight by stepping on the scale 10 times a day. After this, no piece will fit into your mouth. So here you involuntarily increase the speed. As a result, the journey that I usually cover in 40-50 minutes, thanks to the pedometer, was covered in 35-odd kopecks. The average speed was 5 km/h, the distance was 2994 meters, and the number of kilocalories was 143. One boiled egg contains 150 kcal, and a Russian Big Mac (the calorie content of a sandwich varies greatly depending on the country) contains 495 kcal. It turns out that to spend just one Big Mac you need to walk almost 10 km!
Back. But all these results had to be considered preliminary, which had to be compared with the readings of the English-language Passometer.
The surprises began immediately after the start. No matter how much I increased my walking speed, the iPhone’s speedometer still showed a paltry 2.31 km/h.
Having decided to check the application with the tried and tested manually I counted 50 steps, Passometer noticed only 21 of them. By the way, when the screen turned off, the application immediately paused step counting! What the heck!? A worthless thing!? The Russian-language “Pedometer” seemed to win on all counts. It was possible to stop the experiment at the very beginning.
At that moment I suggested: what would happen if I put the iPhone, which I had been holding in my hand all the time, into my pocket? The speed began to increase and at times reached 6.02 (here the calculation is carried out to hundredths!) km/h, and 50 of my “verbal” steps were counted by the application as 53. It is worth noting that the instructions for the application do not indicate anywhere that the iPhone is in The measurement time should be kept in some special way so that the results are not distorted.
As a result, despite the incomprehensibility with the calculations at the beginning of the distance, at the finish line there were 3238 meters, 3925 steps and 164.39 kcal. This means that my step length increased by 10 cm, the number of calories burned increased by 50 ml of kefir, and only the average speed remained unchanged. 0.01 km/h difference does not count.
PS Measuring the distance using a Yandex ruler showed that it was at least 3.4 km. Someone is still lying...
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Health app in iOS: why is it needed, what data is recorded in it, what useful settings There is? About how to lead healthy image life with Apple, read our article.
Apple Health is an aggregator of data about the state of your body in your iPhone. The application collects data from various fitness applications installed on your smartphone, as well as from Apple Watch, analyzes them and puts all the information into a convenient format to give you a comprehensive view of your health.
Apple Health. Categories
Apple Health: Health Data CategoriesThere are four different categories of data in the Health app. They allow you to quickly get an idea of your diet, sleep patterns, physical activity and other important things.
- Activity: This category collects data about your physical activity and sports activities. Here you will find out how many steps you took per day, how long you sat still and how many calories you burned.
- Dream: For good night A regulated biorhythm is very important. In this category you can find information about how long your sleep lasts and what time you go to bed.
- Mindfulness: In this category you will find data about your breathing rhythm. You can also get an idea of how regularly you took breaks throughout the day, which can help prevent stress from developing.
- Nutrition: Are you counting calories, want to eat less fatty foods, or think you're consuming too much caffeine? In the “Nutrition” category, you can analyze your menu and make the necessary adjustments.
In addition, the application has additional categories: heart, body measurements, reproductive health, tests, vital indicators.
Apple Health. Fitness Tracking
Apple Health: health If you're using iOS 8 or later and don't see the Health app, you may need to update to latest version iOS.
Additionally, to use the Health app properly, you may need to enable the Fitness Tracking option:
- Open iPhone settings.
- Select a category Are common, then click Confidentiality.
- To use Health app features, go to Health > Fitness Tracking move the slider to the right.
Apple Health. Search applications
Your iPhone and Apple Watch perform some functions automatically to collect information about your activity and health. These include counting steps and measuring heart rate.
But you can integrate a lot of other health data collected through your Health app into your Health app. third party applications:
- Open the Health app and tap one of the four categories.
- You will be asked to watch an explanatory video. You will also see apps that match that category. Tap any app to learn more about it and download it.
- If you already use some apps to collect your health data, search for them in the search box on start screen Health apps and add them.
Additional Apple Health app settings
Apple Health: Apple Watch integration - If you want to manually enter your blood pressure values, click Metadata, and then Basic indicators. Select the data type, e.g. Pressure and click on the plus icon. Enter values manually.
- You can also import your health data if you have previously used other apps. Enter the Health application, select the necessary data and find the item Export. This is usually an icon shaped like a rectangle with an arrow pointing from it. Select Add to “Health”. Then in the Health app, under Metadata select item Health status and click on it to view the information you need.
- To motivate yourself to exercise more or go on a diet, you can activate the function in the application to inform you about your daily progress. Just click Today at the bottom of the application to view statistics on various data.
- You can add the data that is most important to you to Favorites. Press Metadata, then to the category and data type. Select a statistic or information and select below Add to favorites. IN Favorites you can easily see information for the current month about your muscle growth, diet or heart rate.
- If you have an Apple Watch, the data smart watch automatically entered into the Health application. To do this, the watch and iPhone simply need to be synchronized with the smartphone. You can receive data about your heart rate, movement and breathing from your smartwatch.
It seems like the days when your phone couldn't replace dozens of handheld devices are long gone. Now they have been replaced by smartphones, which include a huge number of functions, from a compass to a voice recorder. We rely on them for a lot, including during our daily walks. So let's take a look at the best pedometers designed for iPhone.
How accurate is the M7 coprocessor for step counting? To get to the bottom of this issue, we tested 6 pedometers that worked on the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5s for several weeks. After this, the results of one of the walks were compared, the steps of which were literally counted by hand.
And here is a diagram of the resulting data, and as you can see, the data is inconsistent:
M7 – Steps
The M7 – Steps pedometer immediately attracts attention with its minimalistic and clear interface. The application displays in one of the tabs the number of steps taken per day, week or month. But that's all.
You can scroll right or left to view previous days' results. But by clicking on this data you will not receive any other additional information.
You can also view your activity for the month in the form of a graph or list with different dates. The app runs in the background once a day to carry over your steps, so there's little battery damage.
Since the application is tied to the M7, naturally, it was not possible to try it on the iPhone 4S. Thanks to M7 – Steps, the data obtained is very accurate and matches other applications using the M7 coprocessor.
After just a day of use, its pleasant interface seemed boring, and the lack additional functions started to disappoint. The application is very useful for those who do not need anything else other than actually counting steps.
Stepz
Like the previous app, Stepz relies on data received from the M7, so it doesn't work on the iPhone 4S. The difference lies in the striking design and additional features provided by Stepz.
In the application you will find color scale, which displays the number of steps taken per day, distance traveled (in miles), and weekly averages. At the top, on the bright green line, you will find the maximum number of steps you have taken.
The maximum amount will be colored green on the scale, the average will be orange, and the minimum will be red. Thus, the scale provides a very clear and visual guide.
Clicking on the stats will change the bar graph from steps to miles walked. Plus, if you wish, you can see the number of steps taken per day, week or month.
Stepz is as accurate as the M7 apps Steps, Breeze and Pacer. It has a different design, but remains just as clear and accessible to a beginner.
Walker M7
Following free application- Walker M7, which, as you already guessed, is based on data from the M7 coprocessor.
While the app displays accurate data, it also provides more functionality than the previous two pedometers.
Walker M7 displays the number of steps in a circle on the main app screen. On the right, you can indicate whether you're going to walk or run, which helps the app track your steps more accurately. In addition, the screen displays the distance traveled, calories burned, the time you spent walking, and your speed.
The menu button in the top right corner opens an additional list of options that include graphs, statistics, map and ratings. Graphs let you switch between steps, distance, and calories. Swiping to the right will give you information about your weight, stored fat and blood pressure.
Statistics displays your activity as colored segments on a chart. If you swipe right here you'll get run data, left swipe you'll get walk data.
Walker M7 provides accurate information and advanced functionality. In addition, the ability to independently enter data about your weight or pressure will help people with poor health track indicators that are important to them.
Pacer
Pacer is one of two apps that also worked on the iPhone 4S. Like the Walker M7, you can track several health indicators here, as well as view recommendations to help you live a more active lifestyle.
The app's home screen displays your daily steps, activity time, and calories burned. It also shows your activity level and progress throughout the day. Swipe right and you'll see a graph of your daily activity, another swipe will give you access to a button to tap when you're out for a run or long walk.
Pacer comes with three built-in fitness plans: Couch To 10K Steps, Walk 4 Weight Loss, and Build Your Own Plan. To follow such a plan, the app lacks only notifications or some kind of motivation to move towards the intended goal.
In the application you can also compete in your achieved results with your friends. The only thing the Pacer could use is a perfect route map.
The data obtained from the iPhone 5s and iPhone 4S was different, the iPhone 5s, of course, was more accurate thanks to the built-in M7. For example, when walking several blocks, the iPhone 4S showed 286 steps (which is impossible at this distance), and the iPhone 5s showed 1440 steps.
Breeze
Breeze is somewhat reminiscent of RunKeeper. The application shows your main goal and the path to achieving it.
On the main screen, the received data is displayed in a circle against a very pleasant background. A group of seven other small circles (your progress for the week) are filled in based on how close you are to a given goal. By clicking on one of them you will get detailed information about the past day.
Unfortunately, very often Breeze cannot display the geoposition and the route traveled, but only a bubble with counted steps. At the same time, Breeze keeps you informed about your progress and even sends you motivational messages too often.
The application is pleasant both visually and functionally. But I would like it to work more correctly, at least in relation to cards. Maybe in version 2.0?
Moves
The last app on our list is Moves, which works on both the iPhone 5s and iPhone 4S. It displays steps, driving schedules, starting point of departure and final destination.
Moves is designed incredibly well, no matter what you click it works great. Multi-colored circles display the number of steps taken while running or walking, as well as the time spent on them. By scrolling down you will see a graph that you can scroll left and right to view the statistics of previous days.
If the app can identify your stopping places, it might, for example, write “San Francisco Public Library” or mark it as unknown territory. You, in turn, can designate it yourself, for example, as home, gym or work, and Moves will immediately remember them.
You can click on any stop or line from one location to another and view it on a map of the area. All your routes will be marked with multi-colored lines: green - walking, blue - cycling, gray - car or bus. You can correct each of them if the application makes a mistake.
As always, the iPhone 4S readings were very different from the iPhone 5s. For example, while the iPhone 4S showed 41 steps, the iPhone 5s counted 99 steps. However, it is worth noting that Moves was the only application that could truly distinguish between walking and cycling.
In April, Moves acquired Facebook, which means the network now has access to all your data. No one knows how she uses them, but many users immediately deleted their accounts in indignation and brought down the application in the App Store rankings. Does this information any meaning for you is unknown, but you certainly should know about it.
Each of the listed applications has its own advantages and disadvantages, and in this case, everyone chooses the most suitable program for themselves in terms of design and functionality. One thing is for sure, using the M7 coprocessor there is a significant difference when counting steps, which certainly gives an undeniable iPhone advantage 5s.
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