watchOS 27 contains a series of improvements to fitness and sleep tracking, including new Workout Buddy insights, improved indoor running tracking, and more.
Workout Buddy benefits from new data-driven motivation features, providing progress updates on workout pace, distance and duration based on the user’s fitness history. Apple also allows Workout Buddy to work without an iPhone nearby, allowing users to stay motivated during workouts without needing a phone in their pocket or hand. Workout Buddy also expands to Spanish, allowing Spanish-speaking users to receive personalized fitness motivation in their preferred language.
Indoor running and walking distance tracking also becomes more accurate in watchOS 27. Apple says the improved motion tracking algorithms will more accurately measure distance on the treadmill directly from the wrist, without requiring a connected iPhone. Route maps in the Fitness app also benefit from improved accuracy, giving users a more accurate view of their workout journeys after the fact.
Sleep tracking is also becoming more accurate, although Apple has yet to detail the specific changes behind this improvement. The update also brings a step count sync fix where steps counted in the Health app will now be synced directly to the Fitness app.
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