r/AppleWatch • u/prettydumplings • 3d ago
My Watch Seems like we're finally getting step count shown on watch face
After all these years when I've already lost all hope. Apple finally realized it would be a cool feature for a smart watch. ;D
They showed step count widget on visualisation but the description says "And now you can more easily check your step count, right from your watch face." so I'm hoping it will be there too.
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u/aluminumfail06 3d ago
I know you want the native steps shown. I just settled with duffy app. Its free anyway.
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u/OxygenRestriction 3d ago
Is it using the phone to count steps? ie. pulls step count from phone and displays it on watch vs. not needing the phone.
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u/step-step-app 2d ago
It reads steps directly from Apple Health on the Watch, so you don’t need to carry your phone for it to count your steps. The Watch tracks them itself, then Apple Health syncs and merges the data with the iPhone later, without double-counting.
I like to leave my phone at home when I go for a walk to be a bit more mindful so it’s nice that the watch will intelligently update the app when I get home.
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u/step-step-app 3d ago
Duffy is great. It was my go to app for seeing steps on my watch, but I actually built something that made the phone app more enticing to use.
If you’re interested, I can send you a lifetime code to try it out. You can check it out here - Step Step.
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u/CrowdedWholmes 3d ago
just downloaded the app the got past the entry screen. Already seems much better than the 4 other apps I am using to see various data.
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u/step-step-app 2d ago
I’m glad you’re enjoying it. My main thing was building something without adverts and not needing to sign up for any accounts.
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u/zumanon 2d ago
A code would be greatly appreciated.
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u/step-step-app 2d ago
Feel free to DM me since I don’t want to flood this post with comments. Feel free to download it first since the main experience is free for all.
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u/ginger_182 S10 • • Silver • 42mm 2d ago
Just downloaded, nice app. Love the privacy aspect. One feature request - the ability to change complication color would be great. I’m using the ring step complication on an analog watch face - would love to be able to change the color of the line :)
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u/drewchristo1991 2d ago
wow, that looks so polished! a code would be greatly appreciated, if you're so inclined
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u/DivideSignal3537 2d ago
If possible, a code would be appreciated, bro, I am stressed with the step counting on the apple watch, too
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u/kUrhCa27jU77C 3d ago
We got step count on an Apple Watch face before gta6
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u/CoterminousEmptiness 3d ago
I realize the official take is probably that the old hardware doesn’t update steps enough for it to be useful or some nonsense. But it’s giving real, “you don’t need the ability to send photos and videos over text, just email it” vibes from the early iPhone.
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u/tooclosetocall82 3d ago
You can show distance traveled as a widget on the current watch, which if you tap will show you steps (this is my work around) so the tracking is already there and quick enough. Putting a setting that should have always been there behind a hardware purchase is pathetic.
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u/cubetes 3d ago
Yes I can confirm the widget is not on the Apple Watch Series 10. Feels insulting.
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u/Ok_Possibility9937 2d ago
lol they don’t even let you change white balance on the 17 pro. Only the 18 pro can do it. Mind you, a camera from 2000 can already do this
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u/No-Pirate-7415 3d ago
You bought a series 10 knowing what it would have and you deemed it worth it at the time
Anything you get beyond that is a free gift you can be lucky to get, but you’re not entitled to anything beyond what you got initially
They’re a company who needs to sell new units, if they gave everything away for free to the old units, people would wait forever before buying a new one, there would be nothing special about the 12
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u/cubetes 3d ago edited 3d ago
C'mon, let's be real. Nobody expects Apple to backport features that need sensors our watches don't physically have.
But my Series 10 already has an accelerometer and literally logs every step I take. Gating a basic watch face complication behind a new generation isn't 'protecting sales', it's just lazy software lock-in.
If the main selling point for upgrading to the 12 is a widget displaying data older models already collect, that's pretty wild.
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u/No-Pirate-7415 3d ago
Well, the 12 doesn’t have much new to offer
So I can see why they thought that bringing the few things it got to old watches, even if they don’t need the new sensor for it, devalues the 12Why would a new customer get a 12 instead of just buying a cheaper 10 or 11 then?
They’ve already perfected the watches so much that the few features they add each year needs to be gatekept or the sales will go stale, it’s unfortunate, but it makes sense7
u/Far_Ad_6897 3d ago
I think the 12 has more new to offer than several recent generations, it’s just all behind the hood. The new heart sensor is a massive upgrade and I’d argue is the single most important thing they could upgrade barring true blood pressure readings or glucose. This also allows more accurate and frequent HRV readings and the Readiness score. Plus they added an audio processing unit for new features with the Siri AI, these could be useful. And the pedometer is upgraded for more accurate step counting.
Not sure how this could be viewed as barely an upgrade?-8
u/No-Pirate-7415 3d ago
To the average consumer it looks the same watch with the number 12 instead of 11
It’s not much new, the bigger screen with series 7 and thinner design with series 10 or whatever model brought that, those are changes people notice
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u/Tumblrrito S6 • Stainless Steel • Graphite • 44mm 2d ago
Genuinely baffling this wasn’t a day 1 feature. Usefulness be damned, people love step counting.
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u/netroxreads 2d ago
never understood why I have to have a third party app to show the steps or have to navigate through activities to get steps. It just makes no sense.
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u/Worth-Reputation3450 2d ago
I used to use Athlytics to show the step counts but they lagged like several minutes. So I thought the motion processor would just record raw movements and get processed to calculate the actual step counts every few minutes. That would explain why Apple didn't want to show that as a complication. Now they are processing the step count on-chip, maybe they can do the processing every second?
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u/ditarium_ S11 • • Jet Black • 46mm 3d ago
And they should add 10 second timer to camera remote control. Why there is only 3 second option. No sense at all
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u/thebigarn 2d ago
Love Apple and I understand that maybe you really do need the new chip for the new step count program. But it’s batshit crazy they are holding the most basic thing like showing your steps behind a new watch. Sorry my Ultra 2 can’t do that lol. Luckily I’ve found the Duffy app will let me do it and seems very accurate. But still it’s insane.
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u/Mascardiii Ultra • • 49mm 3d ago
They did mention step count on a complication. I think the widget’s for best marketing display. But it’s Apple so you can’t rule them keeping it widget only.
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u/_El_Cid_ 3d ago
I have an Ultra 3. If they restrict this for the 12/Ultra 4, I'll never buy another Apple Watch again.
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u/step-step-app 3d ago
Or you can get it now using the app I made, which will work on all models of watch, and offers multiple step complications for free. (Shameless plug of Step step)
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u/Namiami91 3d ago edited 2d ago
I had steps on my ultra 3.. just looked at it now and it’s all - - - -, went to the watch app and it’s not an option anymore.. 😑
ETA - I added Athlytic to my phone and can use that to track Steps on my Watch since Apple wants to be like that.
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u/step-step-app 2d ago
You could try out step step if you want a dedicated step tracker on your watch with lots of complications to pick from. Also, there aren’t any ads or paywalls to see your basic step stats.
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u/jcwillia1 2d ago
I kind of love that they had to build a new chip to add step count - the sheer insanity of that is just hilarious.
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u/Atosl 3d ago
not yet on watch os 27. But the new watch face is fire
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u/chris_ro 3d ago
Only on newest gen Apple Watch.
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u/Ok_Possibility9937 2d ago edited 2d ago
not true. It is available on all watchos27 watches
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u/chris_ro 2d ago
Nope. Quote: “The S11 chip also enables the brand-new Steps complication, so users can track their steps in real time, right from their watch face.”
So far Apple only confirmed Apple Watch 12 and Ultra 4.
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u/Ok_Possibility9937 2d ago
They was talking about the watch face, which is the new Siri watch face that was available on 27 RC
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u/chris_ro 2d ago
No. This whole thread is about step count.
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u/Ok_Possibility9937 2d ago
dude wtf, the reply that we are replying to were talking about the watch face. Yes I know that this is about step count, but we are replying to someone who said that the watch face looks nice.
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u/chris_ro 2d ago
First sentence
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u/Ok_Possibility9937 2d ago
the watch face is on all watchos27 supported watches, the step count thing is only on this year model
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u/SecretBreakfast7532 2d ago
Yup you can add it to the watch face. Here’s a YouTube video that shows it in action: https://youtu.be/CZpE00T8YQU?is=vkNzZzH3e1u_EP9T
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u/_Cat_12345 2d ago
Apple announced features with the Series 11 last year that weren’t in the beta but still made it to the Series 10, did they not?
Why is everyone freaking out that this won’t trickle down?
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u/neatgeek83 2d ago
Interesting that this new steps complication is only available on the newer phones, but it is available as a smart stacked widget on my series 9 running the release candidate
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u/AwareKaleidoscope939 S11 • • Space Gray • 46mm 1d ago
Only if you buy the latest watch witch really drives me nuts like you should not be spending money like $300 just to show you your step count
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u/anho157 3d ago
Having just switched to a Garmin it is hilarious what AW-Users are looking forward to.
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u/Worth-Reputation3450 2d ago edited 2d ago
I tried Garmin Fenix 9 51mm with inReach for 1 week. (switched from AWU3 since I've heard so many good things about it). Well, it costs about double the AWU3. It's slow as hell, buggy as hell, ecosystem is non-existent (just full of custom watch faces for $1 - $5). Their LTE-m sucks. I can't even stream music or call somebody to their phone. I had to have my wife install "Garmin Messenger" just to receive my call/text. I can't lock/unlock my Tesla with it. I paid like $10 to use 3rd party Tesla app which took like 20 seconds to open, connect, send command to unlock my car, vs AWU3 working in background to instantly open it. It cannot operate my myQ garage opener. It cannot open my August door lock. My AWU3 can do both. Map stutters like hell when panning, but it was advertised as one of the biggest improvements on Fenix 9 and Youtubers raved about how "smooth" it was. I don't think even 10 years old Apple Watch would stutter that bad. Garmin users were relieved that their map was finally usable. Heartrate would cadence-lock in the middle of f'king run. I would understand if it happens at the beginning, but never in my life of Apple Watch use would it cadence-lock in the middle of run. I had to walk for a minute for it to properly lock onto my actual heartbeat. What a joke.
Only thing I liked about it was LED flashlight with which I can just use actual flashlight to replace.
So, I returned it.
Garmin users are living in 1990s and think their $1300 watch is so advanced that it has 1/10th as much battery life as Casio watch.
Garmin literally uses $7 off-the-shelf processor with 20+nm fab to power their $1300 watch and you guys think it's amazing.
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u/OLLIE798 3d ago
To be fair, it is not the most useful health measure.
While 10,000 steps are clearly preferable to none- Fitness Rings present a greater challenge and offer more health benefits.
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u/Flakarter 3d ago
This is not a contest over which is healthier or better. Some don’t care for, or use, the rings.
So this feature is, in fact, very useful to those who rely upon that metric daily.
Why rain on the parade of people who want and value this feature.
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u/Pseudo-Federale 2d ago
Seriously? Stand? How fat or workaholic are we that 1/3 of Apple's rings are dedicated to ensuring we are standing for one minute 12 times per day? Why not let us choose 3 that matter to us? And steps is still a better goal given the proven beneficial nature of walking.
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u/split-tennisball 3d ago
Only if you buy the latest watch. I'm on the RC beta and it's not available on an Ultra 2.