willem.com

Track Your Workouts Without a Smartwatch

Building a minimalist, data-friendly fitness app that respects user privacy

May 11, 2024 -

As a little side-project, squeezed between my normal work, I have been working on something of personal interest: a native workout tracking app for iOS. I wanted to make my smartwatch obsolete, instead using my phone to track workouts. How hard could it be to gather detailed sensor data using native Swift APIs?

Continue reading
Early prototype of the app working with Bluetooth heartrate sensor and its early dataset shown in another app that makes some pretty graphs (HealthFit)
Early prototype of the app working with Bluetooth heartrate sensor and its early dataset shown in another app that makes some pretty graphs (HealthFit)
"Goin' the extra mile": 8 hours on my bike to test battery usage (note: there is still 23% power left!)
Apple Watch workout app shows large buttons to start a workout - no need for additional configuration
Apple Watch workout app shows large buttons to start a workout - no need for additional configuration
I got some magic in my pocket: The app tracking workouts from the background - during recordings it just shows a widget on the homescreen
I got some magic in my pocket: The app tracking workouts from the background - during recordings it just shows a widget on the homescreen
Screenshots of the app's onboarding process: asking for permissions and guiding new users
Screenshots of the app's onboarding process: asking for permissions and guiding new users
Different configurations of realtime data
Different configurations of realtime data

Other stories

all blog posts

Tagged

AppleBikeCreatingDataDesignLifestyleHeartMinimalProgrammingSensorsSportWatch

Articles (151)