How one can use Exercise Buddy with Apple Watch and iOS 26

Apple’s iOS 26 and watchOS 26 launched a brand new health companion known as Exercise Buddy. This characteristic makes use of Apple Intelligence to offer spoken suggestions throughout exercises and provides motivation based mostly in your exercise historical past. Exercise Buddy analyzes your tempo, coronary heart fee, distance and different metrics to ship real-time encouragement and efficiency insights immediately by linked Bluetooth headphones. It really works together with the Exercise app on Apple Watch and is partially managed by the Health app on iPhone. This information walks you thru all the things wanted to arrange and use Exercise Buddy successfully throughout exercises.

What Exercise Buddy does

It’s essential to notice that Exercise Buddy will not be a full teaching program. As an alternative, it provides to your exercise with spoken cues that mirror how your session goes. Exercise Buddy can remind you of your weekly exercise totals, provide you with a warning to private bests or efficiency milestones and supply an outline once you’re completed. It’s designed to really feel like a supportive coaching companion fairly than a strict coach.

The characteristic operates in English by default and makes use of a text-to-speech mannequin skilled on voices from Apple Health+ trainers. It’s obtainable for a subset of exercise varieties, together with working, strolling, biking, high-intensity interval coaching (HIIT) and power coaching. It requires on-device Apple Intelligence, which suggests you’ll must hold one of many newest iPhones working up to date software program close by throughout exercises.

Supported fashions embody iPhone 15 Professional, iPhone 15 Professional Max and any iPhone 16 mannequin. You’ll additionally want an Apple Watch working watchOS 26.

Necessities earlier than you start

Earlier than Exercise Buddy seems in your Health app or Exercise app it’s essential to guarantee just a few issues are in place. First, your Apple Watch have to be working watchOS 26 or later and paired to an iPhone with iOS 26 put in. Second, your iPhone have to be able to on-device Apple Intelligence, which means it’s essential to personal one of many supported iPhone fashions we talked about above and have Apple Intelligence enabled within the cellphone’s settings.

You’ll additionally want Bluetooth headphones paired with both your iPhone or your Apple Watch. Exercise Buddy’s audio suggestions can’t play by the watch speaker so headphones are important. Lastly, your system language have to be set to English, no less than initially. If any of these items are lacking, the choice to allow Exercise Buddy might not seem.

How one can activate Exercise Buddy from iPhone

Whereas a lot of the interplay with Exercise Buddy occurs on Apple Watch throughout exercises, you’ll be able to allow it and select voice choices from the Health app on iPhone.

Open the Health app in your iPhone and faucet the Exercise tab on the backside. Scroll by the checklist of exercise varieties till you discover one you propose to make use of with Exercise Buddy. Faucet the waveform bubble icon related to that exercise. This may deliver up settings the place you’ll be able to activate Exercise Buddy. Flip the toggle to allow it and select a voice from the obtainable choices. Upon getting chosen a voice, shut that display and your alternative is saved. Once you begin this exercise sort on Apple Watch, Exercise Buddy will activate.

Enabling Exercise Buddy for a exercise sort on iPhone means you don’t want to toggle it on individually on Apple Watch every time for that particular exercise. Nonetheless, you should still regulate it from the watch interface for extra granular management.

How one can activate Exercise Buddy on Apple Watch

To make use of Exercise Buddy throughout a session, open the Exercise app in your Apple Watch. Flip the Digital Crown to scroll by and choose the exercise you need to do, comparable to Outside Run, Outside Stroll, Outside Cycle, HIIT or Power Coaching. If you wish to see all obtainable exercises, faucet the Add button on the backside.

As soon as the exercise sort is chosen, search for the Alerts button on display. Faucet Alerts then scroll till you see Exercise Buddy. Faucet Exercise Buddy and flip the swap to on. You’ll then be requested to decide on a voice if one will not be already chosen in your iPhone. After deciding on the voice, return to the earlier display and faucet Begin. Exercise Buddy will start working as quickly because the exercise does.

Utilizing Exercise Buddy throughout a exercise

When you begin an train in your Watch or iPhone, Exercise Buddy will converse to you thru your linked headphones. The suggestions is designed to be encouraging and related to your tempo, efficiency or milestones. It could point out your present progress towards exercise targets, tempo, splits, private bests or different highlights out of your health information. On the finish of your session Exercise Buddy will supply a abstract of key metrics like length distance and calorie burn.

Whereas a exercise is energetic, you’ll be able to briefly mute the audio in case you want silence. On Apple Watch throughout the session, swipe proper to disclose controls then faucet Mute. This pauses Exercise Buddy’s spoken commentary with out disabling the characteristic completely.

Customizing and managing Exercise Buddy settings

Exercise Buddy is enabled on a per-workout-type foundation. For those who choose voice suggestions for working however silence for power coaching, you’ll be able to allow it for one and go away it off for the opposite. The Health app on iPhone permits you to set a default voice choice for every exercise sort. On Apple Watch you’ll be able to shortly toggle the characteristic on or off earlier than beginning a session.

If Exercise Buddy doesn’t seem as an choice for a selected exercise sort, it’s possible you’ll must test compatibility. Apple’s documentation signifies that solely sure varieties* are supported initially and that the choice is not going to seem for unsupported exercises.

*Apple Watch SE (2nd era), Apple Watch SE 3, Apple Watch Sequence 6, Apple Watch Sequence 7, Apple Watch Sequence 8, Apple Watch Sequence 9, Apple Watch Sequence 10, Apple Watch Sequence 11, Apple Watch Extremely, Apple Watch Extremely 2, Apple Watch Extremely 3

Troubleshooting widespread points

If Exercise Buddy fails to activate be sure your gadgets meet the necessities outlined above. Affirm that your iPhone with Apple Intelligence is close by and that Bluetooth headphones are linked. If audio suggestions is lacking, guarantee headphones are paired appropriately and that the language is ready to English. Some customers have reported that if the headphones are paired solely to the Watch fairly than the iPhone, it could intervene with suggestions. Switching to the iPhone typically resolves that subject.

For exercise varieties the place Exercise Buddy beforehand labored however immediately doesn’t seem, it’s possible you’ll attempt toggling the characteristic on and off once more within the Health app or rebooting each gadgets. In uncommon circumstances eradicating and re-adding the exercise sort on Apple Watch can refresh the settings.