Find out how to 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 function makes use of Apple Intelligence to supply spoken suggestions throughout exercises and provides motivation primarily based in your exercise historical past. Exercise Buddy analyzes your tempo, coronary heart price, distance and different metrics to ship real-time encouragement and efficiency insights straight 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 every part wanted to arrange and use Exercise Buddy successfully throughout exercises.

What Exercise Buddy does

It’s necessary to notice that Exercise Buddy shouldn’t be a full teaching program. As an alternative, it provides to your exercise with spoken cues that replicate how your session goes. Exercise Buddy can remind you of your weekly exercise totals, provide you with a warning to non-public bests or efficiency milestones and supply an summary whenever you’re completed. It’s designed to really feel like a supportive coaching accomplice quite than a strict coach.

The function 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 operating, strolling, biking, high-intensity interval coaching (HIIT) and energy coaching. It requires on-device Apple Intelligence, which suggests you’ll have to preserve one of many newest iPhones operating up to date software program close by throughout exercises.

Supported fashions embrace iPhone 15 Professional, iPhone 15 Professional Max and any iPhone 16 mannequin. You’ll additionally want an Apple Watch operating 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 operating 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, that 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 not play by the watch speaker so headphones are important. Lastly, your gadget language have to be set to English, no less than initially. If any of these items are lacking, the choice to allow Exercise Buddy could not seem.

Find out how to activate Exercise Buddy from iPhone

Whereas a lot of the interplay with Exercise Buddy occurs on Apple Watch throughout exercises, you possibly can 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 record of exercise varieties till you discover one you intend to make use of with Exercise Buddy. Faucet the waveform bubble icon related to that exercise. This can carry up settings the place you possibly can 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 selection is saved. Whenever you begin this exercise kind on Apple Watch, Exercise Buddy will activate.

Enabling Exercise Buddy for a exercise kind 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 modify it from the watch interface for extra granular management.

Find out how to 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, reminiscent of 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 kind 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 shouldn’t 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 knowledge. On the finish of your session Exercise Buddy will provide a abstract of key metrics like period distance and calorie burn.

Whereas a exercise is energetic, you possibly can quickly mute the audio if you happen to want silence. On Apple Watch in the course of the session, swipe proper to disclose controls then faucet Mute. This pauses Exercise Buddy’s spoken commentary with out disabling the function fully.

Customizing and managing Exercise Buddy settings

Exercise Buddy is enabled on a per-workout-type foundation. When you want voice suggestions for operating however silence for energy coaching, you possibly can allow it for one and depart it off for the opposite. The Health app on iPhone lets you set a default voice desire for every exercise kind. On Apple Watch you possibly can shortly toggle the function on or off earlier than beginning a session.

If Exercise Buddy doesn’t seem as an possibility for a selected exercise kind, you could have to examine 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 technology), Apple Watch SE 3, Apple Watch Collection 6, Apple Watch Collection 7, Apple Watch Collection 8, Apple Watch Collection 9, Apple Watch Collection 10, Apple Watch Collection 11, Apple Watch Extremely, Apple Watch Extremely 2, Apple Watch Extremely 3

Troubleshooting frequent points

If Exercise Buddy fails to activate be sure that 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 accurately and that the language is ready to English. Some customers have reported that if the headphones are paired solely to the Watch quite than the iPhone, it may intervene with suggestions. Switching to the iPhone typically resolves that difficulty.

For exercise varieties the place Exercise Buddy beforehand labored however immediately doesn’t seem, you could attempt toggling the function on and off once more within the Health app or rebooting each gadgets. In uncommon instances eradicating and re-adding the exercise kind on Apple Watch can refresh the settings.