Editor-DN
What you need to know.
- Strava’s Year in Sport 2024 report was published on Wednesday, showing consumer fitness trends around the world.
- The report shows trends among the 135 million active Strava users, including increased group activity.
- “Apple Watch Series” and “Apple Watch SE” were the top two tracking devices for runs, with the Garmin Forerunner 245 in third place.
- Two Garmin Edge bike computers top the list for tracked riding activities.
Strava is one of the most popular social fitness apps in the world, and its annual year in sports trends provide some interesting insights into the trends of millions of athletes around the world. So it was interesting to see Apple overtake Garmin as the most popular watch running on the platform.
According to 2024 reportthe Apple Watch Series and Apple Watch SE were the number one and two gears for all runners, followed by the Garmin Forerunner 245. Last year the 8-year-old Garmin Forerunner 235 was the most popular worldwide for runners, while the Forerunner 245 was the most used watch in the US.
This year’s report only shows global figures, but Apple’s watches are hugely popular in the US, so it’s likely they’ll win. Garmin still dominates with its popular Edge 530 and 830 bike computers, with the Wahoo Element Bolt V1 – the top 2023 bike computer in the US – in third place.
Outside of gear, the report showed a big increase in 10+ running clubs and group runs, with 89 percent more Strava clubs joining in 2024 than in 2023.
The Strava Year in Sport 2024 report showed that the average activity pace of runners was 10:15 per mile. The 2023 report showed lower median numbers for most generations except boomers, so either people slowed down globally in 2024 or older runners skewed the median.
For other activities, the median speed or pace was 12.1 miles per hour for cyclists, 19:40 minutes per mile for walkers, and 22:06 minutes per mile for walkers. Now we know what speed to beat to be “better than average”.
Interestingly, Strava says that 72% of uploaded activities come from the mobile app. Although fitness watches are a favorite among marathoners and half-marathoners, one in four 5K runners use their phones, perhaps using an external HRM like the Polar H10 or simply to track heart rate and other wrist-based data. Ignore it.
Why Apple Suddenly Beats Garmin for Runners Around the World
As someone who covers running watches extensively, I believe there are a few reasons why Apple has suddenly dominated the Strava gear category for runners.
The first is about simple classification and raw sales: Apple sells about 20 percent of wearables worldwide (per IDC), and all Apple “Series” watches such as the Series 9 or Series X are classified as a single “Apple Watch” on Strava, allowing the multi-generational Apple Watch tag team to take the top slot. The same is true of the two generations of Apple SE.
(As much as I liked the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for its accuracy and ultra-bright, massive square display, I don’t think it belongs in the same category.)
Garmin sees all log activities as separate devices of its own, and we’ve seen five new Garmin Forerunner watches in the past two years. The Forerunner’s longevity is excellent — that’s why the 2015 Forerunner 235 and 2019 Forerunner 245 held onto their Strava crowns for so long — but I suspect many of those loyal Garmin fans will miss the Forerunner 165, 255. , 265, 95, 95 or 95 has been done. In recent years – or tried to Others Garmin watch brands like the popular Phoenix 8.
So it’s likely that Garmin’s Strava runner share hasn’t declined under Apple, but rather that the Forerunner 265’s training load tools or the Forerunner 165’s budget-priced incentives enticed 235 and 245 users to switch. And each clock is claiming a different port. Strava user base.
Still, Apple has to get at least some credit for this newfound Strava dominance, as it has put a serious emphasis on improving its running software over the past few generations.
It started with watchOS 9 in 2022, when Apple allowed runners to see heart rate zones, walking power, cadence, or elevation during exercise. Race their past route times; And get accurate track data using the Apple Maps database of public tracks. Garmin already had all that and more, but Apple closed the gap.
Recently with watchOS 11, Apple added 7-day and 28-day training load insights in graph form, showing whether you’re training harder or slower than your past efforts. You have attitude, so you get fit without putting too much pressure and hurting yourself. You can’t see specific training load numbers or aerobic/anaerobic breakdowns like Garmin offers, but it’s a smooth metric for new runners.
Even if “serious runners” tend to use Garmin watches with better battery life, Apple is trying to fit in and keep weight down on casual couch potato to 5K runners. “5k runners tended to choose the Apple Watch, while the Garmin Forerunner was more popular for longer distances,” Strava itself said in the press release.
Essentially, Apple is democratizing running insights, making them available to those who aren’t sure if they’re ready for a dedicated fitness watch. So even though I use Garmin watches often, I think Apple swooping in to claim the top Strava crown is an amazing development, because it means more types of people are falling in love with running (or At least struggling to fit in).
The same applies to Pixel Watch 3 owners now that Fitbit prioritizes running more — even if they have much lower Strava numbers than Apple Watch owners.
Strava ready
The Garmin Forerunner 165 is one of the best budget-priced fitness watches on the market for anyone looking to get more serious about running, with recommended daily workouts including your VO2 max, accurate multi Designed to optimize satellite tracking, and 11-day battery life. .
