Apple Watch now top dog on Strava – is Garmin feeling the pace?
Strava has crowned the Apple Watch as the top watch used by athletes on the platform in 2025. What does this say about Garmin?
Apple has long foreseen the Apple Watch as a health and fitness tracking device, rather than a smartwatch that simply does what your phone does, but on your wrist.
Today it can successfully crow about achieving that goal by citing Strava’s annual Year In Sport trend report. It says the Apple Watch was the top watch used to track activity in 2025. And that’s a big deal.
“Apple Watch was #1 in the watch category, with Coros gaining significant traction. Non-watch wearables like Oura and WHOOP are also growing fast,” the report said.
It’s a continuation of a trend from last year, when Strava said the Garmin Forerunner series was more common among users running longer distances, while the Apple Watch led the way in the 5K department. It appears Apple may have trended upwards in 2025. Or perhaps there are more people running shorter distances to help the iPhone companion become the number one watch overall.
Strava does say that although 72% of all workouts are recorded directly on mobile via the Strava app, Garmin does come in second across all device types with Apple in third.
The growth for brands like COROS with its Pace brand of watches is interesting. They’ve gained popularity as an alternative to dedicated running watches from Garmin. It’s also intriguing to see Oura and Whoop among the brands that growing. Neither have displays for tracking activities on the go, and both are geared more towards capturing the relationship between strain and recovery through sleep than logging individual running workouts with deep stats beyond heart rate data.
Furthermore, Strava offers insight into the creeping influence of AI in workout tracking and planning.
The company adds: “AI helps us move, but we still know our bodies best. 46% of survey respondents said they would use AI as a smart coach for sports, with Gen Z embracing AI for coaching at a higher level than other generations. Strava and Runna are already well positioned to lead on this trend with features such as Runna’s Workout Insights and Strava’s Athlete Intelligence,” the report said.
Chris Smith
