Apple Fitness

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Formerly known as just "Activity”, Apple Fitness is an app that tracks exercise and activity. Originally released in September 2014, it required an Apple Watch to download. With the latest release of iOS 16, the app is now available to everyone. Apple Fitness uses "activity rings" to visualize and motivate users to achieve specific goals. The app displays activity and workouts recorded by the Apple Watch or third-party hardware and software. Workouts recorded through the Apple Watch's Workout app are viewable through the Fitness app's "Summary" tab, including metrics like heart rate and weather conditions for outdoor activities.

Apple Fitness has been available since September 2014 and has undergone significant improvements and updates since its release, yet it still lacks some key functionalities when compared to its competitors. Numerous competitors in both hardware and software aim to provide solutions for Apple's shortcomings in its native app. Many of these competitors use the data collected through Apple Watch, iPhone, or the native HealthKit data to improve their offerings.

THE SOLUTION

Additional feature set that expands upon Apple’s Fitness app adding functionality that helps ensure the native app can compete with 3rd party competitors offering similar functionality. Added functionality:

• Retroactively add a workout (not tracked using Apple Watch)
• Personal Bests (Records of when and where common and customizable achievements were set)
• Alternate View of Workouts (Graph view w/ Customization by date range and workout type)
• Exercise Database (track and review history, progression, records, etc.)

THE NEWBIE

The Newbie has made a decision to get in better shape, not for any particular reason or event, but just for general fitness. They have little to no experience lifting weights and vaguely remembers Physical Education in high school.

THE BODYBUILDER

The Bodybuilder enjoys lifting heavy things and placing them back down to be lifted back up with little to no interest in other activities. They are experienced and come with a plan of attack.

THE NEWLY INSPIRED

The Newly Inspired recently decided to begin training for a marathon and while this will be their first race, they have some experience working out. They have a mix of experience in sports, traditional strength training and cross-fit.

Survey

To ensure a diverse group of participants, I recruited survey participants from various groups on Reddit, Facebook, and other forums.

Click Here to View Survey Questions

Click Here to View Survey Results

Interviews

To learn more about users' needs, I interviewed two participants who shared their fitness history, tracking habits, and opinions on important features of a fitness app. Despite different workout approaches, both were passionate about fitness.

Click Here to View Interview Questions

Fitness Tracker

Last modified by Figma System ⋅ 5 months ago

Key Insights

• Most Requested Features/Functionality:

1. Stats and Trends
2. Performance Metrics
3. Personal Records/Bests
4. Health Tracking

• Accurate Data and Insights are important
• Cardio and Strength Training are the most popular workout categories
• 20 Out of 29 Participants use Apple Products however only 11 of the 20 use Apple Fitness
• Majority of people track activity/workouts using a combination of Phone and Watch
• Followed by Watch (7 Participants)
• Then Phone (6 Participants)
• Simply providing the data isn't enough. Many are interested in:
• learning more about what those metrics are and how they are connected
• learning how those stats, metrics, etc. affect their health, training, performance, and recovery
• seeing the progression and trends over time
• comparing data
• Tracking Progress and data over time is important
• Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly
• Steps, Workouts, Sleep. Heart Rate, Body Weight, Measurements

User Flows

Task Flows

Built In

Cardio based tracking and comparisons between multiple runs, cycles, sessions, etc. to compare heart rate, distance, pace, time, etc. OR even just something similar to Strava that will say, “This run was faster than your previous”. Something like that.

• Or something like Strava and Nike Run club that shows you average pace, and how far you’ve run this week, this month, this year, etc.

Traditional and Functional Strength Training that allow the tracking of exercises, weights, sets, and reps (similar to Garmin and Strong)

Personal Records/Bests

Progress and Trends

• Steps
• Health / Fitness
• Weight
• Body Fat
• Lean Mass and Mass %
• VO2 Max
• Activity (i.e. Working Out, Active Minutes, etc.)
• Exercises
• Weight, Sets, Reps, Time

Coming Soon

• Goal Setting
• Workout Planner
• Heart Rate Tracking
• Average
• Resting
• HRV
• Max
• Training Status and Impact/Recovery
• Workout Recommendations / Suggestions
• Sleep Tracking
• Food Tracking
• Calories In & Calories Out

Future Update

Workout Tracking (Live and Retroactive)

• Cardio: (Running, Cycling, Hiking, Walking, etc.)
• Distance
• Time
• Pace
• Heart Rate
• Speed
• Extra: Split Times, Cadence, Ground Contact Time, Time Working vs. Time Resting, Move Time, Elevation
• Strength Training
• Exercises
• Weight
• Sets
• Reps
• Time
• Heart Rate
• Active and Total Calories

Performance Metrics & Tracking

• Metrics like time, distance, pace, speed, heart rate, weight, sets, reps, etc.

Educational Videos and Guides

• For exercises (proper form, guides, etc.)

Sketches & Wireframes

It was critical that whatever I designed looked, felt, and behaved as similarly as possible to the native Fitness app. To achieve this goal, I spent a great deal of time studying the app and its various screens.

I saved a lot screenshots to draw inspiration from and to integrate the established Design System into my work. This ensured that everything looked cohesive and natural, as if it was already a part of the app. I used the screenshots to guide decisions on (font using Apple’s official San Francisco font), sizing, spacing, color, and alignment.

One area of trouble I encountered involved the use of graphs. After studying the graphs in Apple’s Trends feature, I decided that approach did not suit the graphs I wanted to implement. Instead, I turned to Apple Health (which I considered a sibling or cousin of Apple Fitness) and used its style to replicate graphs into the wireframes. I hoped that by doing this, the graphs would still look like they fit into the app because they followed a similar design pattern from a similar app.

When I began creating new concepts that I couldn't base my designs on, I turned to intuitive layouts and processes from similar apps like Strava, Nike Run Club and Strong. This allowed me to integrate the best features from these apps into the Apple ecosystem.

Working within Apple's Design System and Guidelines was also helpful in finalizing the layout of the screens, especially when I began working on the high-fidelity wireframes.

Lessons Learned

Initially, I focused on creating only a few components that I knew I would need. I've learned that it's more intuitive and efficient for me to create components while working on the design rather than trying to predict which components I'll need and when. As I designed the screens, I noticed when I needed a particular element and would jump into my design system to create it to match the app as succinctly as possible. Surprisingly, I ended up reusing a lot of components and creating many different variations with their respective purposes.

Initial Setup

Before jumping into high-fidelity wireframes, I familiarized myself with the app's use of color. I analyzed the colors and replicated some gradients to help integrate future designs seamlessly into the app.

Prototyping

When it was time to connect everything, I tried to make sure the screens and their features felt intuitive and with as few dead-ends as possible. Due to limitations designing in Figma, I got creative with how certain items interacted with each other. Specifically, I included standard sliding transitions when navigating screens (identical to the native Apple Fitness app) but used a different method to mark a transition of screens to illustrate different configurations when showcasing similar screens (e.g. Personal Records and New Workout).

The Tests

I tested the first version of the prototype with 3 individuals, one of whom I had tested/interviewed previously, and received a lot of valuable insight and feedback.

Based on the feedback, I made the following changes:

• Added more space between some of the elements to reduce the crowded and cramped feel of some screens.
• Moved the Personal Records to the summary page underneath the Workouts Graph/Section for better visibility and to make better use of the Summary/Home Page.
• Changed "Records" to "Best" to sound more casual and personal.
• Added a small pop-up to allow for adding an exercise, which was missing from the original prototype.

THE FINALE

The current version of Apple's Fitness app is a great start, but there is always room for improvement. To further enhance the user experience, and to keep up with competitors, I worked to create an additional feature set that aims to expand the app's capabilities and ensure that it can compete with third-party competitors that offer similar functionality.

The new features include:

• The ability to retroactively add a workout that was not tracked using an Apple Watch
• Personal Bests - a feature that keeps track of when and where common and customizable achievements were set
• Alternate View of Workouts in Graph Form - this feature would provide a visual representation of the user's workout history, and allow for customization by date range and workout type
• Exercise Database - a comprehensive database of exercises with the ability to track and review history, progression, records, and more

View Prototype

By incorporating these new features, Apple's Fitness app can become an even more powerful tool for users to track their fitness progress, set new goals, and stay motivated to achieve them.