App Design Critique: Strava Apple Watch app
One of the big reasons I decided to invest in an Apple Watch is to use Strava for my daily runs. The clunky Fitbit export workaround was too big of a hassle and I wanted to see my runs on my map.
As a daily runner, the most important things to me in an app are what metrics I can see while I’m running and after the run is complete. While the Strava ecosystem is well built out, the Strava Apple Watch application feels restricted in what I can do.
Start screen
The screens above show the general workflow of what you can do with the Strava app while running. I have Strava in my home screen for easy access, which launches the “Start” screen. To my knowledge, this list is not customisable. Because the only activity I track on Strava is outdoor running, this isn’t really a problem for me personally. However, Strava offers over 50 sports in their ecosystem, and with no favourite option or search function, the app is more difficult for people with less common workouts.
Settings screens
To access this page, a user has to start the app and then swipe to the Settings. I’m a huge fan of the toggles. I think this is a great use of the small space they have. The Unsynced button is incredibly confusing to me. I don’t know what isn’t synced. I assume it’s referring to unsynced workouts, but the blank Done screen in Frame 14 doesn’t provide other context. If there are no unsynced runs, then a sentence in Frame 14 that says, “All your workouts are synced!”or something else that implies success might be helpful.
Running screen
Different Strava users have different metrics that are most useful to them depending on their exercise, level and goals. For example, someone trying to beat their distance PR might be more concerned with their distance than with their split time. Being able to customise what goes in each field would be, in my opinion, one of the greatest improvements this app could make.
Thinking about this design change could impact the business: Many of them are deeply passionate about their experience, though not all of them are. But those who are deeply passionate are most likely the target group who pay for Strava Summit.
Paused screen
For the most part, I think this screen makes sense. Because I’m running I wouldn’t actually expect the water lock function to be present in this screen; however, because some users might run in the rain or get a little extra sweaty maybe it does make sense to have it here.
I think it’s positively significant that the Finish and Resume/Pause button are highlighted so well compared to settings and water lock.
However, their closeness has gotten me into trouble on a run. When I’m running, I’m not as precise in my taps on the watch. Because of that, there are times that I’ve ended my run prematurely on accident instead of unpausing. It makes me feel very discouraged and even a little frustrated because now the stats are going to be messed up and the map will be disjuncted. If I’m truly ending a run, I think adding a confirmation button of actually finishing is well worth the extra tap.
Conclusion
The app’s biggest failure is ultimately in the lack of customisation. Considering the Apple Watch is highly customisable, it’s sensible that the apps part of it should follow a similar convention. I think that the small screen provides designers a challenge to think of their app’s core features and bundle them in a way that’s most user friendly.
While I stopped using the Strava Apple Watch app for my runs, I’ll give it another go tomorrow and do a more of a redesign post instead of just a rant.
