For exercise, the Series 11 will automatically start tracking an activity after five to ten minutes, or you can manually start tracking dozens of different types of workouts. Options for tracking include basics like walking, running, and biking, as well as a number of different sports such as basketball, pickleball, and soccer, and other activities like elliptical workouts, high-intensity interval training, pilates, and yoga.
The Workout app has a refreshed look as part of watchOS 26. Once you select your activity of choice, buttons in each corner help you refine and personalize the experience. The upper-left button lets you customize which metrics you see during your workout. You can set up different screens of metrics and customize their order for scrolling. The lower-left button lets you set media or have Apple choose for you based on your preferences and workout type. The upper-right button lets you set goals and targets for metrics such as time, distance, and pace.
The buttons in the corners let you customize the Workout app (Credit: Andrew Gebhart)
The lower-right button houses the app’s coolest new feature: Workout Buddy. Tap the button to turn the feature on and customize the voice, and then set criteria for updates throughout your routine. You can have it alert you about your cadence, heart rate zones, pace, and any targets you set under goals with the upper-right button.
To use Workout Buddy, you’ll need an iPhone 15 Pro or later equipped with Apple Intelligence and Bluetooth earbuds such as the AirPods Pro 3. Once enabled, Workout Buddy provides feedback throughout your exercise with an encouraging, AI-generated voice. Since Workout Buddy uses Apple Intelligence to provide feedback, it relies on a consistent cloud connection via your phone to work.
I tested Workout Buddy during a 30-minute run with an iPhone 17 and a pair of AirPods Pro 3, and let Apple curate the music. As I got started, Workout Buddy chimed in with a friendly greeting and thanked me for getting my workout in. It then encouraged me to enjoy the run and groove to the music of DJ Khaled as one of his tunes started playing.
The music was mostly a mix of upbeat hip-hop and rock, which did keep me motivated throughout the workout. I had Workout Buddy set to keep me notified when I was within my target heart rate zone, and it otherwise chimed in when I passed certain distances like my first mile. Its heart rate zone notifications proved to be somewhat annoying, particularly when I was near the upper or lower threshold, as it would repeatedly alert me that I was above or below as I bounced back and forth. I would have liked a little bit more of a cooldown between these utterances.
Workout Buddy chimed in often when I was near the heart rate threshold (Credit: Andrew Gebhart)
While testing the beta version of Workout Buddy on the Ultra 2, I noticed a similar occurrence when I had set a pace goal. When I ran near the target pace, it kept piping up to tell me I was just above or below it. I wish it would instead stay quiet when you’re within a certain range.
When I completed a mile, it compared my time with past runs, an insight I liked. It also ran through my stats when I completed my workout. For the most part, though, outside of its initial encouraging statement, the AI’s personality doesn’t shine through all that much. Instead, Workout Buddy mostly just kept me posted on my real-time stats and the goals I had set.
In terms of overall experience, I prefer Samsung’s Running Coach. It requires less hardware, as you simply need the watch, and it can work even without a phone connection. It has a slightly different goal, as it’s meant to help you build toward an event like a 5K or a marathon, and you need to take a running test when you first use the feature to gauge your current skill level. At that point, it creates a recommended running program including a target pace for specific workouts, and its goals prescribe a range to hit instead of a static value.
However, Samsung’s Running Coach can similarly become redundant over the course of a long workout. It has a bit less personality than Apple’s Workout Buddy, and it’s not as versatile since it’s only available for running. Workout Buddy is available for outdoor and indoor runs and walks, outdoor cycling, high-intensity interval training, and both traditional and functional strength-training workouts.
Because Apple’s Workout Buddy can be customized with your own Pacer routes and goals, it’s likely the better fit for you if you already know what you’re doing and how you want to tailor your exercise. On the other hand, Samsung’s Running Coach is intentionally prescriptive and probably a better fit if you’re a beginner looking for guidance to get started.
Whether you use Workout Buddy or not, the Series 11 tracks a wealth of metrics during workouts. For outdoor running, that includes your distance, calories, elevation gain, heart rate, pace, time, and advanced form metrics like power, vertical oscillation, ground contact time, and stride length.
During my 30-minute test run, I wore the Apple Watch Series 11 alongside the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic ($499.99) on my other wrist. The Series 11’s heart rate values showed some variance at the beginning of my run, bouncing up and down a bit as it calibrated itself to me, but that’s somewhat typical with a new device. It evened out after five minutes or so, and stayed within 5 to 10 beats per minute (bpm) of the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic the rest of the time. I incorporated sprinting intervals toward the end of the run, and the Series 11 exhibited no lag in detecting my heart rate spikes and dips. After the run, my average heart rate matched the one from the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic exactly.