Article · Watches
Does my watch work with Runn?
Short answer — almost certainly. Here's how Runn talks to your smartwatch today, what's coming next, and why we don't have a native Apple Watch app (yet).
The simple model
Your phone
Records the run. GPS, distance, pace, elevation, splits, route map.
Your watch
Reads your heart. Heart rate is the only thing your phone can't measure on its own.
Runn bridges those two by reading your heart rate from Apple Health on iPhone and Google Health Connect on Android. Any watch that already syncs to either service is already wired into Runn.
What works with what
Live BPM shows on the recording screen while you run. Avg HR is saved to the run after you finish.
Apple Watch
on iPhone
Best experience. Start a workout on the watch before you tap Record.
Garmin
on iPhone
Avg HR via Apple Health. GPS map import is on the roadmap.
COROS
on iPhone
Avg HR via Apple Health. No GPS map for now.
Polar
on iPhone
Avg HR via Apple Health.
Suunto
on iPhone
Avg HR via Apple Health.
Amazfit / Zepp
on iPhone
Avg HR via Apple Health (Zepp must be set to sync).
Huawei
on iPhone
Huawei Health's HealthKit sync is inconsistent.
Wear OS / Pixel Watch / Samsung / Fitbit
on Android
Avg HR via Google Health Connect.
Garmin / COROS / Amazfit
on Android
Avg HR via Google Health Connect (turn on Health Connect sync in the watch's app).
Don't see your watch? If it can sync heart rate to Apple Health (iPhone) or Google Health Connect (Android), it works.
One-time setup
Make sure your watch syncs to the right place
On iPhone, that's Apple Health. On Android, that's Google Health Connect. Open your watch's companion app (Garmin Connect, Zepp, COROS, Polar Flow…) and turn on sync. Apple Watch and Pixel Watch do this automatically.
Let Runn read heart rate
First time you record a run, Runn asks for permission to read heart rate from Apple Health or Health Connect. Tap Allow.
Apple Watch only — start the workout on the watch
For live BPM on the recording screen, open the Workout app on your Apple Watch and start an Outdoor Run before you tap Record in Runn. Without this, you'll still get average HR after the run, just not live.
Where this is going
We're shipping in public. Here's what's live, what's close, and what's on the build list.
Heart rate from any HealthKit watch
Apple Watch, Garmin, COROS, Polar, Suunto, Amazfit — if your watch syncs heart rate to Apple Health, Runn picks it up after every run.
Live BPM from Apple Watch
Start a workout on the watch before recording in Runn and you'll see live heart rate on the recording screen, polled every 8 seconds.
Android — same idea via Health Connect
Avg heart rate flows in from any watch that syncs to Google Health Connect: Pixel Watch, Samsung, Garmin, Fitbit, Amazfit, COROS. Live BPM on the recording screen is still Apple-Watch-only for now.
Import workouts as files (.fit / .gpx)
Export a run from Garmin Connect or COROS and import the file into Runn. The route, distance, HR, and elevation come with it.
Garmin — direct route sync
Garmin doesn't write GPS maps to Apple Health, so the import path above is a stopgap. A direct Garmin Connect sync is the long-term fix.
Why no native Apple Watch app?
We're a small team. A native watch app means a second codebase, a second review queue, and a third surface to keep in sync with the rest of Runn — for a feature that, today, mostly duplicates what Apple's built-in Workout app already does well.
For now, the pattern is: start a workout on your Apple Watch the way you normally would, then tap Record in Runn. You get phone-grade GPS plus watch-grade heart rate, with no battery hit on the watch beyond what you'd use anyway.
When we build a watch app, it'll be because it unlocks something the phone can't — like leaving the phone at home on a group run. Not before.
What about Strava and Garmin?
Strava
No direct Strava sync right now — their terms don't welcome social-running apps using their OAuth. Exporting a `.gpx`/`.fit` from Strava and importing it into Runn (when file import ships) is fine.
Garmin
Heart rate already comes through Apple Health. The route map doesn't — Garmin keeps GPS in Garmin Connect. We're tackling that in two steps: file import first, then a direct Garmin Connect sync.
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Got a question about a specific watch?
Tell us which one — we'll test it and add it to this page.
joinrunn@gmail.comMore questions? Check the FAQ.