'How does an iPhone track steps?': How to use the step-tracking feature in the Health app (2024)

FAQs

'How does an iPhone track steps?': How to use the step-tracking feature in the Health app? ›

Have an account? Log in . Your iPhone can track steps using a built-in accelerometer, which gathers data based on the speed and movement of your phone. In your iPhone's Health app, you can find and monitor your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly step count averages.

The device has a motion and orientation sensor called an accelerometer, which counts your steps by recognizing patterns in your movement as you walk. You can view your step count and other health and fitness data in one place using the Apple Health app, which comes standard on all iPhones.

When you carry your iPhone with you, motion sensors track your steps, distance, and flights climbed to estimate active calories burned. Any workouts you complete in compatible third-party apps also contribute to the progress shown on your Move ring. An overlapping ring means you exceeded your goal.

It is best to put your phone in your pocket with the pedometer app it should work perfect. If you have your phone in your handbag, backpack, stroller or in the car, the app may not count all of your steps correctly. This happens because pedometers count steps based on vibration patterns.

Using 2,000 steps in one mile as an average benchmark, 10,000 steps is approximately 5 miles.

Steps registered by the iPhone Health App agree very closely to those measured manually with an averaged error of about 2%. The reliability of the registered distances, however, depends on a number of factors, including walking speed and walking style of the subject and can deviate up to 30–40% from the true value.

Your phone can measure your movements but overestimates your daily steps. Your phone uses GPS to track distance travelled. But try disabling it and you'll notice that fitness apps will still give you step counts. They do this using your phone's built-in sensors, which usually include an accelerometer and a gyroscope.

However, Apple's built-in pedometer that's tucked away inside the Health app is free and should meet most users' needs well. Of course, the iPhone needs to be in the hand or pocket in order to record steps, so it's worth always carrying the phone (if not wearing an Apple Watch) to make sure each step is counted.

Does the iPhone have a built-in pedometer? ›

The Health app gathers health data from your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and apps that you already use, so you can view all your progress in one convenient place. Health automatically counts your steps, walking, and running distances. And, if you have an Apple Watch, it automatically tracks your Activity data.

Your iPhone can track steps using a built-in accelerometer, which gathers data based on the speed and movement of your phone. In your iPhone's Health app, you can find and monitor your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly step count averages.

Track your daily activity

Open the Fitness app, then tap the Activity area to show your Move ring, see the number of steps you've taken, set a move goal, and track your progress over time. The red Move ring shows how many active calories you've burned.

Researchers comparing the iPhone's real-world results to those captured by pedometers/accelerometers worn on the waist found that the iPhone underestimated steps by anywhere from 12-21 percent on average.

Your phone uses GPS to track distance travelled. But try disabling it and you'll notice that fitness apps will still give you step counts. They do this using your phone's built-in sensors, which usually include an accelerometer and a gyroscope.

Based on your iPhone's built-in accelerometer, the Health app collects basic data on your step count, miles walked, and floors climbed, with a rundown of your movement habits and basic statistics.

Dr. Una Naidoo, a nutritional psychiatrist and faculty member at Harvard Medical School, also aims for 10,000 steps a day: It's beneficial to get that much “movement in your body,” she says. Especially in nature.