Someone at Apple is a keen cyclist, and for that, I’m eternally grateful. The Apple Watch has gained a range of helpful features for cyclists over the past few years that’s made my riding experience much more enjoyable. But it’s the latest WatchOS 10 update that’s really changed the game for me by turning the iPhone into a bike computer.
I’m a cyclist who rides for exercise and recreation, so having a dedicated bike computer to track my performance and navigate feels like overkill. When Apple unveiled the cycling Live Activities feature for the iPhone, I knew I was going to use it frequently. Live Activities shows real-time information from an app on the iPhone lock screen, so you can quickly see anything from sports scores to the status of your food delivery.Â
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I start an indoor or outdoor cycling workout on my watch and a Live Activity shows up on my iPhone. I tap my iPhone to have it show the same metrics from my wrist on its big screen. Live Activities for cycling is available on any Apple Watch from the Series 4 and later that runs WatchOS 10 and any iPhone that can run iOS 17.
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Mounting the iPhone that I already have onto my road bike’s handlebars, instead of buying an extra device, makes a lot of sense. In fact, the new bike features have been so helpful that the Apple Watch is my smartwatch of choice when I ride outdoors or on my spin bike.
A big screen on the handlebars is a safer way to ride
One of my biggest concerns when going out for a ride is safety. The Apple Watch can’t predict if a car is going to take a sudden right turn and cut me off in the bike lane — if only! But being able to glance down to my iPhone mounted on my handlebars and see my cycling stats as a Live Activity means I no longer have to raise my wrist up to view the metrics I need. And that makes riding all that much safer.Â
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