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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallShort answer: Apple Watch was the No. 1 watch category on Strava in 2025, but it was not the platform’s most-used recording method overall. Strava said 72% of users recorded workouts directly in its mobile app; Garmin ranked second across all device types, and Apple Health ranked third.
What Strava actually ranked
Strava’s 12th annual Year in Sport: Trend Report, released December 3, 2025, used activity data from more than 180 million users in more than 185 countries, plus survey responses from more than 30,000 people. It describes behavior inside Strava—not global smartwatch sales or every device owned by those users.
| Ranking or figure | What it means |
|---|---|
| Strava mobile app: 72% | Share of users who recorded workouts directly through Strava’s phone app. |
| Garmin: second across all device types | A broad device or upload ranking that includes Garmin’s ecosystem. |
| Apple Health: third across all device types | An Apple software platform or upload route, not a standalone physical tracker. |
| Apple Watch: No. 1 in the watch category | Apple’s watch category led other watches represented on Strava. |
Strava’s announcement does not name a winning Apple Watch model, publish a full percentage breakdown, or state how large the lead was over Garmin, COROS, or other watches. The precise claim supported by the announcement is therefore: Apple Watch was the most popular watch used on Strava in 2025.
Sources: Strava’s 2025 report announcement and Strava’s brand trends summary.
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#1 Best Overall
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/416RQ0rtsUL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
Why “most popular fitness tracker” is too broad
The headline mixes several different things:
- Recording method: a phone running Strava, an Apple Watch, a Garmin device, or an upload from another service.
- Hardware category: watches, phones, bike computers, and non-watch wearables.
- Brand or ecosystem: Apple Watch, Garmin, COROS, Oura, or WHOOP.
- Integration route: Apple Health or Garmin Connect can pass an activity to Strava after another device records it.
Apple Health is particularly easy to misread. It is a data platform, not a competing physical watch. An activity could be recorded by an Apple Watch or iPhone, stored in Apple Health, and then sent to Strava. The published rankings are not necessarily mutually exclusive hardware categories.
That is why “Apple Watch was No. 1 overall” is not supported. Strava separately identifies its own mobile app as the most common recording route and Garmin as second across device types.
What the numbers do—and do not—tell us
Strava’s data measures activities recorded or uploaded to Strava. It does not establish:
Rank #2
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 42mm] Smartwatch with Rose Gold Aluminum Case with Light Blush Sport Band - S/M. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31caPPnRysL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
- Worldwide smartwatch sales or installed base.
- The number of active users for each brand outside Strava.
- Accuracy, battery life, durability, or training effectiveness.
- Customer satisfaction or which watch is best for a particular sport.
- A precise market share or the size of Apple Watch’s lead.
A single Strava member can use a phone on one run, an Apple Watch on another, and a Garmin or bike computer on a third. The original recording device and the service that uploads the activity can also differ. The ranking should not be read as a one-user/one-device census.
Audience patterns and competing devices
Apple Watch
Apple Watch led Strava’s watch category. Strava also reported that women were 70% more likely than men to record an activity through Apple Watch in 2025. That is a comparative likelihood, not a claim that 70% of women used Apple Watch or that women made up 70% of its users.
Garmin
Garmin ranked second across all device types, making it the most important endurance-oriented alternative in the report. Garmin’s running-watch range emphasizes GPS, pace and distance, wrist-based heart rate, long battery life, navigation, and training functions; the right choice still depends on the specific model. See Garmin’s running-watch range.
Rank #3
![Apple Watch SE 3 [GPS 40mm] Smartwatch with Starlight Aluminum Case with Starlight Sport Band - S/M. Fitness and Sleep Trackers, Heart Rate Monitor, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31YiTby0pOL._SL160_.jpg)
- GET SMARTER HEALTH INSIGHTS—Apple Watch SE 3 is an advanced health tracker that helps you better understand your body. The smartwatch sends alerts for an irregular heart rhythm, or an unusually high or low heart rate.* You can view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app,* track your sleep score, and get sleep apnea notifications.*
- A GREAT FITNESS TRACKER—SE 3 can track your workouts in a healthy number of ways—from running and strength training to simply achieving your 10K steps a day. With real-time metrics and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone,* you’ll hit your goals like never before.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—SE 3 is a smartwatch that can detect a hard fall or severe car crash and automatically help connect you to emergency services and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- WOMEN’S HEALTH INSIGHTS—SE 3 has advanced sensors that track your wrist temperature while you sleep. With this smartwatch, you can log your periods and symptoms, get period predictions, and get notified of cycle deviations.*
- GREAT BATTERY LIFE AND FASTER CHARGING—Enjoy a smartwatch with all-day, 18-hour battery life* from sunup to sundown. Then charge up to twice as fast as SE 2* and get up to 8 hours of battery in just 15 minutes.*
COROS
Strava said COROS was gaining significant traction. That signals momentum, not that COROS had overtaken Garmin or Apple Watch. COROS lists the PACE 3 at $199 and PACE Pro at $299 in its U.S. price-adjustment notice dated November 14, 2025, and says the PACE Pro connects with Strava and Apple Health. Prices can change; see the COROS pricing notice and PACE Pro product page.
Oura and WHOOP
Strava identified Oura and WHOOP as growing non-watch wearables. Their growth reinforces the point that a watch-category winner is not automatically the winner among every wearable or recording route.
Phone-only recording
For many people, no watch is required. The 72% direct-through-the-app figure shows that a phone plus Strava remained a mainstream way to log an activity in 2025.
Rank #4
![Apple Watch SE 3 [GPS 40mm] Smartwatch with Midnight Aluminum Case with Midnight Sport Band - S/M. Fitness and Sleep Trackers, Heart Rate Monitor, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31Gq8SToFJL._SL160_.jpg)
- GET SMARTER HEALTH INSIGHTS—Apple Watch SE 3 is an advanced health tracker that helps you better understand your body. The smartwatch sends alerts for an irregular heart rhythm, or an unusually high or low heart rate.* You can view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app,* track your sleep score, and get sleep apnea notifications.*
- A GREAT FITNESS TRACKER—SE 3 can track your workouts in a healthy number of ways—from running and strength training to simply achieving your 10K steps a day. With real-time metrics and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone,* you’ll hit your goals like never before.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—SE 3 is a smartwatch that can detect a hard fall or severe car crash and automatically help connect you to emergency services and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- WOMEN’S HEALTH INSIGHTS—SE 3 has advanced sensors that track your wrist temperature while you sleep. With this smartwatch, you can log your periods and symptoms, get period predictions, and get notified of cycle deviations.*
- GREAT BATTERY LIFE AND FASTER CHARGING—Enjoy a smartwatch with all-day, 18-hour battery life* from sunup to sundown. Then charge up to twice as fast as SE 2* and get up to 8 hours of battery in just 15 minutes.*
Which option fits your needs?
Choose Apple Watch for an iPhone-centered smartwatch
Apple Watch is the logical fit for an iPhone owner who wants wrist-based Strava recording, Apple Health, broad health features, notifications, and Apple Fitness+. Apple’s current U.S. lineup, as listed on August 18, 2026, includes Series 11 from $399, SE 3 from $249, and Ultra 3 from $799. Apple says the current lineup requires an iPhone 11 or later running iOS 26 or later; check the Apple buying page and compatibility and pricing announcement for current terms.
It is a poor fit for Android users, buyers prioritizing multi-day battery life, or athletes seeking a specialized training platform rather than a general-purpose smartwatch.
Choose Garmin for endurance-focused training
Garmin deserves consideration for runners, cyclists, triathletes, and outdoor athletes who value long battery life, navigation, and sport-specific training tools. The Strava ranking supports its importance on the platform, but does not prove that every Garmin model is better than every Apple Watch.
Best Value
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 42mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - S/M. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41s72HIk5TL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
Choose COROS for a lower-cost sport-watch route
COROS is worth investigating when training functions and price matter more than a large smartwatch ecosystem. Its PACE 3 and PACE Pro price points are lower than the listed Apple Watch starting prices, while compatibility and features vary by model. It is less suitable for buyers seeking cellular calling, Apple-only health functions, or a mature general-purpose smartwatch app ecosystem.
Use your phone if logging is all you need
If you only want GPS activity recording and Strava’s social or route features, a phone may be sufficient. A watch adds wrist convenience and can avoid carrying a phone during some activities, but the report gives no reason to buy one solely because Apple Watch topped the watch category.
Strava subscription considerations
Device choice and Strava membership are separate decisions. Strava’s U.S. pricing page lists $11.99 per month or $79.99 per year, plus applicable taxes, and a $139.99 annual Family Plan. It also lists a Strava plus Runna plan at $149.99 per year. Confirm current prices at Strava’s pricing page.
Methodology limits to keep in mind
Strava’s public announcement provides category results and selected percentages, but not a complete methodology table, raw counts, denominator definitions, or a full brand-by-brand breakdown. The report is global and community-based, so it should not be substituted for retail-sales data or a survey of all smartwatch owners. A later annual report could also change the ranking; this result is specifically for calendar year 2025.
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Apple Watch was Strava’s most popular watch in 2025. Strava’s mobile app was the leading recording method overall, while Garmin ranked second across device types and Apple Health third. Calling Apple Watch the “most popular fitness tracker on Strava” is directionally understandable but technically overbroad unless “fitness tracker” is explicitly limited to the watch category.
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