Strava 2025: Why Smartphones Still Beat Sports Watches

Strava’s 2025 annual report shows which devices people genuinely use to record their training, and the result is not entirely in line with the marketing buzz.

Your smartphone still outperforms an expensive sports watch

Strava’s latest data overview draws on more than 180 million people who logged “billions” of activities during the year. It is a substantial sample, and its message is straightforward: most users still track exercise with a smartphone rather than a dedicated sports watch.

According to Strava, 72% of users recorded their activities directly with the Strava app on a smartphone in 2025.

The 72% result is unchanged from last year. Despite the enormous growth in wearables, the phone has not been replaced as the standard training companion. Sports technology firms continue to introduce durable watches and specialised sensors, yet for most people, starting an app on a phone remains familiar, fast and “good enough”.

Convenience accounts for much of this. Before a run or cycle, people already have their phones with them. A handset combines GPS, mobile data, music, messaging and, in many cases, respectable battery life. For casual exercisers and even those who train somewhat regularly, this all-in-one package makes buying and learning to use a separate sports watch less appealing.

Consequently, the most widely used “sports watch” in 2025 is not a watch at all. It is the smartphone, whether secured to an arm, placed in a waistband or slipped into a cycling jersey pocket.

Garmin and Apple compete for second place in contrasting ways

Beyond smartphones, the ranking changes. In Strava’s list of devices and platforms used to record activities, Garmin sits immediately behind the native Strava smartphone app.

Garmin benefits from a varied ecosystem. It produces GPS watches as well as dedicated cycling computers, with both types sending activity data to Strava. Cyclists who value power meters, navigation and extended battery life continue to choose Garmin head units, while runners and triathletes commonly opt for Forerunner or Fenix watches.

Strava’s charts place Garmin second overall, with Apple Health in third place, but Apple Watch remains the most used watch line individually.

That distinction is significant. When every device category is grouped together - phones, cycling computers and watches - Garmin’s extensive range puts it ahead of Apple. Looking solely at watches, however, Apple Watch leads the field.

The difference between “Apple Health” as a platform and Apple Watch as a product range may seem unclear. Apple Health collects information from a range of sources, while many runners log directly through the Strava app on an Apple Watch or synchronise via third-party applications. Strava identifies only some of this activity as “Apple Health”, helping to account for the difference.

Why Apple Watch leads on the wrist

For wrist-based Strava use, Apple Watch remains dominant. This is driven less by high-level performance measurements than by its reach. Millions of people already wear it for daily notifications and casual activity monitoring long before they consider split times or VO2 max.

For many users, Strava is simply the natural next move: download the watch app, begin a jog and use it as a more advanced activity ring. Only some of those users eventually choose to “graduate” to a dedicated sports watch from Garmin, Coros or another brand.

• Phone: simple to begin using, no additional outlay, flexible
• Apple Watch: a vast installed base and close iOS integration
• Garmin: specialist equipment for endurance and performance

This tiered ecosystem allows Apple to serve casual and intermediate athletes, while Garmin retains a strong position among performance-focused users, even though phones continue to exceed every other device in overall use.

Coros expands rapidly, while screenless wearables gain ground

Coros is the brand that most clearly stands out in Strava’s report. Initially a niche choice for endurance athletes, the company has now delivered “the strongest growth on Strava compared with last year”, according to Strava.

Earlier in 2025, training platform Campus Coach put Coros at about 8% market share among its users, behind Garmin at approximately 75% and narrowly ahead of Apple Watch at 7%. Those figures reflect a more specialist, performance-led audience rather than Strava’s entire user base, but they still point to clear momentum.

Coros grows by targeting serious runners and trail athletes with long battery life, simple interfaces and aggressive pricing.

Coros also focuses on coaching tools and structured training functions that appeal to marathon runners and ultra-runners seeking greater control than mainstream smartwatches offer. Its continued growth in Strava’s wider data now reflects that approach.

Oura and Whoop offer a different route: no screen, only data

The report also identifies two rapidly growing product types: Oura smart rings and Whoop screenless bands. Both are designed for discreet, background monitoring rather than replacing a conventional watch or smartphone.

Rather than relying on illuminated screens and wrist-based apps, they concentrate on always-on sensors, sleep measurements, readiness scores and recovery indicators. Strava describes a “rapid rise” in these categories, revealing much about how training data is now viewed.

Oura and Whoop sit comfortably within a “second layer” of wearables. People often combine them with a watch or phone, using one device to record the activity and another to assess how their body responds between sessions. This changes the question from “how fast did I run?” to “should I run hard today at all?”

Why smartphones remain sports devices

In the context of so many specialist gadgets, the smartphone’s 72% share may initially appear surprising. Several factors explain its staying power.

Price remains especially important. A capable sports watch can readily cost several hundred pounds or dollars, whereas a phone has already been purchased and receives regular updates. For someone who runs twice weekly or cycles only on sunny weekends, that additional expense can seem hard to justify when Strava can simply be started on a phone.

Habit is another explanation. Many runners take their phone with them anyway for music, personal safety or contactless payments. Wearing a watch as well can feel unnecessary. If the GPS route is clear and the distance is sufficiently accurate, relatively few casual users raise concerns about data quality.

Software matters too. Strava’s app has become more polished over time, offering reliable background recording and easy synchronisation. Music-streaming services and coaching apps can run alongside it, making the phone a complete single-device training setup.

The sports watch industry keeps innovating, but the “default” device for logging a 5K remains the one already in every pocket.

What Strava’s 2025 data means when selecting a device

For people who exercise a few times each week and mainly want to record distance, pace and a simple route map, Strava’s numbers indicate that there is little sacrificed by keeping to a phone. It avoids a sizeable initial cost and places them alongside the majority of users.

A dedicated sports watch remains worthwhile once training becomes longer or more structured. Distance runners, triathletes and cyclists undertaking rides of several hours are among the first to notice phone battery drain and GPS limitations. A wrist device can also provide more precise heart-rate monitoring, stronger interval support and outdoor navigation.

Screenless wearables including Oura and Whoop contribute a separate perspective. They do not replace Strava; instead, they seek to answer another question: how prepared is the body to perform? For those balancing training with travel, demanding work and inconsistent sleep, this may matter more than gaining a few seconds on a segment.

Beyond Strava: how these developments may alter training habits

Strava’s device ranking also offers clues about the market’s possible direction. If phones maintain their leading position, developers are likely to build more coaching and analytical capability into mobile apps rather than focusing only on companion watch applications. AI-tailored training plans, adaptive workouts and more detailed post-run analysis may appear on the phone first instead of the watch.

Meanwhile, brands such as Coros demonstrate that focused hardware for endurance needs, rather than notifications, still has a place. Its growth indicates a reliable audience willing to exchange some smart features for longer battery life, precise tracking and robust design.

Lastly, the growth of Oura and Whoop highlights a wider movement towards recovery literacy. Athletes once concentrated only on weekly mileage or total training hours. In 2025, many also monitor sleep stages, heart-rate variability and resting heart rate before deciding how intensely to train. This way of thinking does not replace Strava activity logs; it surrounds them.

Anyone considering their next gadget could try a straightforward month-long test: track with only a phone, add a sleep or recovery wearable where possible, and observe which data genuinely influences decisions. The device used most often on a busy weekday evening reveals more about real requirements than any specification sheet or marketing claim.