Apple has finally added custom workout creation to the iPhone. For anyone who hated tapping out intervals on the tiny Apple Watch screen, this change is long overdue.
The update is part of watchOS 26
This feature is now live in the watchOS 26 beta and is expected to roll out to everyone on September 15. It landed without much fanfare, but it’s a very useful change for workout regulars. You’ll find it inside the iPhone’s Fitness app, under the Workout tab.
Tap into a workout type like “Outdoor Run” and you’ll see a new layout. At the top are three filters: All, Goals and Custom. Just below that is Quick Start, followed by your saved Custom workouts and Race Routes. In the screenshot, you can see an example of a named custom session called “Shake out + strides” created entirely on the phone.
The layout is clean, touch-friendly and easy to use as can be seen from the screenshot below.
A much better way to build intervals
This fixes a long-standing gripe. On the Watch, you had to tap through layer after layer to add each segment. Want a 10-minute warm-up followed by 5 x 2-minute intervals with 1-minute rest? That used to take forever. On the iPhone, you can now build that sequence in seconds. The custom builder handles warm-ups, work/recovery intervals and cooldowns, and lets you name the session so it’s easier to find later.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets
Once saved, the workout syncs to your Watch and appears just like any other workout tile. You can launch it straight from the wrist. No special app needed, no additional syncing required.
This change will hurt third-party apps
Third-party developers had stepped in to fill the gap. Several apps existed purely to create workouts on the phone and send them to the Watch. Apple’s move here effectively wipes out that niche. The native builder now does most of what people needed, without requiring any external app or subscription.
Whether Apple intended to disrupt that market or not, the result is the same. If your main reason for using those apps was structured intervals, that’s now a native feature.
For now, the functionality is specific to custom workouts like running, walking or cycling. Other modes may follow. But even with just the basics, this is one of the most practical additions in watchOS 26.
It’s rare for Apple to solve a small but irritating problem so directly. Editing workouts on the watch was tedious and slow. With this update, there’s really no excuse for skipping your intervals anymore.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter! Check out our YouTube channel.
Leave a Reply