There is no need for a smartwatch or a fitband to calculate how far you are walking or running, because any smartphone can do it, as long as it is kept in your pocket and not in your bag. Of course, the fitness bands are more comfortable to wear, lighter and can also work playing soccer or tennis, but if we only talk about walking or running, then an Android smartphone or an iPhone can really be enough. As for the iPhone, counting steps and monitoring distances traveled on foot is possible thanks to the low-power motion sensors included in the iPhone models starting from the iPhone 5S onwards and not the previous iPhones. For Android smartphones, however, the pedometer and calorie apps work on modern smartphones with motion sensor, and also on older ones, thanks to the other sensors (even if it is less precise and consumes more battery).
In this article we see the best apps for Android and iPhone smartphones, for those who walk and for those who run, to count steps, distances, times and calories burned, which can be used both by those who play sports, and by those who simply want to have a statistic on how much movement it does every day.
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1) Google Fit for Android is the official Google app to monitor every movement you make with your phone in your pocket. The app, once activated, counts the steps you take while walking and running and also the distances covered by bicycle. Being a Google app, it integrates seamlessly into Android and runs in the background continuously, with relatively low battery consumption. In addition, Google Fit supports almost all Android phones, even older ones. In addition to support for other fitness apps, this Google Fit integrates with any Android Wear smartwatch and records data that can also be consulted from a PC on the Fit application website.
2) Apple Health is instead the health monitoring app that is pre-installed on all iPhones starting from version 5S.
By activating the pedometer function, you can run with your iPhone in your pocket to record the distances traveled every day, until you get a summary graph. In addition, Apple Health works as a pedometer for those who just want to walk. The Apple Health app also measures stairways made up and down and calories burned.
4) Activity Tracker is another of the cleanest, simplest and most well-made pedometer apps that can be found, available for both Android and iPhone smartphones. This application is able to automatically recognize if you are walking, running or cycling and counts steps, distances traveled and times spent on the move, without the need to wear bracelets or watches and without discharging the phone battery with GPS. a calorie counter and a log on the map to see all the places where you went for a walk or run which is linked to your personal account. Once installed and activated, it runs in the background at all times without having to start it manually.
5) Runtastic is one of the most popular applications for those who run, walk and cycle by doing sports, which can be installed on iPhone, Android and Windows Phone. In addition to the pedometer, calorie counter, altitude measurement, distance measurement functions, Runtastic provides an interface to consult high level data, with all monitoring measurements aggregated for periods of time, distances etc. It also allows registered users to share sports results with other people so they can compare.
6) Runkeeper is similar to Runtastic, and it also specializes in detecting every distance and path made by running, walking or cycling. Also this application is available for Android and iPhone for free.
7) MapMyWALK is instead the simplest app, always for Android and iPhone, for those who just want to measure distances and count steps while walking, not only therefore if you play sports, but also to go to work or to go for walks.
8) Pedometer, only for Android, is a really nice application to see, which also measures the calories burned as well as the steps walked during the day.
9) Pedometer (Android) helps to calculate the steps walked and keep a record of how much you have walked or run.
Very useful is the widget for the phone lock screen to stay motivated all day long.
10) Pedometer ++ (iPhone) which uses the pedometer function already integrated in the iPhone to easily keep track of all the steps taken every day, without draining the battery.
READ ALSO: Best Apps for training, sports and fitness
