More people are getting into fitness activities recently, and
they do it alongside with their mobile devices. Step counting or pedometry is
one of the most commonly used forms of exercise people get into with the help
of their mobile phones.
As GPS tracking and phone movement sensors have
improved over time, so, too, have the apps that help you keep track
of your daily steppage stats. So if you're planning to be one of those fitness
junkies, check out these free pedometer apps to help you easily monitor or
literally count your steps from your Android device.
Fitbit has probably the prettiest interface of all
the apps for a start, offering a huge amount of features to
incentivize your walking. You can, for example, take part in the
various weekly challenges curated by the developers, log workouts and food, as
well as go on “Adventures” where you attempt to walk the same amount of steps
it takes to tackle famous hikes such as those around Yosemite Park. It’s
obviously not quite as good as the real thing, but close, right?
Pedometer is a free, ad-supported app that doesn’t foist any
in-app purchases on you. What you see is what you get. It has the usual
assortment of step counters, calories burned, walking times and speed tracking,
and displays your long-term walking information in a convenient
graph. It also uses your gender and weight to give you a better idea of the
number of calories you burned and the amount you should burn.
Pedometer is very
easy on the battery, too, and has a small selection of different themes
for some personalization, and you can also adjust the sensitivity, so you’re
not cheating by counting steps when you’re cycling or driving.
ViewRanger is filled with hundreds of thousands of trails and walks around
the world, all rated by the app’s millions of users. It serves as a great
navigation guide, too, using Augmented Reality to let you point your phone at
the scenery and get pointers about what’s what and where to go next.
This app works
with Android Wear and uses your phone’s GPS to track your walking
stats, letting you see how much distance you’ve covered and maybe even share it
with your friends. It’s a great option for those who aren’t quite as obsessed
with counting every single step and want to focus more on enjoying the great
outdoors.
Moves is an app that distinguishes itself by being easy to
use, distraction-free, and useful. It has a clean interface that uses circles
of different sizes to represent how many steps you’ve taken, how many minutes
you’ve biked, or how many miles you’ve run. It tracks your activity each day
and has a map where you can view where you’ve been. There isn’t much in the way
of settings here, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Like
the other apps on this list, Accupedo
Pedometer is one
of the best pedometer apps around. This particular offering is
known for its widget that sits on your home screen giving you a constant view
of the steps you’ve taken. It’s configurable, so you can see steps,
distance, minutes, calories, and more in a manner that suits you best. It only
starts tracking after you take ten steps, so there’s a chance your trips to the
bathroom or kitchen from your desk won’t count. You’ve been warned.
Noom Walk has an interface that’s sparse and clean.
The app claims to use less than 2% of your battery, consuming as
much juice over twenty-two hours as keeping your screen on for twenty minutes
or just three minutes of GPS usage. But much more exciting is the
fact that you can virtually high five your friends when they hit their
goals. (I’m still hoping you can send them boos and hisses if they fail.) It’s
entirely free to use, which is also a plus.
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