What you need to know
- Strava's Year in Sport 2024 report was published on Wednesday, showing users' fitness trends worldwide.
- The report shows trends for 135 million active Strava users, including a rise in group activities.
- The "Apple Watch Series" and "Apple Watch SE" were the two top tracking devices for runs, with the Garmin Forerunner 245 in third place.
- Two Garmin Edge bike computers topped the list for tracked Ride activities.
Strava is one of the most popular social fitness apps in the world, and its annual Year in Sport trends provide some interesting insight into the trends of hundreds of millions of athletes worldwide. So it was fascinating to see that Apple had dethroned Garmin as the most popular running watch on the platform.
According to the 2024 report, the Apple Watch Series and Apple Watch SE were the number one and two gear for all runners, followed by the Garmin Forerunner 245. Last year, the 8-year-old Garmin Forerunner 235 was the most popular worldwide for runners, while the Forerunner 245 was the most-used watch in the U.S.
This year's report solely showed global data, but Apple Watches are very popular in the U.S., so they likely would have won regardless. Garmin still dominated with its acclaimed Edge 530 and 830 bike computers, with the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt V1 — the top 2023 bike computer in the U.S. — coming in third.
Outside of gear, the report showed a major increase in running clubs and group runs of 10+, with women in particular joining Strava clubs 89% more in 2024 than in 2023.
The Strava Year in Sport 2024 report showed that runners' median activity pace was 10:15 per mile; the 2023 report showed lower median numbers for most generations aside from Boomers, so either people slowed down globally in 2024 or older runners skewed the median.
For other activities, the median pace or speed was 12.1mph for cyclists, 19:40 min/mile for walkers, and 22:06 min/mile for hikers. Now we know what pace to beat to be "better than average."
Interestingly, Strava says that 72% of uploaded activities come from the mobile app. While fitness watches are the overwhelming favorite for marathoners and half marathoners, one in four 5K runners use their phones, perhaps using an external HRM like the Polar H10 or else ignoring heart rate and other wrist-based data entirely.
Why Apple suddenly beat Garmin for runners worldwide
As someone who covers running watches extensively, I believe there are a few reasons why Apple suddenly dominated the Strava gear category for runners.
The first is about simple categorization and raw sales: Apple consistently sells about 20% of all wearables worldwide (per IDC), and all Apple "Series" watches like the Series 9 or Series X are categorized as the same "Apple Watch" on Strava, which lets years of different Apple Watch generations tag-team to take the top slot. The same goes for the two generations of Apple SEs.
(As much as I loved the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for its accuracy and ultra-bright, massive squircle display, I don't think it's counted in the same category.)
Garmin watches all log activities as their own distinct devices, and we've seen five new Garmin Forerunner watches in the last couple of years. Forerunners have excellent longevity — hence why the 2015 Forerunner 235 and 2019 Forerunner 245 kept their Strava crowns for so long — but I suspect many of these loyal Garmin fans gave in and upgraded to the Forerunner 165, 255, 265, 955, or 965 in recent years — or tried other Garmin watch brands like the popular Fenix 8.
So it's likely that Garmin's share of Strava runners hasn't faded below Apple, but rather that the Forerunner 265's training load tools or the Forerunner 165's budget-priced perks tempted 235 and 245 users to swap, and each watch is claiming a distinct portion of the Strava user base.
Still, Apple has to receive at least some credit for this newfound Strava dominance, because it has seriously emphasized improving its running software over the last few generations.
It started with watchOS 9 in 2022, when Apple let runners see heart rate zones, running power, cadence, or elevation during a workout; race their past route times; and receive accurate track data using an Apple Maps database of public tracks. Garmin already had all this and more, but Apple closed the gap.
Most recently with watchOS 11, Apple added 7-day and 28-day training load insights in graph form, showing if you're overtraining or slacking off compared to your past efforts, so you get fitter without straining too hard and hurting yourself. You can't see specific training load numbers or aerobic/anaerobic breakdowns like Garmin offers, but it's a streamlined metric for new-ish runners.
Even if "serious runners" tend to use Garmin watches with better battery life, Apple is cornering the market on casual couch-to-5K runners trying to get fit and lose weight. Strava itself said in the press release that "5k runners tended to opt for an Apple Watch, while the Garmin Forerunner was more popular for longer distances."
Basically, Apple is democratizing running insights, making them available for people who aren't sure if they're ready to commit to a specialized fitness watch. So even though I use Garmin watches most frequently, I think Apple swooping in to claim the top Strava crown is an awesome development, because it means more types of people are falling in love with running (or at least fighting through the anguish to get fit).
The same likely applies to Pixel Watch 3 owners now that Fitbit makes running more of a priority — even if they have much smaller Strava numbers than Apple Watch owners.
Strava-ready
The Garmin Forerunner 165 is one of the best budget-priced fitness watches on the market for anyone trying to get more serious about running, with daily suggested workouts designed to improve your VO2 Max, accurate multi-satellite tracking, and 11-day battery life.
