For the first time, users will be able to see their daily step count directly on the Apple Watch face, as Apple prepares to launch a feature many have been requesting for years.
Apple Watch to Showcase Steps Front and Center
In previous versions, the Apple Watch did monitor step counts, but this information was buried in menus and never displayed prominently on the watch face. Accessing steps typically required opening the Apple Health app on an iPhone or installing third-party apps to show steps as a complication. This was in contrast to rivals such as Fitbit, Oura, and Whoop, who made spoke-step counts a main focus. With new updates to both hardware and software, Apple is changing that policy.
Viewing Steps Gets Easier Than Ever
On marketing pages for the new Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra devices, Apple now promotes a “more accurate step count” as one of the highlights— a notable change from its past approach that largely ignored step tracking in promotional materials. Most importantly, Apple now claims, “Now you can more easily check your step count, right from your watch face.”
Whereas previously only third-party apps like Duffy allowed users to add a step-count complication, the change announced by Apple means compatible Watches will gain this feature natively, with no additional apps needed.
Updated Health App Brings Steps Forward
Beyond the Watch itself, Apple is also introducing a refreshed Health app for iPhone. The revamped Health app interface puts a step count in a designated tile alongside the familiar activity rings, offering a new way to quickly view daily activity. This new presentation will become available for users of iPhones that support Apple Intelligence, meaning iPhone 15 Pro or later models.
Currently, the step total can appear at the top of the Health app on your phone by searching for Steps and using Add to Pinned. However, placing step data on the Watch face itself generally required an external app. Until now, users could display a card for walking distance but not for steps as a Watch complication.
Availability Timeline and Supported Devices
According to Apple, the streamlined step-counting feature will arrive for Series 12 and Ultra 4 models. Although this feature is most likely part of a software rollout, it is broadly expected to come to users with the upcoming WatchOS 27 update, which is imminent. This operating system will support Series 9 and newer, Ultra 2 and above, and the SE 3 watches. Presently, the public beta for WatchOS 27 has not introduced steps on the watch face, so users are encouraged to stay tuned for updates as the launch gets closer.
Once WatchOS 27 is released, the option to check daily steps from the Apple Watch’s quick-access cards—shown by swiping up from the main display—should become available. Until then, legacy users or older software versions will need to continue with third-party apps such as Duffy to view steps at a glance.
Steps Join Apple’s Core Metrics in Answer to User Demand
This update signals a notable shift for Apple as it pivots from its previous emphasis on Activity rings for tracking movement, standing, and exercise, to finally foregrounding step counts—one of the most popular health tracking metrics. The surge in consumer interest in daily step goals seems to have influenced Apple to prioritize this data point. Soon, users owning the latest hardware on both Apple Watches and iPhones can expect daily steps to be as accessible as those on any major fitness tracker, meeting the demands of fitness-focused users worldwide.