Apple’s Workout Buddy on watchOS 26: The Feature That Finally Outruns Nike Run Club

Over the past week, Apple’s WWDC event dominated the tech cycle. If you’re here, you probably already know the headlines. If not, my full event recap is linked above.

What matters is what actually landed on our wrists. Forget the wishlist features watchOS 26 skipped Apple quietly detonated the fitness app status quo. The update is a substantial stride, an AI-driven shift that will echo through the running and fitness world long after the applause fades.

Anyone who’s spent time with Nike Run Club recognized the implications immediately. Apple just raised the bar they might have made Nike’s app entirely obsolete.

If you’ve read my deep dive on Nike Run Club you know where the bodies are buried.

This article breaks down exactly what Apple’s “minor” update cut from Nike Run Club’s playbook, and why it’s likely the end of an era for the once-dominant running app.

Where Nike Run Club Shines—and Where It Stalls

Let’s pull apart what made Nike Run Club the go-to for runners, and why those pillars are suddenly looking shaky.

• First, Nike’s signature: long-term training plans. Pick a goal distance, speed, or general fitness and NRC maps a multi-week journey. For many, that structure is a lifeline.
• Guided runs: These audio tracks, voiced by coaches or athletes, walk you through intervals, recovery, and even motivation. They’re part podcast, part coach, and for beginners, they’re invaluable.
• On-run metrics: NRC’s display trims the fat, surfacing only what matters pace, distance, time against a minimalist backdrop. You get milestone call-outs at each kilometer, a quick status check without breaking stride.

How Workout Buddy Redraws the Map

Here’s where the old guard starts to falter.

Guided runs, once NRC’s crown jewel, have aged into a repetitive monologue. The audio is fixed, impersonal, and after a few sessions predictable.
Motivation slides into background noise.
The metrics, while clean, are static.
Updates ping at set intervals, regardless of how your run is actually unfolding.

Workout Buddy rewrites the script.
Apple’s AI coach doesn’t just talk at you; it responds to you.

• Real-time feedback adapts to your pace, heart rate, and historical performance.
• The advice is context-aware nudges when you need them, silence when you don’t.
• No more podcast loops.
• No more guessing if the advice fits the moment.
• And with the new Wrist Flick gesture, even notifications can be banished with a snap, keeping your focus razor-sharp.

The only feature that really stands up is the guided plan you can follow over time. As I broke down in my Runna review, though, an AI-recommended plan isn’t a compelling value proposition it’s not something you truly need as a core part of your run.

The appeal fades when you realize that real-time support and adaptation matter far more once you’re actually moving.

So want the unfiltered, hands-on verdict?
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