Your Apple AirPods could replace a fitness watch at the gym, after iOS 27 arrives

Quick Summary

There are a number of features arriving with iOS 27 later this year, including GymKit expanding to iPhone.

You will be able to use an iPhone to quickly connect and share data with GymKit-compatible equipment if you don't have an Apple Watch. AirPods Pro 3 can provide the heart rate data.

It shouldn’t be too long before we see iOS 27 arrive in its final form. The upcoming software update for iPhone is currently available as a public beta, but it is expected to land around the same time as the next iPhone models. With previous patterns taken into account, that should be sometime in the first half of next month.

A number of new features will arrive with iOS 27, including a Liquid Glass slider so you can increase or decrease the transparency. There will also be new EQ settings for AirPods and photo editing features.

Now another new feature has appeared on the latest beta (via 9to5Mac) – iOS 27 is bringing GymKit to iPhone and AirPods Pro 3.

How does GymKit work with iPhone?

GymKit was first introduced for Apple Watch back in 2017, enabling compatible gym equipment to connect and securely share data with Apple’s smartwatch with a tap.

The Apple Watch provides the heart rate data, while the equipment fills in the other trackable details – such as incline on a treadmill, for example.

With iOS 27, GymKit is expanding to iPhone and AirPods Pro 3. This means that while anyone with an Apple Watch will still likely continue to use that, if you forget your watch at home or your battery is dead, you can still track your training. Compatible gym equipment can use heart rate data from AirPods Pro 3 while relying on your iPhone as the workout computer.

Having tried it out on the beta version, 9to5Mac said that while the exercise ring didn’t update when working out without an Apple Watch, it caught up when the smartwatch was put back on after. The Fitness app also updated with the right data.

Without AirPods Pro 3, the iPhone disconnected from the GymKit machine as there was no heart rate source. Also, when the site tried to start GymKit from iPhone with an Apple Watch on, it was pointed back to the Workout app on Apple Watch.

However, the setup of using an iPhone to connect to a GymKit machine was reportedly simple, with a quick tap like Apple Watch requires. That was followed by the selection of Indoor Run or Indoor Walk when connecting to a treadmill.

Apple notes during setup: “After the workout, data is stored privately and securely on iPhone and removed from the equipment.”

Remember, you will need a GymKit-compatible machine at the gym, a supporting iPhone and Apple AirPods Pro 3 with the heart rate permission turned on in settings. You’ll also need to be running iOS 27, which for now, is beta only.

However, this is all very promising for those who don't have an Apple Watch or have left theirs at home.

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Britta is a freelance technology journalist who has been writing about tech for over a decade. She's covered all consumer tech from phones, tablets and wearables to smart home and beauty tech, with everything in between. She has a fashion journalism degree from London College of Fashion and previously did a long stint as deputy editor of Pocket-lint, but you’ll now find her byline on several titles including GQ, the Express, the Mirror, TechRadar, Stuff and iMore. You'll never find her without her Apple Watch on, aiming to complete her rings so she can justify the extra bar of chocolate and she loves a good iPhone trick.