first gearDownload

Phone runs

Run by heart rate with your AirPods. No Watch needed.

First Gear is a heart-rate running coach for adults starting out. With AirPods Pro 3 or Powerbeats Pro 2, your earbuds read your heart rate, and your coach runs on your iPhone and tells you when to run and when to walk.

Your first session is free, with no subscription.

Now on Apple Watch and iPhone.

Start your first session freeFor Apple Watch, on the App Store

Needs an iPhone and Apple Watch Series 6 or newer, SE (2nd generation or newer), or Ultra. No Watch? Phone runs work with AirPods Pro 3 or Powerbeats Pro 2.

A pair of white AirPods Pro 3 earbuds on a black background.

Use the earbuds you already wear.

AirPods Pro 3 and Powerbeats Pro 2 measure heart rate in your ear and share it with an iPhone workout. First Gear reads it live, so you can start running by heart rate without buying a Watch.

Hear when to run and when to walk.

Lana or Cal speaks each cue in your ears, from your live heart rate. Keep your phone in your pocket. Every session starts with a walk, and there is no pace to hit.

Every run counts.

A phone run saves to Apple Health and your history, earns badges, and counts toward your next stage, the same as a Watch run.

Your earbuds check in before you run.

Before every phone run, First Gear looks for a live heart rate from your earbuds. Coaching starts only once it has a fresh reading, so your first cue is based on your heart, not a guess.

Phone runs need an iPhone with iOS 26 or later and work outdoors for now. Your iPhone runs the workout, so bring it with you.

See how the range and cues work

Have an Apple Watch too? Run with either.

With phone runs on and a Watch paired, Start run asks which device to use. On your Watch, it reads your heart rate and plays the cues, and your phone can stay home. On the days you would rather take your phone, your earbuds do the job.

Check device requirements

The bottom steps up. The top barely moves.

One example
  1. Stage 1: 102 to 132 bpm
  2. Stage 2: 107 to 132 bpm
  3. Stage 3: 115 to 135 bpm
  4. Stage 4: 123 to 138 bpm
  5. Stage 5: 126 to 138 bpm
  6. Stage 6: 128 to 138 bpm
  • In your range
  • Below it: your coach invites you to run
  • Near the top: your coach calls a walk
  • Over it: ease off
One example runner: age 52, with a resting heart rate of 59. Your range comes from your own age and resting heart rate, so your numbers will differ. The shape holds: as the bottom rises, a walk has less room before your coach invites you to run again.

Questions about running with AirPods.

More on running by heart rate.

See how it works.

The range, the six stages, and what your coach does in a session.

Hear Lana and Cal.

Try the real first-session samples and choose the voice you want in your ears.

Run by your heart range.

How First Gear sets your range and turns it into cues to run and walk.

Put in your earbuds. Your first run starts with a walk.

Download First Gear, let it find your heart rate, and set aside twenty minutes. Your first session is free, with no subscription.

Now on Apple Watch and iPhone.

Start your first session freeFor Apple Watch, on the App Store

Needs an iPhone and Apple Watch Series 6 or newer, SE (2nd generation or newer), or Ultra. No Watch? Phone runs work with AirPods Pro 3 or Powerbeats Pro 2.