Many people believe they need to buy an expensive Apple Watch or a dedicated fitness tracker (like a Fitbit) to count how many steps they take every day. In reality, if you carry an iPhone in your pocket or purse, it is already counting every single step you take using its built-in motion coprocessor. You just need to know where to look to find this data.
How to Find Your Step Count in the Health App
Apple includes a pre-installed app called Health on every iPhone. It acts as a central hub for all your medical and fitness data.
- Find the Health app on your iPhone. The icon is white with a small pink heart in the top right corner.
- Open the app. At the bottom of the screen, tap on the Browse tab.
- In the list of health categories, tap on Activity.
- Scroll down and tap on Steps.
Here, you will see a large graph displaying exactly how many steps you have taken today. You can tap the letters at the top of the graph (D, W, M, 6M, Y) to view your daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly averages. This is a great way to see if your overall activity level is increasing or decreasing over time.
How to Add Steps to Your Dashboard (Favorites)
If you want to check your steps every day, digging through those menus is annoying. You can “pin” your step count to the main summary screen so it is the very first thing you see when you open the Health app.
- Follow the steps above to get to the Steps page.
- Scroll all the way to the bottom of the Steps page.
- Tap the star icon next to Add to Favorites. The star will turn blue.
- Now, tap the Summary tab at the bottom left of your screen. Your step count will now be permanently pinned to your main dashboard!
Is the iPhone Accurate?
Your iPhone is incredibly accurate at counting steps, provided it is physically on your person. If you leave your phone on your desk while you walk around the office, it obviously cannot count those steps. If you want 100% accuracy throughout the day, that is when a wearable device like an Apple Watch becomes necessary, as it syncs its data directly into this same Health app.
Conclusion
Medical professionals often recommend walking 10,000 steps a day for cardiovascular health. Before buying a fitness tracker, check your iPhone’s Health app to see your current baseline—you might be surprised by how much (or how little) you are already moving!