There are plenty of pedometer and step counter apps in the world, but this new app has a fun twist. Walkstar, which launched Tuesday in the App Store, enhances your workout by syncing your tunes with your movement. The moment you pause, the music fades away, making it a perfect motivator for those looking to maintain an active lifestyle.
When you start walking or running for at least 10 seconds, the music begins to play. If the app detects that you’ve stopped moving, the music will also stop. It will resume playing once you start moving again.
The app was created by Greg Gardner, who previously developed Launcher, the app-launching widget that allows iPhone users to launch an app, perform an action, or access a website with one tap.
Gardner shared with TechCrunch that he got the idea for Walkstar after observing someone online who combined an old Sony Walkman with a pedometer. This allowed the device to play music only while the user was walking. (Unfortunately, we were unable to locate the original post.)
“I thought that was really clever and realized that the same thing could probably be accomplished with an iPhone app and that it could be a really nice motivational tool to encourage people to walk more,” Gardner said.
One particularly fun aspect of Walkstar is its retro-style interface, which transforms your phone into a colorful portable cassette player, reminiscent of an old-school Walkman. A nostalgic touch is added with a sound tape hiss that plays when the music starts.
Other neat features include Game Center integration to view leaderboards and achievements. There’s also a Live Activity widget for tracking step count and distance, as well as Shortcuts integration for starting and stopping walking sessions, among other features.
The app is available to download for free, but there’s also a Premium subscription if you want to customize the app with colorful app icons and cassette tape covers. Additionally, Premium members can view analytics, including their overall step count and walking history.
In the future, Gardner plans to introduce more features that will enable people to share their progress and compete with friends. If the app gains sufficient popularity, he may also consider developing an Android version.
It’s important to note that Walkstar is currently only compatible with Apple services, including Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple Books, and iTunes. Users can also listen to music that they manually load onto their devices via the Apple Music app.
Gardner is exploring the possibility of adding more music-streaming integrations, with Spotify being the first target. A test version featuring Spotify is currently under review in the App Store.
“Hopefully, it gets approved in the next few months,” Gardner stated.
