Strava just released its annual “Year in Sports: 2024 Trends Report,” revealing that the Apple Watch is on top, beating out even the highest Garmin watches in terms of recognition.
Every 12 months, Strava pulls data from its platform and surveys users to bring us the highlights for 2024, and the outcomes are as interesting as ever.
It tells us which of the perfect trainers are hottest underfoot, which smartwatches are hottest, and which sports and trends are hot.
Strava in numbers for 2024
So what are the headlines relating to Strava’s 2024 by the numbers?
Starting with the social elements, the platform says Strava is seeing an enormous increase (59%) in group activities, including more activities where people stop, calm down or have a coffee. Breaks and rest days are also becoming more common – marathon participants don’t record any running files in 60% of the times preceding the marathon.
But here at TechRadar, our focus is on the hardware. The primary running shoe on Strava is the Nike Pegasus, while our primary pick for best trainers, the Nike Vaporfly Next%, was the primary racing shoe and the Nike Alphafly was the primary for marathons.
5K runners love the Apple Watch, but longer distances attract more Garmin users. Overall, the Apple Watch is the king of working devices. Number one was the Apple Watch series (devices just like the 10, 9, 8 series, etc.) and number two was the low cost Apple Watch SE. Number three is Garmin Forerunner 245.
Meanwhile, amongst cyclists, the three best devices were: Garmin Edge 530, Garmin Edge 830 and Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT V1.
Social barriers are also being eliminated. Strava claims that boomers and Gen
Strength training is the fastest-growing sport on Strava amongst women (up 25%), while the variety of men uploading yoga or pilates is up 15%.
Strava recently upset some fans with the massive news that it was making changes to its API that customers warn could seriously disrupt the app ecosystem built around Strava. The recent restrictions include changes to the best way data is processed, especially when it’s utilized by artificial intelligence.
In response to community backlash, Strava said it’s “steadfast” in its commitment to the app ecosystem it helped create, and says the changes will affect lower than 0.1% of all apps.
