iOS 27 brings GymKit to iPhone. Apple’s iOS 27 page says an iPhone can “connect to compatible cardio gym equipment like treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, and stair-steppers,” with AirPods Pro 3 supplying heart rate during the workout.
Apple lists it among the iPhone’s own health and fitness changes rather than under Apple Watch, which is the notable part: the phone is the device doing the connecting. Apple’s watchOS 27 notes mention GymKit workouts separately, for the AirPods Pro 3 heart-rate sync.
Key facts: GymKit on iPhone
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Connects iPhone to compatible cardio gym equipment | Apple’s iOS 27 page |
| Equipment Apple names | Treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, stair-steppers | Apple’s iOS 27 page |
| Heart rate option | AirPods Pro 3 heart-rate tracking during workouts | Apple’s iOS 27 page |
| Apple Watch required | No, Apple lists it as an iPhone feature | Apple’s iOS 27 page |
| Software | iOS 27, Monday, September 14, 2026, free | Apple’s iOS 27 page |
| iPhone compatibility | iOS 27 supports iPhone 11 and later plus iPhone SE (2nd generation and later) | Apple’s iOS 27 page |
| Apple Intelligence needed | Not listed as an Apple Intelligence feature | Apple’s iOS 27 page |
| Watch side | watchOS 27 also syncs AirPods Pro 3 heart rate in GymKit workouts | Apple’s June announcement |
What the feature actually adds
Apple’s description is short and covers two things: the iPhone connects to compatible cardio equipment, and AirPods Pro 3 can track heart rate during the workout. Apple does not say which data the machine and the phone exchange, or how the two are paired.
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The audience is easier to name. Anyone who works out on gym cardio machines without an Apple Watch has had no way to link the equipment to their iPhone, and Apple’s line puts that squarely on the phone.
It is also a second option for people who do own a watch and leave it in a locker, or who prefer to prop the phone on the console and follow along there. Apple has not said whether a paired watch and an iPhone can connect to the same machine, or which one takes priority if both are present.
Apple has also not published a list of compatible machine brands or models, so gym-by-gym results are unknown until the update ships. The word Apple uses is compatible, which puts the requirement on the equipment as much as on the phone.
Nor has Apple said what happens to the workout afterward. It lists GymKit alongside the Health and Fitness changes in iOS 27, including Cycle Tracking’s new perimenopause notifications, but it does not name the app that shows a finished session.
iPhone and Apple Watch sides compared
| iOS 27 on iPhone | watchOS 27 on Apple Watch | |
|---|---|---|
| Connect to gym equipment | New: treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, stair-steppers | GymKit continues; Apple has not published a new equipment list |
| AirPods Pro 3 heart rate | Yes | Yes |
| Needs the other device | No, per Apple’s iOS 27 page | Apple has not said an iPhone is required for a GymKit workout |
| Release | September 14, 2026 | September 14, 2026 |
Both updates ship the same day, and both are free. Our Apple Watch Series 12 launch guide covers the rest of the health changes on the watch side.
Heart rate: AirPods Pro 3 is the model Apple named
Apple’s iOS 27 page pairs GymKit on iPhone with AirPods Pro 3 heart-rate tracking, and Apple’s June notes repeat that AirPods Pro 3 heart rate syncs into GymKit workouts on watchOS 27. That is the only heart-rate source Apple attaches to the feature in writing.
AirPods 5, announced this week at $129 and $149, are not named for heart rate anywhere in Apple’s materials. What they do add in iOS 27 is Custom EQ for adjusting lows, mids and highs, along with hands-free Siri AI, head gestures and Live Translation, as covered in our AirPods 5 launch guide.
Why there is no step-by-step guide yet
Apple has not published a support article with steps for GymKit on iPhone. Apple Support’s published fitness and workout instructions are still the current iOS 26 and watchOS 26 guides, which describe the Apple Watch flow, not the iPhone one.
So treat any pairing procedure you read today as the shipping software’s behavior rather than the new feature’s. The on-screen flow, the app it lives in and the wording may all differ once iOS 27 arrives on September 14.
What Apple has not said
- Which gym equipment brands or models are compatible with the iPhone version.
- How the iPhone pairs with a machine, or whether it uses the same reader as Apple Watch.
- Which app shows the workout, or whether the session lands in Fitness, Health or both.
- Whether older iPhones on the iOS 27 compatibility list get the feature, or whether newer hardware is required.
- Whether any heart-rate source other than AirPods Pro 3 works, including AirPods 5.
- Whether the feature is limited by country or language.
iOS 27 is free and arrives on Monday, September 14 for iPhone 11 and later, including iPhone SE (2nd generation and later). For the phones that ship with it, see our iPhone 18 Pro launch guide, and our iOS 27 release day guide tracks every other feature in the update.
