Strava today released a new free mobile app for iPhone and Android that incorporates many social elements — such as comments, kudos and Instagram photo linking — that users will recognize from the full website version. The company has also done away with separate Strava Ride and Strava Run apps, in favor of simply Strava, where users can toggle between activities.
Alex Mather, VP of product management and user experience, told BikeRadar that there are five new things to note in the mobile app.
1. Full social experience on mobile. "Where our website has been focused on commenting, kudo’ing and sharing Instagram photos, our mobile app has been behind," Mather said. "We are bringing all of that to the mobile experience. It's now really quick to add comments, and there is a beautiful presentation of Instagram photos, which are shown in the feed." Also, much like on the website, the app now matches activities to those from anyone you have ridden or run with. "We are bringing the app to the point we are hapy with it from a social perspective. The app has been a great way to track rides, but now the social elements are there for when you’re on the bus or in a grocery-store line; you can follow your friends and get fired up to ride." In January 2013 Strava launched the Instagram linking feature, where any Instagram pics taken during a ride or run will show up on their Strava account for that activity. There have since been more than a million Instagram photos synched with Strava, the company claims.
2. Five more languages. Strava is now available in 11 languages. The new languages are Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Chinese. "We are opening it up to 400 million more people," Mather said. "That is realy exciting for us."
3. Strava Ride and Run are now just Strava. Users who already have the cycling app will see a prompt to update it, while users of the Run app will be prompted to upload the new Strava. The experience will still be sport-specific, but athletes who run and ride will be able to toggle between the two from within the single app, instead of having two separate apps. If you are already a Strava user, the new app will automatically be set to your sport of preference.
4. Gear selector for bikes and shoes. On the website, Strava users have been able to associate rides or runs to a given bike or pair of shoes. Now that can be done from the app.
5. Audio feedback on real-time segments. While four elements above are available for free, audio feedback during segments — routes marked by Strava for recording times and comparing to that of others' – is a 'Premium' feature available for a subscription. With this, users will be notified (while wearing an ear bud or headphones) at three points: when they have started a segment that they have previously marked with a star as a favorite, when they are halfway through, and when they have completed the segment.
The new Strava app is available for update on users' iPhones now, and available for download in the iTunes App Store. The Android version will be available soon for update and download on Google Play.
