There is no ‘Tinder of running apps’ — is that a problem?
Bad design and/or missing features are common, Lauren Goode and Kara Swisher argue on Too Embarrassed to Ask.
There’s a huge number of apps out there aimed at helping you get in shape — but which one is right for you?
On the latest episode of Too Embarrassed to Ask, The Verge’s Lauren Goode and Recode’s Kara Swisher discussed why “none of them” may be an acceptable answer.
“What I’d like is for it to be as easy as Tinder,” Swisher said. “It should just be click-click-click.”
Instead, Swisher and Goode agreed, running apps today are often beset with confusing designs or missing features. Swisher vented that Nike used to have the best-in-class solution with Nike+ Running, but that an unpopular redesign earlier this year dragged it back into a pack of mediocrity.
“The new one is full of glitches,” Swisher said. “I’ve called Nike to complain many times and gotten all the way up the top. But they don’t seem to be fixing it or focusing on it.”
Later in the show, the duo shared fitness app recommendations from our readers and listeners and wondered if gamified experiences like Pokémon Go and Zombies, Run! are the solution.
“It is really funny, when you first start it,” Goode said of Zombies, Run!, which encourages users to pretend they’re escaping the zombie apocalypse. “There’s some [person with a] British accent in a helicopter being like, ‘Oh, hello! You’re going to be running from the zombies today! I hope you make it, mate!’”
Have questions about running apps that we didn’t get to in this episode? Or have another tech topic on your mind? You can tweet any questions, comments and complaints to @Recode with the hashtag #TooEmbarrassed. You can also email your questions to TooEmbarrassed@recode.net, in case Twitter isn’t your thing.
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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
