Spoken Audio Cues
Splits and zones, spoken on-device.
The watch can speak your splits, “one kilometre, five minutes twelve”, along with time milestones, zone crossings, and interval boundaries. Everything is generated on-device, so nothing is sent to a cloud text-to-speech service.
Voices are available in English and German, the cues are fully configurable, and audio ducks like Siri so it respects whatever you’re listening to. It’s off by default, turn it on only if you want it. And the configuration is per sport when you want it to be: every workout type can follow your global default, carry a complete cue setup of its own, or stay off entirely, so runs can talk while pool swims stay silent.
Silent Mode is respected too: cues stay quiet unless you opt in with the “Play sounds in Silent Mode” setting, and a speaker toggle on the watch actions page overrides either choice for just the current workout.
Everything is off by default. Enable exactly the cue families you want: distance milestones (every kilometre or mile), time milestones (every 5 or 10 minutes), heart-rate zone crossings, interval boundaries, and route events. Then override per sport where the default doesn’t fit: any workout type can carry its own complete cue setup, or switch off, while the rest follow the global settings.
Cues are spoken by the watch itself, on-device synthesis in English or German, phrased like a coach: “1 kilometre in 5 minutes 12 seconds.”
Route navigation adds its voice when you follow a route: “Off route”, “Back on route”, and waypoint names on arrival, the haptics fire regardless, the voice is the optional layer.
A speaker toggle on the watch actions page silences or enables cues for just the current workout, and a separate setting decides whether cues may sound in Silent Mode.
Do audio cues need a connection?
No. The voice is synthesised on the watch itself, no cloud text-to-speech, no network, no account. It works in airplane mode on a mountain.
Can I get a nicer voice?
Yes, install an enhanced voice in the watch’s accessibility settings and Runara picks it up automatically, the cues use whatever system voice your watch prefers.
What happens to my music when a cue speaks?
The cue ducks your audio the way Siri does, music dips, the split is spoken, music comes back. No pausing, no interruption of the workout playlist’s momentum.
Will the watch speak out loud in a quiet gym?
Not unless you say so twice: cues respect Silent Mode by default, and the per-workout speaker toggle can mute them for one session. Haptics carry the essentials either way.
The map that grew a third dimension
Runara now draws its own trail maps from OpenStreetMap data and replays your runs through real 3D terrain and buildings, all rendered on your iPhone. How a privacy-first app ended up with its own planet.
→The parrot and the trophy room
I closed the build log ten days ago, then shipped v1.1 anyway: a mascot that was hiding in the app name all along, eighty trophies, and a new AI model in the co-author line.
→Coaching on the wrist
Structured interval plans and a voice that actually speaks German, built while I was using the intervals myself to chase some speed back.
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