Turn an Apple Watch workout into a 3D video

Your watch records the route of an outdoor walk, run, hike or ride, but Apple doesn’t give you a button to save it as a GPX file. There are two free ways round that, and both are below. Once you have the file, the film is free and takes a few minutes to set up.

Get the route out of the Health app

This way needs no other app. It exports everything in Health at once, so it can take a few minutes and the file can be big.

Health app › Your picture › Export All Health Data › workout-routes

On your iPhone, open the Health app, tap Summary, then your picture or initials at the top.
Tap Export All Health Data and save the file to Files, or AirDrop it to a Mac.
Open export.zip. Inside the apple_health_export folder, the workout-routes folder has one GPX file for each outdoor workout, named by date.

The other way is Strava. Connect Apple Health in the Strava app’s settings, and new Apple Watch workouts appear in Strava. Then export the GPX from strava.com.
Only workouts with GPS have a route. Indoor workouts won’t be in the folder.
Some App Store apps can save a single workout from Health as a GPX. We haven’t tried them, so we don’t name one.

The Fitness app map or a film

The Fitness app shows your route as a flat line coloured by pace, which is useful for training. It doesn’t make a video. A Pebbls film flies over the route in 3D and stops where you took your photos, and you save it as a video to post or send.

Tips for a better film from your Apple Watch

Find the right file by date

The files in workout-routes are named by date, not by sport. Open the one from the day you want and check the route on the map.

Your iPhone photos

Add a moment at each place that mattered and pick its photos straight from your camera roll.

Two workouts, one day

If you stopped for lunch and started a new workout for the way back, make the film of the longer half, or draw the whole day on the map.

Strava for next time

If you connect Strava now, every workout after that is one GPX export away.

Three steps, a few minutes

Add your route

Upload a GPX from your watch, bike computer or app, or trace it on the map. It follows roads and paths, or goes straight across water.

Add moments

A name, a line or two and up to three photos at each place that mattered. The film slows down and shows them.

Get your film

We make it and email you the link. Download it, post it, send it to everyone who came along.

Questions

Can I export a GPX file from my Apple Watch?

Not with one button. In the Health app, Export All Health Data puts every outdoor workout route in a folder of GPX files. Connecting Strava also works, as Strava lets you download a GPX of each activity from its website.

Do I need my watch to make the film?

No. Once the GPX is on your phone or computer, upload it in any browser.

Will indoor workouts work?

No. Without GPS there’s no route to fly along.

Can I add photos from my iPhone?

Yes. Add a moment at each place that mattered and choose up to three photos for it.

Make a 3D video from