Strava updates mobile app with an improved activity feed

Strava have updated their mobile app combining the previously separate cycling and running apps into one. They've also improved the activity feed, as well as making it easier to give kudos, comment and integrate Instagram photos. 

Some of the new features include displaying linked Instagram photos within the activity feed. Strava says over a million Instagram photos have been shared through the app since they added the feature in January 2013, so sharing photos is clearly becoming an integral component of recording a ride, along with the usual speed and distance metrics.

It’s now easier to comment and give kudos, with one-tap icons, bringing some of the popular commenting from the website to the app. Activities involving more than one member are now grouped, useful for club rides or races. There are also one-tap icons to make it easier to share a ride through social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Strava is becoming ever more prevalent as a tool for tracking cycle rides, and a huge number use the freely available app, either on Android or Apple smartphones. Adding the extra layers of features such as Instagram have been key to its continued growth, adding more interactivity and improving the user interface also critical too. And showing its worldwide appeal, the app is now in 11 languages with the addition of Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Traditional Chinese.

"Our mission is to motivate athletes all over the world," said Alex Mather, vice president of product and user experience at Strava. "This latest mobile app brings Strava's unique social experience like beautiful maps, Instagram photos, and lots more to runners and cyclists everywhere."

If you’re a premium member, the app now features better real-time notifications which can deliver audio updates before, during and after segments so you you know when you’ve passed the beginning of a segment. It costs $6 USD per month or $59 per year to go premium. 

Another new feature now offered with the updated app is the ability to select your bike. It’s something you could previously only do through the website. but is now offered in the app, making it easier to allocate an activity to each bike. 

The new app, version 4.0, is now available through the App Store and Google Play. More at www.strava.com