Hello Florian, tell us about the app! Runtastic offers users a wide variety of health and fitness apps and we boast over 60 million downloads at present. However, the Runtastic app was our original app and remains our most popular app. The app tracks users’ activities utilizing GPS and additional technologies. The data is then synced with a user’s Runtastic.com account, where they can view their online training log, get detailed data analysis and engage in fun social sharing and competition. The app also works in perfect combination with our proprietary hardware products.
Florian Gschwandtner – CEO and Co-Founder
How is Runtastic different from similar apps or competitors? Runtastic has taken a different approach to our market space than many of our competitors. Not only are we confident that our apps offer users the very best in terms of quality, we also try to ensure that we have an app that will serve users well no matter what their activity of choice. We’ve already released more than 15 apps across various operating systems, introduced proprietary hardware (which is available online and in select retailers) and developed an incredible online platform and community on Runtastic.com. No one else in our space is taking such a holistic approach. Further, we plan to continue building the Runtastic Ecosystem in the months and years to come. We want to be the ultimate, comprehensive health and fitness tracking solution for everyone – from reformed couch potatoes to professional athletes – around the world.
Tell us more about the icon design and UI. We have a UX and Graphic Team and they take care of the user interface, as well of the app icon. As you can imagine, these teams are always working to keep on top of industry trends and optimize what we already have going. When it comes to the user experience, one can truly never become complacent. We know that users have a wealth of options when it comes to which health and fitness apps they’re using and we work hard to keep them loyal to the Runtastic brand.
What tools or communities helped you in creating the app? We’re proud to share that we do everything internally here at Runtastic. Of course, we use standard development tools and throughout the years we have relied more and more on user feedback when it comes to new developments and setting priorities. We are fortunate enough to have millions of global users, as well as select groups of “power users” that act as our unofficial testers. In combination with our Quality Assurance team, they help us see opportunities for improvement when it comes to feature sets, navigational flow and overall app experience.
We know that to be the best and maintain our position in the market, we need to be agile, quick and responsive. There’s no sense in bypassing opportunities just because they weren’t in the original plan!
What were you and the other folks doing before creating Runtastic? Easy answer! The founders – myself included – were students, many of our employees were also students or dabbling with their own “first professional job” experience and we do have a few more veteran folks on board, as well. We have an incredibly young and inspired team, and we really couldn’t be doing what we’re doing without their passion and dedication.
What are some of your other favorite or inspirational apps? Shazam for music recognition is always fun and easy to use. I also check various weather apps regularly to spot the perfect weather for a Runtastic running activity! And, as you likely know, Runtastic integrates with MyFitnessPal and they offer a super straightforward way for me to track my meals and calories.
Head over to the App Store or Google Play to download Runtastic. Also make sure to download Powerslyde on Google Play to access a custom collection of over a dozen great Runtastic apps!
