One Press, Full Update: Put "Announce My Run" on Your iPhone's Action Button

On newer iPhones, the little switch that used to toggle silent mode is now a button, and you can make it do almost anything. For runners there’s one obvious choice: press and hold, and hear exactly how your run is going.

With iRunning 1.2 you can put Announce my run on the Action Button. Mid-rep, phone in a pocket or belt, screen locked, you squeeze the button through the fabric and hear something like:

“1 minute 48 left in Run, heart rate 162, zone 4, pace 4:52 per kilometer, distance 2.4 kilometers.”

No unlocking, no looking down, no talking to Siri while you’re breathing hard.

Press and hold the Action Button and iRunning reads your stats out loud.

Which iPhones have an Action Button?

The Action Button replaced the ring/silent switch on the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, and it’s on the models that followed. If the left side of your iPhone has a small button above the volume buttons instead of a switch, you have one.

No Action Button? Skip to older iPhones. Back Tap gets you almost the same thing.

You’ll also need iOS 18 or later and iRunning 1.2 or later.

Set it up (about a minute)

There are two ways. Both do the same thing, so pick whichever you find first.

Option A: as a control (recommended)

1. Open the Settings app and tap Action Button.
2. Swipe sideways through the actions until you reach Controls.
3. Tap the control shown under the button illustration to choose one, then search for iRunning.
4. Pick Announce my run.

That’s it. You can leave Settings.

Option B: as a shortcut

1. Settings › Action Button, then swipe to Shortcut.
2. Tap Choose a Shortcut.
3. Scroll to the iRunning section (or search for it) and pick Announce my run.

Using it on a run

• Press and hold the Action Button, rather than just tapping. The hold is what stops it firing by accident.
• It works with the phone locked, including in a running belt, an armband, or a pocket.
• Your music keeps playing. It gets quieter while the update is spoken, then comes back (as long as Music ducking is on in Settings › Run experience).
• If you’re paused, the update starts with “Paused”, so you know the clock isn’t running.
• Outside a run, the button just tells you “No run in progress.” It won’t start anything by accident.

Make sure Voice cues are on (Settings › Run experience › Voice cues). The update is spoken by the same voice that calls your intervals, so if voice cues are off the button stays silent.

Choose what it says

The default update covers time left in the interval, heart rate and zone, pace, and distance. You can change it: go to Settings › Customise › Run screen › What to announce in iRunning.

Each field in the list becomes one part of the sentence, in the same order.

• Up to five items, in any order you like. Drag to reorder. Choose from time left, heart rate, pace, distance, total time, time to finish, average pace, zone, cadence, what’s up next, and elevation gain.
• Target band adds your target range after heart rate or pace, e.g. “target 155 to 168”.
• Up next tells you what’s coming, e.g. “next, recover jog, 1 minute 30.”
• The Sounds like preview shows the full sentence and roughly how long it takes to say. Shorter is better at speed.

Some example setups:

You’re running…	Try announcing
Intervals	Time left · Heart rate · Up next
A tempo run	Pace · Target band · Distance
Easy or zone 2	Heart rate · Zone · Total time
A race	Distance · Avg pace · Time to finish

Anything the app can’t measure yet, like heart rate without a Watch, is simply skipped. You won’t hear a gap or a “not available”.

“But I use the silent switch”

Fair. Putting iRunning on the Action Button means it no longer toggles silent mode. Two easy ways to keep it:

• Silent Mode in Control Center. Swipe down from the top-right corner and tap the Silent Mode control. If it isn’t there, tap + and add it.
• Switch back after your run. Settings › Action Button, swipe back to Silent Mode. Some runners flip it to iRunning only for race season.

No Action Button? Use Back Tap

Every iPhone that runs iOS 18 can run an action when you tap the back of the phone two or three times. It’s one extra step, because Back Tap needs a shortcut from the Shortcuts app:

1. Open Shortcuts, tap +, then Add Action, search for iRunning and choose Announce my run. Name it something like “Run update”.
2. Go to Settings › Accessibility › Touch › Back Tap.
3. Choose Double Tap or Triple Tap and select your Run update shortcut.

Triple Tap is harder to set off by accident while running.

More one-press spots

The same Announce my run control fits in a couple of other places:

• Control Center. Open Control Center, tap + in the top-left corner, choose Add a Control, and search for iRunning. There’s also a Start a run control that opens the app and starts your most recent workout.
• Lock Screen. Touch and hold the Lock Screen, tap Customize › Lock Screen, remove the flashlight or camera button, and add the iRunning control in its place.
• The Live Activity. While a run is going, the iRunning card on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island has a speaker button that does the same thing, plus pause and resume.

Every trigger speaks the same sentence, so you only set it up once.

And if you’d rather talk than press, every one of these works by voice too. See every Siri phrase iRunning understands.

Set it up once, and your next interval session gets a coach you can reach without opening your eyes.