Apple Watch
How to make the Apple Watch Move goal track steps instead of calories
Short answer: you can't. In watchOS 27 and iOS 27 the Move ring counts active calories, and Apple documents no setting that lets an adult make it count steps. The closest you can get is to set the Move goal to what an ordinary walking day burns, keep your step count in view, and track a real step goal in a separate app.
Most answers to this question live in forum threads written for older versions of watchOS. This page is checked against Apple's own support pages for watchOS 27 and iOS 27 as of 30 September 2026, including the part Apple does not let you do.
Can you change the Move goal to steps instead of calories?
No. Apple's watchOS 27 user guide says the red Move ring shows how many active calories you have burned. Apple's goal settings, on Apple Watch and in the iPhone Fitness app, change only the target number. Apple documents no setting that lets an adult switch the Move ring from calories to steps.
The one exception is a family-managed watch: Apple says family members under 13 on Apple Watch For Your Kids can use move minutes instead of active calories. Move minutes measure time, not steps. Neither 27 release changes what the Move ring measures, and why a calorie ring is harder to live with has its own page.
How do you change the Move goal?
Apple lets you change the Move goal on Apple Watch or in the iPhone Fitness app, either for today only or as a daily goal that can differ by day of the week. Apple Watch also suggests new goals each Monday, based on the previous week. Here are the steps on Apple Watch with watchOS 27.
- Open the ringIn the Activity app, turn the Digital Crown to a ring, then tap the Change Goals button.
- Choose today or every dayTap Change for Today, or Change Daily Goal. For a different goal on each weekday, tap the Goal Type button in the top-right corner, then tap Schedule.
- Save itTap the minus or plus button, then tap Set or Set Schedule.
In the iPhone Fitness app on iOS 27, tap the Activity rings, then the Edit Goal button next to the Move ring, and choose Adjust Goal for Today or Change Daily Goal. The Schedule button inside Change Daily Goal sets weekday goals.
How do you make the Move goal behave more like a step goal?
Calibrate it. The Move ring does not count steps, but you can set its target to roughly what an ordinary walking day burns, so the ring tends to close on the days you hit your step number. This is the closest Apple's own settings get, and it takes about a week of looking.
- Pick the step numberChoose what an ordinary day should reach. What is a good step goal? covers the research.
- Watch a normal weekEach evening, turn the Digital Crown in the Activity app on Apple Watch to see your Move total and total steps. Note the calories on days near your step number.
- Set the Move goal to the low endUse the lowest of those figures as your daily Move goal. The ring still counts calories, so a gym session with few steps can close it and an easy stroll can leave it open.
Where can you see your step count on Apple Watch and iPhone?
Apple shows steps in several places, and none of them is a ring. On any Apple Watch, the Activity app lists total steps below the rings. watchOS 27 adds a Steps complication, but only on Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. On iPhone, the Fitness and Health apps both show steps.
- Fitness app, iPhone. The Summary tab has a Step Count area.
- Health app, iPhone. Tap Summary, tap Edit next to Pinned, then pin Steps.
- Fitness widget. Apple's iOS 27 guide says the widget tracks daily activity on the Home Screen or Lock Screen, but not whether it shows steps.
Can Shortcuts give you a step goal reminder?
Partly. Apple's Shortcuts guide for iOS 27 lists automation triggers for things like time of day, alarms, sleep, Apple Watch workouts, places, messages and device settings, but no trigger fires when you reach a step count. What you can build is a daily check that reads your steps at a set time.
The pieces are Find Health Samples to fetch your steps, an If action to compare them with your goal, Show Notification, and a Time of Day automation that Apple lets you set to run without asking. Apple documents each piece, not this exact recipe.
How do the workarounds compare?
Each workaround fixes a different part of the problem, and none turns the Move ring into a step counter. The table puts Apple's own options next to a third-party pedometer and our own app, with what each one cannot do written in the same plain terms for all of them.
| Option | What it gives you | What it cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Move goal set to a walking day's calories | A ring that closes on a normal walking day | The ring still counts calories, so exercise with few steps can close it. |
| Steps complication (watchOS 27) | A live step count on the watch face | Apple lists it for Series 12 and Ultra 4 only, and describes no goal for it. |
| Steps in Fitness and Health | Today's count and your history | Apple's guides describe no step goal in either app. |
| Shortcuts daily check | A nudge at a time you choose | The check runs at a set time, not when you reach your number, and you build it yourself. |
| Pedometer++ (third-party) | A custom step goal, widgets and watch complications | Pedometer++ sits beside the rings, and its iPhone-based workout tracking needs a premium subscription. |
| Chonky Corgo (ours) | A daily step goal you pick, turned into fights with a pixel monster | Chonky Corgo is a game, not a ring replacement: the Move ring still counts calories. Chonky Corgo shows signed-in adults a banner ad by default, which Settings can turn off, and sells Gem packs and a Chonky Club subscription. |
What do some people do instead?
Some people stop bending the Move ring and give steps their own place. Chonky Corgo: Walking RPG, which we make, reads your daily step count from Apple Health and does not read calories, workout history or weight. You pick a daily goal, and every 250 steps charges an attack on the day's pixel monster.
Chonky Corgo's Apple Watch app shows today's steps and goal progress, and it leaves the Move ring alone. The wider argument for giving steps a game instead of a ring is in walking apps that do not punish you for a quiet day.
What else do people ask?
Two follow-up questions that come up once people accept that the Move ring will stay a calorie ring. Both answers come from Apple's own watchOS 27 and iOS 27 documentation, and where Apple's pages are silent on something, the answer says so instead of filling the gap with forum guesses.
- Can I pause the rings instead of lowering the goal?
- Yes. Apple lets you pause Activity rings for up to 90 days without breaking your award streak. On Apple Watch, open Activity, tap the rings, then tap Pause Rings. In the iPhone Fitness app, tap the rings, scroll down, then tap Pause Rings. Resume Rings ends the pause.
- Why do Fitness and Health show different step counts?
- Apple's watchOS 27 page lists a fix among its general improvements: the step count in the Fitness app syncs with steps counted in the Health app. If the two disagree on an older version, updating to watchOS 27 is the change Apple describes.
