Cleaning Could Be the Next Fitness Trend as Brits Push for Watch Tracking

Apple launched its latest products this September, including three new watches: the Series 11, SE 3, and Ultra 3.

The Series 11 offers the most advanced health tracking yet, with features like detailed sleep scores, the ability to detect signs of chronic high blood pressure, and even send hypertension alerts.

But one feature is still missing, and it’s one that users are asking for.

A new study from Shark reveals that 1 in 3 (31%) people want cleaning to be recognised as an official activity on sports watches, yet the update hasn’t addressed it.

Thousands of TikTok users share frustration over missing feature

On TikTok, thousands of cleaning videos have been posted, with creators sharing their routines. A common frustration keeps appearing: cleaning isn’t recognised as an official exercise on sports watches.

One tutorial with 96.3k likes sparked more curiosity about how the activity was tracked on an Apple Watch than the cleaning itself, with comments asking, “Which exercise did you choose?” and “What workout did you pick to record your cleaning?”.

So, what are users selecting instead, and why is this much-requested feature still missing from the market?

What is available on the wearable tech market to track cleaning?

As of the latest Apple Watch update, users who would like to record their activity when cleaning will need to select the ‘other’ option to track any movement and calories burned. However, this option does not assure complete accuracy. 

The main reason cleaning is not found on watches is due to how much the task varies. Cleaning can be anything from vacuuming to cleaning tiles and window cleaning, making it challenging for watch manufacturers to offer a feature that could accurately track housework.  

Why do UK adults want to track their cleaning?

In a new survey from Shark, 31% of adults said they’d like cleaning to be introduced as an exercise feature. The survey also found that 67% enjoy cleaning, seeing it as a way to move their body while ticking off household tasks.

This shift, from viewing cleaning as boring and mundane to seeing it as an active, enjoyable form of movement, is what many hope will encourage sports watches to recognise it as a standard exercise.

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