Stop searching for the beat
Every time I wanted to run at 180 spm, I’d go find an MP3. One day in the middle of that search, the thought landed: why isn’t this just in the app?
For a while, every time I wanted to run at 180 spm I’d go find an MP3. A metronome track, a playlist with the right BPM, anything I could use to keep my feet honest. It worked, but searching for a new one every time felt like a solved problem I kept re-solving.
One day in the middle of that search, the thought landed: why isn’t this just in the app?
A metronome, not a music player
Apex Run’s Cadence Metronome is a synthesized audio click — nothing fancy, just a clean tone that fires at the exact rate you set. BPM range is 100–220, defaulting to 170. The controls are deliberately simple: a large BPM number, ±1 buttons, a slider. Set it and run.
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What mattered most was getting the audio right. The metronome plays in the background with the screen locked, and it mixes with whatever you’re already listening to — music, podcasts, nothing — without interrupting it. The beat scheduling runs against the audio hardware clock, so timing stays accurate even when the app isn’t in the foreground.
It’s a free feature. No Pro gating. A metronome should just work.
On the lock screen too
In v1.5, a dedicated widget brings the metronome to the home screen and lock screen — current BPM target, start/stop control, no need to open the app. Set your cadence once, start it from your lock screen, go.
The MP3 folder on my phone is a lot less crowded now.
Originally published at https://www.apexrun.fit on April 1, 2026.
