Walkr Review

Everyone could do with some extra motivation to go out and exercise, even during the summer months. Walkr will do precisely that, particularly for those younger iOS device users.

Walkr is part city building game, part pedometer. It allows you to build your own galaxy, increasing its population, and watching as things steadily grow, all thanks to your ability to walk around your local area.

It's an interesting idea with 'walking energy' fuelling your ship and allowing you to seek out new and colorful planets. Mostly everything can be upgradeable, further adding a little depth to the experience.

Despite the simple layout, Walkr is a little confusing early on with the tutorial throwing a lot of information your way, but a bit of experimentation soon solves any issues. Each new planet offers a wacky name and theme, and while you're solely offered a brief peek at it, it's still oddly satisfying to discover something new.

Besides the fun side of things, Walkr does a decent job of tracking the number of steps you've taken, as well as allowing you to consult such data later on. It'll even recommend a daily goal as a useful target to aim for.

The main issue with Walkr is its drain on your battery. Presumably on the iPhone 5s it's a more manageable experience, but on the iPhone 5 the battery life does take quite a hit while you're running the app. It can remain working in the background while you do other things, but don't expect your battery life to be anywhere near as good as usual.

In the end, that proves a little off-putting when you're out for any length of time but when planned accordingly, Walkr is an interesting enough twist on the typical pedometer format.