Fitness+, iPhone, iPad, no watch, no sync

So now that Fitness+ is available on the iPhone & iPad without requiring an Apple Watch I thought I’d give it a try. I fired up a workout on the iPad because I couldn’t follow a teeny tiny instructor on the iPhone. I read that workout history is supposed to appear in the iPhone’s fitness app under “Workouts” but my iPhone isn’t showing workout info just the usual steps, calories, floors, etc. It is, however, showing awards for my first workouts just not the workouts themselves.

I had a hunch and tried playing a workout on my iPhone. When it finished the workout section appeared on the iPhone as I guessed it would. It did not, however, show the iPad workouts showing that it’s a sync rather than a display issue.

I tried the same experiment on my wife’s iPad and the same thing almost happened. I saw the award but no workout on her iPhone. After viewing the activity on her Apple Watch the workout appeared on her iPhone. I don’t know if it was just time or the act of viewing it on her watch that made it appear on her iPhone. In either case it appears that having a watch is needed to have the iPad and iPhone sync workouts.

Is a Watch expected to be required for iPad workouts to get synchronized to Fitness on an iPhone? Is there some magic that I haven’t discovered other than playing the same workout on both devices that will allow the iPhone to see the iPad’s workout?

Oh and this is on an iPad Pro (M1) and iPhone 14 Pro both on 16.2.