Apple Fitness+, Apple’s $9.99-a-month subscription workout service built around Apple Watch, will launch December 14.
The service will launch with 10 workout types. These include High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), Strength, Yoga, Dance, Core, Cycling, Treadmill (for running and walking), Rowing and Mindful Cooldown. The sessions are led by an elite team of fitness experts we profiled here.
“Being more active is one of the most important things we can do for our health, but we know choosing to work out can often be a challenge whether you’re very active or just getting started,” said Jay Blahnik, Apple’s senior director of fitness technologies, in a press release Tuesday. “We’re excited for Apple Fitness+ to bring together the metrics from Apple Watch, great music, and a diverse and inspiring trainer team — in a uniquely simple, easy-to-access way across Apple devices — to encourage our users to get fit and stay healthy.”
Apple Fitness+ is the latest addition to Cupertino’s increasingly substantial services slate. Available as a standalone service or as part of the company’s discounted Apple One subscription bundles, it takes on rivals like Peloton, without forcing users to buy specialized hardware beyond the core technologies Apple already offers. And with many gyms still shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it arrives at a seemingly opportune time.
Apple gets into the fitness market
Fitness+ isn’t just a collection of videos like a sweatier version of Apple TV+. Instead, Apple says the subscription service will “dynamically [integrate] personal metrics from Apple Watch to inspire users, animating them on the screen during key moments in the workout, providing an engaging and immersive experience to help users stay motivated. For example, when the trainer says to check heart rate, the heart rate metrics are spotlighted; during tough intervals, a countdown timer starts to help users get through to the last second; and when they close their Activity rings, a celebration happens right on the workout screen.”
It promises a range of smart features such as an optional Burn Bar, which shows how your efforts measure up to those of other users doing the same workout. Apple Fitness+ will add new workouts each week, recommendation systems for finding you the perfect workout, Activity Sharing, and more. It’s Apple’s attempt to muscle in on the subscription Pelaton market,.
Apple Fitness+ will cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 a year. You can get a further reduction with an Apple One subscription, although you’ll need to get the top-tier Premier package. It bundles Apple Fitness+ with Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+ and 2TB of iCloud storage, all for $29.95 per month.
