Get on your…exercise board thing and strap an Apple Watch to your wrist because we’re about to do some fitness! That’s right, Apple announced last night that it’s making fitness easier for everyone that wants to pay them some money to subscribe to Apple Fitness Plus, a service designed by gym bunnies, for gym bunnies. While fitness features have been on the nearly every other Apple Watch released in the year’s prior, Fitness Plus is bigger and better in every way, said an Apple enthusiast on a forum at some point last night, I’m sure. Okay, maybe I’m being mean. I’m sure people who are already all in on Apple’s ecosystem of products and who care about their physical health will no doubt see the benefits of Fitness Plus. So let’s actually see what it’s all about.
Fitness Plus is Apple’s new subscription service that provides users with access to virtual fitness classes which sounds about as weird as you think it does. Bundled with Apple One, the company’s newly announced all-in-one subscription service, Fitness Plus will integrate with iPads, iPhones, the Apple TV and most importantly, the Apple Watch. Purchasing one of those fancy watches will net you three months access to Fitness Plus for free and after that you’ll need to pay $10 per month or a bulk sum of $80 for a year. So… what exactly does that get you?
Well, you’ll be able to watch and participate in those above-mentioned video workouts that will work in tandem with the Apple Watch to monitor your body while you work out. The work-outs will require minimal equipment beyond maybe a set of dumbbells and allow users to view and follow along whenever best suits them. There’ll be a range of work-out types to choose from, depending on what kind of exercise you’re wanting or how lazy you’re feeling. Treadmill, yoga, cycling, rowing, strength, core and HIIT are all included in Fitness Plus as well as a program for people who’re just starting out on their journey to being the next Batman.
Working with the Apple Watch, you’ll be able to accurately track stats like calories burnt or heart rate as they’re displayed on the watch face, which is pretty standard for most smart watches these days. The service also integrates with Apple Music so you’ll always have tunes to keep you fired up and your watch will offer up a detailed summary of your session when you’re done crunching… abs? That’s what you do with abs, right?
Unfortunately, if you want to get in on Fitness Plus but don’t want to fork over for an Apple Watch, you’re out of a luck. A Series 3 or newer Apple Watch is required to use Fitness Plus. Oh, and if you’re in any country outside of Canada, Ireland, the United States, Australia or the United Kingdom you’re out of even more luck because Fitness Plus is only launching there for the time being. Don’t worry, it’s expected to roll out to regions in time but whenever that will be is beyond any of us.
(Source: The Verge)
