Apple introduced its Fitness+ workout app that offers 10 types of workouts and is designed around the Apple Watch, the company announced on Sept. 15.
The company also shared that its Apple Watch Series 6 includes a blood oxygen feature that offers users more insight into their overall wellness.
Users can access studio-style workouts delivered by trainers and underscored by music. Their metrics collected by their Apple Watch and Apple Fitness+ app can be viewed on their iPhone, iPad or Apple TV.
“With diverse studio workouts that are suitable for all ability levels, led by a phenomenal group of unique trainers, and an approachable program designed for beginners all the way through to the fitness enthusiast — as well as the flexibility to work out anywhere — there’s something for everyone,” Jay Blahnik, Apple’s senior director of fitness for health technologies, said in a media release. “We know Fitness+ will take working out with Apple Watch to the next level with unparalleled engagement, convenience, and inspiration.”
Apple Fitness+ delivers personalized recommendations to help customers quickly get to their next workout and uses Apple Watch to provide an engaging, immersive experience to help them stay motivated throughout.
Using a custom recommendation engine, Fitness+ considers previously completed workouts and intelligently suggests new options that match the workouts users select most often or something fresh to balance their current routine. Customers can also use an intuitive filtering tool to choose what is most important to them when looking for a workout, whether it’s the workout type, the trainer, the duration or the music. For Apple Music subscribers, favorite music from Fitness+ workouts can also be saved and listened to later, whether in a workout or otherwise.
Apple Fitness+ will launch with the most popular workout types including cycling, treadmill, rowing, HIIT, strength, yoga, dance, core and mindful cooldown. Each workout is accompanied by music curated by the trainers. Each week, the team of Fitness+ trainers will deliver fresh workouts from the studio across a range of lengths, disciplines and music genres.
An Absolute Beginner program built into Fitness+ will help coach the basics of movement and exercise, and will give customers an option to prepare for studio workouts.
Customers can use any brand of equipment with Fitness+, and many workouts can be done with no equipment at all or just a set of dumbbells. For those who start a treadmill session with Fitness+ on Apple GymKit-enabled machines, the workout will prompt customers to tap to connect their Apple Watch so metrics are in sync.
Fitness+ will be available to Apple Watch customers as a subscription service before the end of 2020 for $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year.
Apple Watch
The Apple Watch Series 6 expands the health capabilities of previous Apple Watch models with a feature that measures the oxygen saturation of the user’s blood, so they can better understand their overall fitness and wellness. Oxygen saturation, or SpO2, represents the percentage of oxygen being carried by red blood cells from the lungs to the rest of the body, and indicates how well this oxygenated blood is being delivered throughout the body.
The Apple Watch Series 6 also delivers several hardware improvements, including a faster S6 System in Package (SiP) and next-generation always-on altimeter, along with its most colorful lineup yet, featuring new case finishes and bands. watchOS 7 brings Family Setup, sleep tracking, automatic handwashing detection, new workout types, and the ability to curate and share watch faces.