Back in August, Amazon announced the release of their fitness tracking app called Halo. Now, another member of the top five American technology stocks, or “FAANG” (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google), is jumping into the fitness space.
Apple announced in a press release on September 15th, that they will be launching “the first fitness experience built for Apple Watch” called “Fitness+”. It is a subscription service available to Apple users that aims to provide “studio-style workouts” for people of all fitness levels from any location.
It will connect to other Apple products — iPad, iPhone, or Apple TV — to show workout metrics, such as heart rate and calories burned, on screen with animations. The official trailer can be seen below courtesy of UrAverageTeen’s YouTube channel:
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Filtering and Workout Selection
Apple “Fitness+” uses a “custom recommendation engine” to suggest workouts based on an individual’s personal workout history within the service — i.e. if a user shows a pattern of a certain preferred type of workout, “Fitness+” will recommend workouts that are similar.
Apple has incorporated a filtering tool that can help users isolate a particular kind of workout they are seeking, which can later be saved to be performed again in the future. Filters include:
- Workout type
- Trainer
- Duration
- Music
Users will be able to share their activity with whomever they like as well as their social media channels. The service’s metrics will allow for users to track their progress over time.
Competition and Motivation
Apple’s press release make sure to note that this app is targeted for advanced athletes as well as beginners. Part of the motivational aspect is giving users access to an optional feature to enable competition called the “Burn Bar”. The “Burn Bar” will display how one user’s metrics compare to other users who recently performed the same workout. Users will be able to perform workouts both with and without equipment.
Thus far, Apple has announced 21 trainers who will be leading workouts on “Fitness+” on their Instagram page. Workouts can include a range of activities from cycling, running, dance, and high intensity interval training to strength training, rowing, and yoga.
The service does not yet have a launch date released, but will be available by the end of 2020 on the new Fitness app via iPhone.
Feature image via UrAverage Teen’s YouTube channel.