Apple takes on Peloton with new Apple Fitness+ subscription

Apple today announced a new virtual fitness class service called Fitness+.

The studio-style workouts videos delivered by world-class trainers and underscored by motivating music from renowned artists would be offered via the iPhone, iPad or Apple TV and would be tracked via an Apple Watch Series 3 or later paired with iPhone 6s or later or iPhone SE.

The service would also integrate with Apple Music , offer a wide range of exercises and would make intelligent suggestions 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.

When a workout is selected and started on iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, the correct workout type will automatically start on Apple Watch. During the session, the metrics from Apple Watch are shown on the screen. For example, when the trainer says to check heart rate or begins a countdown timer, those numbers will animate on the screen. And for customers who like to push themselves with a little healthy competition, the optional Burn Bar shows how their current effort stacks up against anyone who has done the same workout previously.

Apple Fitness+ will launch with the most popular workout types including Cycling, Treadmill, Rowing, HIIT, Strength, Yoga, Dance, Core, and Mindful Cooldown, and each is accompanied by music thoughtfully 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 so there are always new workouts to explore.

An Absolute Beginner program built into Fitness+ will help coach the basics of movement and exercise, and 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.

At launch, Fitness+ features a team of celebrated, charismatic, and passionate trainers who are specialists in their fields, working as a collective team to design and create outstanding fitness content, and appearing in each other’s videos welcoming everyone into the experience.

The feature is set to cost $9.99 or $79.99 per year with a one-month free trial and would cover up to 5 family members. Three months of Apple Fitness+ are included for customers who purchase Apple Watch Series 3 or later, starting September 15, 2020.

Apple Fitness+ is included in the Apple One Premier plan, which, where available, also gives customers access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and 2TB of iCloud storage for $29.95 per month, and can be shared among up to six family members.

At launch, Apple Fitness+ will be available in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.

See Apple’s video explaining the service below: