Apple's Fitness Technologies Director Jay Blahnik Talks Fitness+ Ahead of Launch

Apple Fitness+ is set to launch on December 14, and ahead of its debut, Apple's senior director of fitness technologies Jay Blahnik did an interview with WSJ. Magazine to answer some questions about Apple's newest streaming service.

applefitnesswatchandiphone
Though now is an excellent time for a home workout program, Apple has been developing Fitness+ for more than five years. Apple has recruited a total of 21 trainers after an "intensive search" where "no gym was too gritty to visit." Fitness+ syncs the Apple Watch to the Apple TV, iPad, or iPhone so you can see progress, including relative to others. "Metrics is motivation," said Blahnik of the feature.

The metrics react to the things the trainer says and the things that you do. We believe that makes it much more immersive than simply following content that's available anywhere else.

Apple Fitness+ has a robust recommendation engine to suggest workouts to people. "We always say: it shouldn't take 20 minutes to find a 20 minute workout," said Blahnik. Fitness+ suggestions will work based on the workouts that you've done, with some gentle encouragement to try other workout types.

The service is meant to be "equipment agnostic." Many of the workouts can be done with no equipment, and others, such as cycling, will work with existing equipment from many brands. It's also designed for users of all levels.

We love the fact that [Fitness+] is integrated with Apple Watch. It's really inclusive. We put music at the center to motivate a wide variety of people. We've made it really easy to find your next workout, whether you're a beginner or not, and allowed you to use it across all your screens. We treat all areas that we get engaged with as marathons, not sprints.

Apple Fitness+ will come with a three month free trial for anyone who purchased an Apple Watch Series 6, Series 3, or SE after the September 15 launch of those devices. The service will be accessible through the Fitness app on ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, and ‌Apple TV‌.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 With Apple's Own 5G Modem 'Confirmed' to Launch in March

Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
airtag purple

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year With These New Features

Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development. Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag. Timing Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Magic Mouse Next to Keyboard

No, Apple CEO Tim Cook Didn't Say He Prefers Logitech's MX Master 3 Over the Magic Mouse

Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false. The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

Apple Releases iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 With Security Fixes

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
at t turbo indicator iphone 16 pro max v0 8hrh7w5f3w1e1

AT&T Turbo Indicator Showing Up in iPhone Status Bar for Subscribers

Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence. Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476 The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever

Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick. "We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote. If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
bug security vulnerability issue fix larry

Make Sure to Update: iOS 18.1.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 Fix Actively Exploited Vulnerabilities

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices. With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...

Top Rated Comments

contacos Avatar
52 months ago
Since our lockdown is never going to end, I might give this a chance. I am getting bored of my life. I am pretty much stuck in Groundhog Day. Perfectly timed
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coolfactor Avatar
52 months ago

I guess they have completely toppes out out on ideas to advance hardware. Because otherwise this is a non starter. Way off track for core business. Here just make good hardware and get the hell out the way.

What next? Apple juice brand ?
Apple is about experience and lifestyle. They are about their customers having the best possible experience, not just about selling products. There's a notable difference there.

Dell will sell you their crappy computers running Windows. They don't care how bad Windows is... they just want to sell hardware and then move onto the next customer.

Apple is a hardware+software company in order to deliver the best possible experience. Fitness+ is exactly that, so it's very much core to their business.

We can all agree that the world needs every push to encourage more fitness that it can get, right? If you think about it, Apple is merely course-correcting a world that they helped to create. The explosion in popularity of digital devices has created a world where too many people live behind their screens all day long. That's not good for health. So they have a responsibility to transform that world to a healthier one. Fitness+ is an effort to do that.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
btrach144 Avatar
52 months ago

I hate Peloton.
Just got the bike+ and love the GymKit integration. Peloton is awesome!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
52 months ago
Good on Apple for giving people another venue to work out. I hope it helps a lot of people.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jrath1 Avatar
52 months ago
Can two family members with apple watch's do a workout together?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
clcnyc Avatar
52 months ago
This is very exciting to me. I was an avid gym goer until March, and there’s no way in hell I’ll step foot in a Petri dish gym until who knows when, so this is very welcome. Hopefully I’ll be able to ditch my daily burn and Fitbod subscriptions for this!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)