I am a possible target market for Apple Fitness+, which launched last week and is not unlike Peloton’s app. I am not a full on Apple user and have a love/hate relationship with them. I have a PC desktop and Android phone, but use a MacBook Air and have a 3rd gen Apple TV (the previous version, I got it cheaper off eBay). Plus I’m really into fitness and do classes almost every day.
So when I heard about Apple Fitness+ I wondered if it would be worth the cost. It took me way too long to figure out what it is and what I would need to work it, which is true of most Apple add-ons. I really didn’t understand Apple TV and still don’t, but it works for me now that I bought a new MacBook Air and connected everything. (I didn’t buy the Macbook for that, my last one lasted seven years since I never updated the OS, and I figured it was time to replace it. They changed and reduced the USB ports though, which is asinine!)
You need an Apple Watch version 3 or above to workout with Apple Fitness +, which is $9.99 a month. The workouts can be run from anywhere with an Apple TV 4k (a newer model than I have), or through an app on your iPad or iPhone. You can see your heart rate and workout stats on the screen along with the song that’s playing. You can’t play your own music though.
There’s also something called a “burn bar” that compares your performance, as measured by your Apple Watch, with other people of your age group and gender in that same class. It sounds similar to Peloton’s “leaderboard” feature, and you can turn it off if you want. Like Peloton’s app, you can pick workouts based on instructor and type of fitness, and there are spin classes, strength, rowing (Peloton doesn’t have that), general cardio, and more.
I’m skeptical because Apple is always trying to make their sh-t proprietary to get people to spend more. However I watched a few review videos and want to try it out now. I’m not spending $199 for the cheapest Apple watch plus buying a new Apple TV to do that though. At least one review I saw said the classes weren’t that great either. For now they’re not selling me this but they got me to cover it, and that’s a start. Plus honestly I’m getting a little FOMO watching the commercials. That’s Apple’s branding though.
Photos are from the Instagram accounts of Apple Fitness plus instructors
I’m really glad I never got sucked into the Apple vortex.
Some of their stuff is better made than others. I had the old white MacBook in college, and that thing was a tank. But their quality has been going downhill since then IMO and they try really hard to lock you into their ecosystem.
I wrote so much more about that but I edited myself down because it was a rant. My 2013 Macbook air had a lightning port, 2 USB ports, a spot for an SD card and a charger. My 2020 Macbook air has 2 lightning ports, no USB ports, no SD card slot and no charger, you have to use one of the 2 lightning ports! WTF?! I switched to an Android phone when they got rid of the headphone jack. The last Macbook still works, which is why I bought a new one.
It’s definitely become a trend for them to “innovate” by taking things away and then upcharging users for the dongles and add-ons now needed to achieve the same functionality. It’s ridiculous.
We signed up for Apple One or whatever its called this month – where we are paying 30 dollars/month for Apple Music, icloud storage, apple tv plus, and apple fitness (and I think something else, I cant keep it all straight) for the whole family. Previously my husband and I were both paying for apple music and icloud storage separately, so we were paying about the same, but this gives us apple music for the whole family (my boys are getting ipads for Christmas so I think we’re going to end up saving money overall.)
All that to say – I have a second gen apple watch which means I cant use Fitness Plus and I’m really annoyed. I like my watch, it works perfectly well (I got it for Christmas in 2016 and 4 years later its still going strong) and I don’t really want to have to upgrade it just to use the fitness app. I really wish there was a way to at least preview apple fitness without having the newer watch.
Like I said we’re still saving money with Apple One, but I wish it had been clearer at the outset that you needed the newer watch.
I will guess that this will not take off because the market is so saturated. But who knows. People who have Apple watches seem to love them so maybe they will embrace this. I am an Apple person in that I’ve always only had their computers/laptops and phones but I’ve never ventured into their other stuff. The rest of my family does also use Apple TV.
But thanks to the Peloton discussion here last week I signed up and did my first strength class yesterday! My glutes are so sore I can barely walk, lol.
NOPE!! There are such great trainers sharing content for free on YouTube. I can almost guarantee the Apple trainers are subpar. Also the Nike app & classes sucked, lol. Corporate construction & flavoring will do that.
I have older generation iPhone because I can’t manage to operate an android phone. Other than that, I’m not drawn into their other products. They are all so expensive.
Eh…I’m semi Apple, have the watch, ipad phone and TV but windows based laptop because a MAC wasn’t in the budget when it came time to replace. For now, no interest in this, I’ve been pleased with the Peloton app and sticking with it.
Apple Fitness Plus has been a game changer for me. I’ve tried about 5 different trainers so far: all awesome. They have trainers of all shapes, sizes, races. The workouts are very high quality and varied, the selection is broad, the production is low-key. I feel like they’ve elevated this format: especially for those of us who track metrics. (for reference, I’ve been working out w/ Fitness Blender and Kaisafit for several years and also like them).
My roommate signed up for it so we’ve been doing some of the workouts together and I don’t remotely think it’s worth the money. You can’t sort the workouts by difficulty, so you’re kind of playing roulette every time you start a workout.
There’s also no way to leave feedback on videos. Also, these videos seem designed for the already in-shape person. Both my roommate and I are overweight and there were a lot of videos where we couldn’t do some of the exercises because we couldn’t figure out how to modify them to get the same stretch or muscle group activation, given our physical limitations. I honestly don’t think it’s worth the money.
I like my which iPhone which is several generations back. I have an expensive Mac from way back that I never use. I like my pc because we use that at work. I have the watch that I never use. My music is Spotify. So. Apple isnāt marketing to me at this point.