Future of Apple Fitness+ 'Under Review'

[MacRumors]

The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue.

Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that makes it difficult for Apple to shut it down "without a backlash." The service is sufficiently inexpensive to operate that negative headlines would not be worth the saving.

Nevertheless, Gurman says the "future of Fitness+ is under review." He revealed that the service is to receive new management, with Apple health vice president Sumbul Desai taking control of the service. The health division, now including Apple Fitness+, will report directly to services chief Eddy Cue. The reorganization is likely to lead to added pressure to improve results.

Apple Fitness+ launched in 2020 as an ad-free video on demand guided workout streaming service. It costs $9.99 per month and is available as part of the Apple One Premier bundle.

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Article Link: Future of Apple Fitness+ 'Under Review'

 

[Asthmatic Kitty]

“High church”? Presume you mean churn.

 

[robinp]

I like it - more convenient and cheaper than gym. Definitely there could be improvements, but overall I think it is good

 

[Neonblue]

I love what Fitness+ offers and really enjoyed it in the past, but, another £9.99 subscription on top of everything else… I just can’t.

 

[cjsuk]

I know a hell of a lot of people with Apple Watches who do fitness stuff. None of them use this. I get the feeling there just isn't a market for it at all.

 

[zombierunner]

they've been offering me 3 free months with the new iphone, i want 3 free months of apple tv

 

[neuropsychguy]

My wife uses it all the time. I'm not sure we'd pay independently for it but as part of Apple One it gets tons of use in our household.

 

[ch1ptune]

It's a little too American for my taste. Very polished and a tad creepy how much they all smile during the workouts.

 

[tomtad]

Maybe try adding Mac support. It's bizarre I can't access this on my Apple device with the largest screen

 

[tech_enthusiast_]

I’m one of the loyal fans who would be sad if they shut it down. I like how easy it is to subscribe (versus yet another separate subscription, since I have the Apple One bundle with my family) and use across multiple devices.

 

[drock82]

I must be one of the few, wow, I use it all throughout the week! Never knew it had issues.. I love it!

 

[xander49x]

I am in a group that use apple fitness+ six days out of the week, I use it seven days. We get together on the AVP and do a range of exercise from yoga to station bike to walking on the treadmill the rower, we use Inspaze to meet up and do Apple Fitness you can use your phone or AVP to join us, it will cost you laughter and a good time.

 

[BruiserB]

I know a hell of a lot of people with Apple Watches who do fitness stuff. None of them use this. I get the feeling there just isn't a market for it at all.

I love the service. I love the instructors. It is the one thing that has enabled me to "close my rings" daily for the last 4+ years. I find it an excellent value....an entire year costs less than one session with a personal trainer.

I also get that not all that many people use it like I do. I never see anyone else with their iPad at the gym following along on exercises like I do. I do occasionally see others exercising with video instruction on their phones, but a majority seem to be doing something other than Fitness+ workouts.

I would hope Apple could find a way to better promote the service or encourage adoption. I know I could likely find a substitute if it goes away, but I would miss the tight integration with the Apple ecosystem and definitely miss the instructors I've grown accustomed to working out with. Seeing this story makes me sad.

 

[abatabia]

I love the meditation and use it often.

 

[Taq'aix]

Maybe they can save it with AI. Oh wait….

 

[JulianL]

It's would be be funny if the rumour that Apple Fitness+ is "under review" that Gurman has picked up on turns out to be nothing more than Apple Fitness+ execs wondering whether they should do the same thing that Apple TV execs just did by dropping the "+" at the end and rebranding it as "Apple Fitness".

 

[lococroco]

Also a member of the “small loyal fan base“ ✌🏻. Would hate to see it go away. I have been a regular user since 2021 and I don’t think there is anything out there that matches its accessibility and breadth of workout types.

 

[Joe Mac User]

It has changed my life, and my wife’s as well. We are both seeing results from using it. Neither of us would go to a gym so we’d have to find an alternative if they shut it down. We use it through Apple TV (those are the biggest screens in our house…) and it’s a great part of our Apple One subscription. The integration with the Workout app on the Watch is great, too.

Of course, this is Gurman and he says lots of things without saying anything. Companies review their products all the time to determine whether they should keep doing or making what they are, and if there is reorg happening, the new management wants to see and understand what they now have under them. The article itself here says it’s “sufficiently inexpensive to operate that negative headlines would not be worth the saving” so that contradicts the idea of it being shut down.

 

[BruiserB]

Additional thought....maybe they should rebrand it with or sell it to Nike.

If it were Nike Fitness+ it might have more credibility with people looking for a fitness app.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

It’s not bad, but needs a little work. Wife and are I big into yoga and use it to supplement our regular yoga sessions. Said classes have no levels other than active or relaxed, and can be too easy for anyone looking for higher or advanced levels. Glo, which we also have, does levels 1-2 up to 4-5. Basically the whole AF+ service seems to stick to entry-level. Dice was on Glo before Apple fitness, for example, and you see the difference in levels watching him on both.

Apple Fitness Plus doesn't replace a gym, and we still keep or ymca memberships, and I with one at a climbing/bouldering gym...Perhaps if you never use the larger equipment at a gym, it might. Doing bench presses, for example, without a spotter or a smith machine isn't safe.

They also need to offer in a One package other than premier!

 

[Obbut]

Maybe they should release it in more countries. I don’t care about localization, but since it’s still not officially available where I live (The Netherlands) it’s always a huge hassle to get signed in.

 

[ppj845]

Buy up peloton? Put app on android? Lots of routes to take

 

[Simmias]

Like Apple Arcade, Fitness+ suffers from trying to appeal to everyone and thereby appealing to no one. It leans heavily towards entry level calisthenics, with gratingly cheerful instructors and cross promotion of annoying Apple Music pop songs. The forced banter and lame jokes between the instructors is particularly annoying.

The clear opportunity is to offer highly personalized and progressive workout programs in different sports (weight training, yoga, cycling, etc) that use Apple Watch and Health data to help you progress. No more pre recorded video knock offs of what was popular on Peloton in 2020. People want real coaching and guidance to reach fitness goals, not phony motivation from plastic instructors. By all means, offer a beginner track for encouraging Joe Q Public to get off his butt and do some jumping jacks, but that can’t be the entire service if they hope to maintain interest and attract enthusiasts.

 

[iThom Pro Max]

If they shut down Apple Fitness+, they would lose me as an Apple One subscriber, since it would become cheaper for me to pay for Apple TV+, Apple Music and iCloud separately. I love AF+.

 

[spartan1967]

Just pretend the loyal fan base are iPhone Mini owners. That'll make terminating it easier than turning off a light with 2 claps.