Apple Watch Fitness
Source: Apple Inc.
Apple announced the release Fitness+, its subscription service for digital fitness classes, on Tuesday. The news sending shares of Peloton lower in pre-market trading but they recovered in the morning and are up slightly.
Apple’s service, which launches Dec. 14, will cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year. Users can watch workout videos on their iPhones, iPads, or Apple TVs and sync their exercise metrics from their Apple Watches. A Peloton subscription starts at $12.99 per month for fitness classes that don’t require the company’s connected bike.
Peloton shares dipped as much as 2% in pre-market trading on the news. The stock recovered after markets opened and shares were up about 1% Tuesday morning.
But Peloton CEO John Foley has argued previously the company separates itself from Apple in its hardware products, such as its high-tech bikes and treadmills.
Apple Fitness+ will focus on workout content and include a personalized recommendation engine. It will integrate metrics from Apple Watch onto users’ screens during their workouts to keep them motivated. The service will be linked to the Apple ecosystem so that Apple Music subscribers, for example, will be able to access their own songs or fitness playlists.
Apple Watch users will automatically see Fitness+ as a new tab in the iPhone Fitness app on Dec. 14. Apple TV users can get the app by upgrading their operating system and iPad users can download it through the App Store.
Fitness+ is the latest offering in Apple’s effort to bundle services together in subscription plans. In October, Apple launched Apple One, which gives users access to services like Apple Music, TV+ and News+ for one monthly payment. Fitness+ will be available in the Premier option, which costs $29.95 per month.
