Apple Fitness+ got more air time than one might have expected at the ‘California Streaming’ event. Significantly, it announced that it is introducing guided Meditation, to allow users to practice mindfulness through the service.
Apple Fitness+ Introducing Guided Meditation Like Calm, Headspace
The makers of apps like Calm and HeadSpace may be feeling a little bit less zen today. The forthcoming Apple Fitness+ guided Meditation is a direct challenge to existing apps in that growing marketplace.
It’s not the first time we’ve noticed Apple moving into this space either. After WWDC 2021 my colleague Andrew Orr rightly noted the significance of the transformation of the Breathe app into a Mindfulness app in watchOS 8.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fVFsbcXBkI
New Workouts, Features, and Countries
Guided Meditation is not the only new thing coming to Apple Fitness+. There will be a Get Ready for Snow Season program. This was designed with two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion skier Ted Ligety, who appears in the program with Fitness+ trainer Anja Garcia.
Group Workouts are also set to be introduced. It means up to 32 users can exercise together via SharePlay. The service is also set to be available in 15 new countries later this year:
- Austria
- Brazil
- Colombia
- France
- Germany
- Indonesia
- Italy
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Portugal
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Spain
- Switzerland
- United Arab Emirates
Jay Blahnik, Apple’s senior director of Fitness Technologies, commented:
We are excited to be introducing new workouts that bring Fitness+ users more options to stay active and motivated, plus immersive guided Meditation experiences that are approachable for all and easy to fit into your day. With new ways to work out together or alone — and coming to more countries later this year — we can’t wait to welcome even more people to experience Fitness+.