Apple Fitness Plus is a subscription-based workout service that gives you a huge choice of exercise classes to try at home, including high-intensity interval training (HIIT), indoor cycling, treadmill running, yoga, strength, and pilates.
The main thrust of Fitness Plus is being able to choose the workout you want - each pre-recorded video has a specific workout type, music, time and trainer, so you're able to select whichever you're in the mood for, aping gym class schedules and giving you the choice of workouts on the go.
Heart rate data from your Apple Watch is displayed on-screen while you work out, showing just how hard you're pushing yourself, and encouraging you to try that extra little bit harder.
When you want to get out and about, you'll also have access to a tool called Time to Walk, which lets you take a stroll while listening to inspiring stories from a celebrity or athlete. These are much like podcasts, and can be loaded onto your Apple Watch before you head out, so you can listen without your phone.
Update: In January 2022, Apple launched a new tool called Time to Run , in which a running coach leads you on a virtual route through a particular city. You'll hear a themed soundtrack as you run, and receive tips and training suggestions based on the location.
At the same time, Apple launched Collections, which are programs of workouts designed to help you achieve specific goals – whether that's running your first 5K, developing better bedtime habits, improving your posture, or boosting your core strength.
Cut to the chase
Apple Fitness Plus price
The pricing for the new Fitness Plus service is pretty simple on its own: it's $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$14.99 per month, or $79.99 / £79.99 / AU$119.99 if you want to take it out for the year.
However, if you sign up for the premium tier on Apple One , Apple's new services subscription service, then you'll get Fitness Plus, News Plus , Apple TV Plus , Apple Arcade and Apple Music - along with massive amounts of iCloud storage - for $29.95 / £29.95 / AU$39.95 per month.
Also, if you're thinking of buying an Apple Watch (Series 3 or later) then you'll get three months of Fitness Plus free, and if you already own said wristwear, then you'll still get a full free month of dribbling sweat all over your iPhone.
Apple Fitness Plus workouts
Apple Fitness Plus started life as a service similar to Peloton, with qualified instructors leading classes that you can take part in at home. Over time, however, it's grown into something much bigger, with outdoor walking, running, meditation sessions, and mindfulness all thrown into the mix.
At the heart of Apple Fitness Plus are the workout videos. The service offers a wide assortment of activities: high-intensity interval training (HIIT), yoga, core workouts, strength training, treadmill walking or running, indoor cycling and rowing, dance, and mindful cooldown. In September 2021, Apple added Pilates too, along with new meditation classes. Whichever activity you prefer, new sessions are added each week, and each one lasts between five and 45 minutes.
These videos are available on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, and your heart rate will be streamed from your Apple Watch to the screen while you're exercising. If the instructor tells you to push harder, you'll be able to see your heart rate increase as you raise the intensity.
When the instructor on the screen wants you to focus on your heart rate, that metric will expand to make it more prominent for you; it's a fusion of pre-recorded video, plus dynamic and interactive stats from your own effort.
Trainers can also trigger different highlights to your metrics - whether that's how filled your 'move rings' (Apple's daily measurement of your movement) are, or how long left in a specific interval, those elements will change accordingly.
While you're working out, a graphic called the Burn Bar will show you how far ahead you are of the average user in any given workout. This is equalized for weight and height, so it's meant to be a true reflection of the effort you're putting in without losing out to someone at a genetic advantage.
Apple Fitness Plus is also designed to give you balance in your workouts - when you open the app, you'll see suggested videos to do, and if you've been doing a lot of HIIT or running, it'll guide you towards strength or flexibility work instead.
It'll also encourage you to push a little bit harder on occasion, but there's no way to have a dedicated fitness program to help you get fitter over time - that's up to you, choosing the right workout you feel you need.
If you're just starting out, or the idea of taking part in even a virtual studio class is a little daunting, there's an 'absolute beginner' class to let you get up to speed with your fitness goals before jumping right in. There are also modifications to suit older and pregnant people.
Apple Time to Walk
In January 2021, Apple launched Time to Walk – a new feature that encourages you to get outside in the fresh air and take a stroll. Available only to Fitness Plus subscribers, it's an audio experience that essentially lets you go for a walk with famous public figures such as actors, musicians, activists, and athletes.
Each Time to Walk episode is voiced by a different person, who will tell you some interesting stories about their lives while you're walking. Occasionally, a photo will appear on your Apple Watch, helping bring their tale to life. Each guest also chooses three songs that have special meaning to them, and these are played towards the end of the episode. If you have an iTunes subscription, you can add the playlist to your phone afterwards.
Each episode lasts about 25-40 minutes, and more are added regularly. If you use a wheelchair, there's a Time to Push option that works in exactly the same way,
Apple Time to Run
Time to Run is a new feature added to Apple Fitness Plus in January 2022. The principle is similar to Time to Walk, but instead of listening to tales from celebrities streamed from your Apple Watch, you hear a running coach as they make their way through a city.
Although you'll almost certainly be running somewhere else, the coach aims to give you a feel for their route, and photos of landmarks will appear on your watch throughout the run.
The coach will also give you running tips for drills to follow based on their location. For example, one of the first Time to Run sessions was led by coach Cory Wharton-Malcolm, who devised a series of tips based around the acronym LONDONER.
You'll also hear a playlist of songs based around the city where the coach is running, and as with Time to Walk, you can save this to your phone later if you enjoy it.
Apple Fitness Plus trainers
There's a wealth of new fitness trainers on offer for the new Fitness Plus service, from all walks of life and disciplines - a trainer who began surfing and jiu jitsu before finding yoga, elite athletes, pro runners and more.
The idea is that this is a team you can recognize over time, much as you would in a studio fitness set up. The different trainers will appear in each other's videos from time to time (socially distanced, we assume) so there will be a level of cohesion between the sessions, and allow you to find your favorites when it comes to who you want to work out with.
Apple Fitness+ specs and requirements
While the key thing you're going to need to make the Fitness Plus app work is the subscription, you'll also obviously need an Apple Watch - this is another move from Apple to get users to embed themselves even more firmly in its ecosystem.
In terms of which Watch, anyone with an older model will probably be out of luck - you'll need the Apple Watch 3 and above to use Fitness Plus, and an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV to access the service.
If you've got a compatible Apple Watch, you'll also need to make sure it's running the latest watchOS software to let it beam across to other devices.
Fitness Plus is also compatible with GymKit, which adds another layer of data to things. That means that if you're using a connect treadmill, for instance, the speed you're running at will be transferred to your Watch and will be shown in your metrics on screen.
Apple Fitness Plus release date
Apple Fitness Plus launched on December 14, 2020, in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. Since then, it's also rolled out in Austria, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, and the UAE.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse release delay doesn't worry me
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's release has been delayed – and, surprisingly, I'm okay with that.
For those who may have missed the announcement: on April 20, Sony revealed that it was moving Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse from October 7, 2022 to June 2, 2023. The animated superhero film 's title has also been abbreviated, with the "Part One" aspect of its name removed for a cleaner title.
Naturally, the next Spider-Man movie 's delayed launch also means that its sequel has been pushed back, too. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part Two – which retains its full, original title – won't swing into theaters until March 29, 2024.
Understandably, Spider-Man and general comic book movie fans have expressed disappointment at the news. I'm certainly among that number, but my sadness is alleviated somewhat by the fact that I know Sony has made the right call here.
For one, a movie like Across the Spider-Verse needs a lot of due care and attention. It's an animated spectacle, after all, and films of this ilk take time to get right. There are multiple, lengthy steps in the animation pipeline process before an animated project is ready to be released into the wild. Patience from fans, as well as those working on the movie, then, should always be a pre-requisite for a movie like Across the Spider-Verse.
That emotional endurance is doubly important when you consider the various animation styles that Across the Spider-Verse is likely to include.
Into the Spider-Verse, Across the Spider-Verse's predecessor, was lauded for its unique animation style. Its comic book-esque aesthetic wowed audiences and critics alike, while its celebration of other visual styles – anime, cel animation, and CGI to name three – gave it a wholly unique look and feel. It's unsurprising, then, that Into the Spider-Verse scooped up multiple gongs on the 2019 awards circuit.
Across the Spider-Verse is set to one-up its predecessor with even more distinct art styles. In a chat with Collider , producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller confirmed that each universe in Across the Spider-Verse will have its own individual aesthetic. It stands to reason, then, that Across the Spider-Verse's development cycle will be longer than Into the Spider-Verse's was, based on the sheer amount of pre-vis, animation, compositing, and rendering work required for each of its art styles.
The ongoing pandemic is likely to have played a role in the film's delay, too. We've seen the effects of Covid-19 on the movie and TV industries, with multiple live-action productions suffering production and release date delays.
Animated projects, though, are sure to have felt the effects on a greater scale. Unlike live-action productions, such as The Witcher or Marvel movies , employees working on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse don't necessarily have to be in the same room to work on a film like this. They can be developed remotely but, as we've seen on similar animated flicks including Pixar's Luca , this working practice can lead to bottlenecks in production. Employees may spend more time in online meetings than actually working on the film, while animation pipeline complications might arise due to technology and/or internet limitations at employees' home-based offices.
Development on Across the Spider-Verse may have started pre-pandemic – it's been in the works since November 2018 – but the bulk of its production didn't take place until the pandemic had hit. With employees having to transition to remote working (or, in recent times, hybrid working), the film's development is sure to have suffered set-backs.
And yet Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's delayed release may actually prove to be a blessing in disguise.
2022 is shaping up to be a massive year for comic book movie and TV show launches. There are no fewer than nine Marvel Phase 4 projects (three films, four Disney Plus shows, and two TV specials), three DC Extended Universe movies , and numerous streaming service superhero offerings, such as The Umbrella Academy and The Boys , launching before the year is out. It's in Across the Spider-Verse's best interests to distance itself from that myriad collection.
Okay, 2023's slate of superhero films and TV series is looking fairly stacked as well. But, The Flash 's June 23, 2023 launch aside, Across the Spider-Verse has free rein of the comic book movie market ahead of its own June 2023 release.
Sure, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 arrives in May 2023, while Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and another Sony Spider-Man spin-off – Madame Web – land in July 2023. However, there's enough time between Across the Spider-Verse's release, and those before and after it, for it to succeed at the box office and wow audiences with its potentially poignant storyline, humor, action sequences, and jaw-dropping visuals.
So, am I disappointed with Across the Spider-Verse's delayed launch? Yes. But am I worried that its pushed back release date will impact my excitement for it? Not at all. If anything, its delay will allow the film's entire workforce to make it as good as it can be and deliver a movie that's sure to far exceed my expectations. For that to happen, I'm more than happy to wait for its arrival – and I'm sure you are, too.
Massive leak names Garmin's next 7 watches – including Forerunner 955 and 255
A store has accidentally leaked a long list of upcoming Garmin watches , including some names we've been expecting – and a few that we weren't.
Gadgets and Wearables says it obtained the list from "an authorized Garmin dealer", and says it includes the names of all the devices the dealer will be selling over the next few months, together with their warranty periods.
Most of the names are devices in the company's current line (such as the Venu 2 and Forerunner 55 ), but there are some new watches as well.
We weren't surprised to see the Garmin Forerunner 955 among the names in the leaked list. This will be a successor to 2019's Forerunner 945 , and we've already seen several hints that it's close to release.
In January this year, a listing for a Garmin Forerunner 955 LTE Bundle briefly appeared on the company's Australian web store, and in April a Swedish online retailer prematurely published a page advertising a solar edition of the watch .
The list secured by Gadgets and Wearables doesn't list LTE or solar versions of the Forerunner 955, but it doesn't mention any of the Garmin Instinct 2 's various special editions either, so we wouldn't read anything into that.
Running, fashion, and more
One watch that we're a little more surprised to see is the Garmin Forerunner 255. We've previously speculated that the mid-range Garmin 200 series might no longer have a place on runners' wrists , as the entry-level Forerunner 55 is so capable, but it looks like we may have written it off prematurely. The list also mentions a Garmin Forerunner 255 S, which would be the same watch with a smaller case.
It'll be interesting to see what new features Garmin is able to add to enhance the 255, but we've got our fingers crossed for the real-time stamina score from the Fenix 7 that helps you manage your effort during a run so you don't go too hard, or slack off.
Another new device on the list is the Garmin Venu Sq 2. The original Garmin Venu Sq launched in September 2020, and while it was an attractive watch, its lack of an AMOLED display meant we didn't find it quite appealing as the original Venu.
We're hoping its successor will have the bright, bold screen that made the Venu and Venu 2 really shine – and perhaps some new training insights as well. Stats such as training load are brilliant when you're trying to strike the right balance of work and rest, and we'd really appreciate that extra data.
One of the most interesting devices on the list is the Garmin Instinct Analog. There are already Instinct watches specially designed for surfing, tactical use, esports , and even trucking , but this is something new.
It wouldn't be Garmin's first analog timepiece – watches in the Vivomove line have hybrid faces with physical hands that move out of the way to reveal a hidden digital display underneath, and the Instinct Analog could work the same way. In terms of looks, however, it might have more in common with a dive watch – perhaps even with a rotating bezel.
In fact, it looks like a new Vivomove is on the cards, too. The Vivomove Trend would sit alongside watches like the Vivomove Sport , which launched in January 2022. The Vivomove Sport was essentially the same watch as the Vivomove 3 with a choice of new pastel colors, and it's likely that the Trend will be very similar.
We can only guess at what the aesthetic differences will be, but we wouldn't be surprised if the Trend features some zesty new unisex color options like the Lime Green, Seafoam Blue, and Poppy Red of the recently released Instinct 2.
Finally, there's the big mystery – the Garmin Austin. This isn't a name we're at all familiar with, and it might be a codename for a secret new release. As Gadgets and Wearables observes, it's listed as an 'adventure watch', so perhaps it will be a new premium rugged watch that's somewhere between the Garmin Fenix 7 and Epix (Gen 2) .
Of course, there's no guarantee that all of these watches will eventually find their way onto wearers' wrists, but we're cautiously optimistic about the majority. We'll keep our ear to the ground for more news and rumors, and keep you updated as soon as we hear more.