Apple Fitness + Review Roundup: Fitness at a Price

Apple officially launched Apple Fitness + today and the first round of reviews is live. Everyone praises the service, but concludes with how expensive the service is. Check out our overview of the service to see what other publications have to say.

Just before we read the review, Apple Fitness + is the new addition to Apple's premium services. It gives users access to a library of training videos (from treadmill training to dancing). The most important groundbreaking feature that distinguishes it from other training services is the close integration of Fitness+ into the Apple Watch (yes, you need an Apple Watch as well as a device to which you can stream the training video). Enough of the service, let's continue with the reviews now.

Nicole begins her review of how "affordable and convenient" it was for her to train from home during the coronavirus crisis. She thinks the service offers "a lot of room for improvement."

Overall, Fitness + feels like a Peloton Digital Lite. Apple's app has a high production value and motivates music playlists and charismatic trainers. But Fitness + doesn't have that many workout types and the library of workouts isn't that big. Peloton's live and social features are also missing.

Some high-intensity, strength and core workouts require dumbbells, others don't. I want to be able to filter results, for example by "without equipment" or "weights".

Fitness + does not provide context to heart rate. Is the number displayed good or bad? Is it higher or lower than a minute ago? Why should you take care of your heart rate in the first place? Actionable insights would be helpful here.