Apple's Fitness Technologies Director Jay Blahnik Talks Fitness+ Ahead of Launch

Apple Fitness+ is set to launch on December 14, and ahead of its debut, Apple's senior director of fitness technologies Jay Blahnik did an interview with WSJ. Magazine to answer some questions about Apple's newest streaming service.

applefitnesswatchandiphone
Though now is an excellent time for a home workout program, Apple has been developing Fitness+ for more than five years. Apple has recruited a total of 21 trainers after an "intensive search" where "no gym was too gritty to visit." Fitness+ syncs the Apple Watch to the Apple TV, iPad, or iPhone so you can see progress, including relative to others. "Metrics is motivation," said Blahnik of the feature.

The metrics react to the things the trainer says and the things that you do. We believe that makes it much more immersive than simply following content that's available anywhere else.

Apple Fitness+ has a robust recommendation engine to suggest workouts to people. "We always say: it shouldn't take 20 minutes to find a 20 minute workout," said Blahnik. Fitness+ suggestions will work based on the workouts that you've done, with some gentle encouragement to try other workout types.

The service is meant to be "equipment agnostic." Many of the workouts can be done with no equipment, and others, such as cycling, will work with existing equipment from many brands. It's also designed for users of all levels.

We love the fact that [Fitness+] is integrated with Apple Watch. It's really inclusive. We put music at the center to motivate a wide variety of people. We've made it really easy to find your next workout, whether you're a beginner or not, and allowed you to use it across all your screens. We treat all areas that we get engaged with as marathons, not sprints.

Apple Fitness+ will come with a three month free trial for anyone who purchased an Apple Watch Series 6, Series 3, or SE after the September 15 launch of those devices. The service will be accessible through the Fitness app on ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, and ‌Apple TV‌.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Update for iPhones Coming Soon — Here's What to Expect

Thursday September 25, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. MacRumors has also seen evidence of iOS 26.0.1 in its visitor logs in recent days. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

Friday September 26, 2025 6:57 am PDT by
In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation. The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false. In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class...

Top Rated Comments

contacos Avatar
63 months ago
Since our lockdown is never going to end, I might give this a chance. I am getting bored of my life. I am pretty much stuck in Groundhog Day. Perfectly timed
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coolfactor Avatar
63 months ago

I guess they have completely toppes out out on ideas to advance hardware. Because otherwise this is a non starter. Way off track for core business. Here just make good hardware and get the hell out the way.

What next? Apple juice brand ?
Apple is about experience and lifestyle. They are about their customers having the best possible experience, not just about selling products. There's a notable difference there.

Dell will sell you their crappy computers running Windows. They don't care how bad Windows is... they just want to sell hardware and then move onto the next customer.

Apple is a hardware+software company in order to deliver the best possible experience. Fitness+ is exactly that, so it's very much core to their business.

We can all agree that the world needs every push to encourage more fitness that it can get, right? If you think about it, Apple is merely course-correcting a world that they helped to create. The explosion in popularity of digital devices has created a world where too many people live behind their screens all day long. That's not good for health. So they have a responsibility to transform that world to a healthier one. Fitness+ is an effort to do that.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
btrach144 Avatar
63 months ago

I hate Peloton.
Just got the bike+ and love the GymKit integration. Peloton is awesome!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
63 months ago
Good on Apple for giving people another venue to work out. I hope it helps a lot of people.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jrath1 Avatar
63 months ago
Can two family members with apple watch's do a workout together?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
clcnyc Avatar
63 months ago
This is very exciting to me. I was an avid gym goer until March, and there’s no way in hell I’ll step foot in a Petri dish gym until who knows when, so this is very welcome. Hopefully I’ll be able to ditch my daily burn and Fitbod subscriptions for this!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)