Apple Fitness+ Appears to Be Incompatible With AirPlay

Apple Fitness+ is available as of today, and some customers have been wondering if it's possible to get the workout videos on a television set without an Apple TV.

Apple Fitness Plus Feature
There are several smart TVs from brands like LG and Sony that support AirPlay 2 content, but it appears Fitness+ is not designed to work with ‌AirPlay‌. MacRumors reader scar88 attempted to AirPlay a workout to an LG TV but found that the option was not available.

We tested with an ‌Apple TV‌, and it appears that ‌AirPlay‌ doesn't even work when attempting to ‌AirPlay‌ to an ‌Apple TV‌ from an iPhone. The audio transfers over, but the video does not.

If ‌AirPlay‌ is indeed not allowed when using Fitness+, there will be no way to display workouts on a larger screen without having an ‌Apple TV‌ device, which some users will find disappointing.

Have you been able to get ‌AirPlay‌ to work with Fitness+ to a smart TV? Let us know in the comments.

Top Rated Comments

teknikal90 Avatar
32 months ago

Everyone should have Apple TV at this point. I don’t think it’s a big issue for real Apple enthusiasts who have bought into the ecosystem.
except if you buy a TV today it likely has airplay 2 and the apple tv app. so theres no real incentive to buy a separate apple tv box...
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nikosl7 Avatar
32 months ago

It is likely that Fitness+ will require OS capabilities to deliver metrics on screen, something that is not possible in TV apps with other providers.

I thought this would be pretty self-explanatory.
I Just want to mirror my iphone on the TV. It does not let me. It shows black screen once the workout starts
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PrimusPrime Avatar
32 months ago
Extremely frustrating. I was very excited, got an apple watch, already have an older generation apple tv, signed up for apple one, and NOPE! no way to get fitness plus onto the TV. Screen mirroring works for everything except for the actual workouts. There is no excuse for this, technically speaking, render all overlays on phone and send a copy of the frame via airplay to tv. "One more thing" has come to mean for every new feature they announce your going to have to buy one more thing in addition to actually use it. Extremely unhappy with them for this ploy.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisMoBro Avatar
32 months ago
I just tested it on my iMac using Reflector 3 and it doesn't work. This is a huge disappointment. Not everybody has an Apple TV, as they're (mostly) obsolete when you have a smart TV, and yet Apple doesn't add this functionality in. Looks like I'll be staying with Peleton then.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
99chickens Avatar
32 months ago
This is going to upset a lot of people.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
svenmany Avatar
32 months ago

Add me to the group of people who do not think Apple TV’s are obsolete just because TV’s are “Smart”. Those experiences aren’t for everyone, and certainly not for me.

I do see how this could be upsetting to some, but I suspect watching fitness videos on a big screen isn’t a hard requirement for more people than the echo chamber might say otherwise.
I do feel there is a hard requirement in being able to see the video. I just finished a workout with my daughter. We did yoga, some strength training, and a HIIT thing. We propped up her little iPhone 7, leaning it right up against our 75 inch TV. I couldn't even see the phone.

My eyes aren't great. Even an iPad wouldn't really work for me (and I don't feel I should have to buy one). A reasonable size TV (20" maybe) would be a minimum to really enjoy the workout experience or even capture the details on form being presented.

It's hard to imagine that Apple envisioned people using a small device for this except in situations where the device could be positioned close in, like on an exercise bike. They had to imagine that their customers would expect a larger display. It's also hard to imagine that they would expect all their customers to go out and buy an Apple TV device just to get the expected experience.

I have to give Apple the benefit of the doubt. This must just be a bug.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)