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Fitness+ introduces workouts, meditations with SharePlay

Apple Fitness+, the first fitness service built entirely around the Apple Watch, is introducing a new way to work out or meditate together with people in other locations with SharePlay, starting today. 

SharePlay makes it possible for iPhone, iPad, and Mac1 users to have shared experiences with friends and family while on a FaceTime call.

Beginning November 3, 2021, Fitness+ will also be available in 15 new countries, bringing the total number of countries the service is available in to 21. In both new and existing markets, Fitness+ will be available in English, with subtitles in Brazilian Portuguese, English, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.

Additionally, beginning November 1, as part of their plan benefits, approximately 3 million fully insured UnitedHealthcare members in nearly every state in the US can enroll with Apple Fitness+ for a year-long subscription, at no additional cost.

“We created Fitness+ so everyone would have a place they feel inspired and motivated, no matter where they are on their fitness journey. We are so excited to be available to millions more people as we bring Fitness+ to 15 new countries next week, and can’t wait for them to meet our welcoming trainer team,” Jay Blahnik, Apple’s vice president of Fitness Technologies, says in a press release. “We also think our users are going to love working out or meditating together with SharePlay. It’s a really fun way to connect with friends and family, even trade some words of encouragement or friendly smack talk, while also making progress toward closing their rings.”

Fitness+ and SharePlay

He says that Fitness+ is introducing a new way to work out or meditate together with family and friends using SharePlay, to help people stay motivated and accountable on their fitness journey. Fitness+ subscribers can use SharePlay to start a group workout or meditation with up to 32 of their friends and family while using FaceTime on an iPhone or iPad, and the selected Fitness+ session will stream completely in sync for every participant. 

Once on a FaceTime call, users will navigate to the Fitness app, select a workout or meditation, see their friends and family onscreen, and get started. SharePlay also works with Apple TV so users can follow the workout on a big screen while staying connected with friends on FaceTime using their iPhone or iPad. 

When working out in a group through SharePlay, users will see their metrics and progress toward closing their Activity rings, while also seeing and hearing friends. During a workout, when someone moves ahead on the Burn Bar or closes their Activity rings, everyone working out will be notified so they can celebrate together.

Country Expansion

Fitness+ is currently available in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. Beginning November 3, 2021, Fitness+ will be available in 15 new countries with the addition of Austria, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates. Fitness+ will be available in English, with subtitles in Brazilian Portuguese, English, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish, so more people can experience the workouts led by a diverse and inclusive team of trainers whose approach is tailored to every body at every fitness level.

Fitness+ is available as a standalone subscription, or as a part of the Apple One Premier plan, which, where available, also gives customers access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and iCloud+ with 2TB of storage.

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.