- The Apple Fitness+ service is apparently “under review” by Apple
- The company can merge the subscription with the Apple Health app
- Apple’s standalone AI health coach has also reportedly been dropped
If you’re a fan of the Apple Fitness+ exercise subscription service, we may have some bad news: The entire product is “under review,” according to a source, with its future largely unclear for now. Several options could be under consideration, with major changes potentially on the way – but nothing is certain yet.
The report comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, whose latest Power On newsletter claims that “there’s no telling what will end up happening” with Apple Fitness+. It gives the impression that a wide range of possibilities could hit the app, and Gurman doesn’t offer any solid information about what’s most likely.
However, the reporter wrote that “If I had to guess, Apple will eventually merge its Health app with Fitness+ in some way — perhaps offering it as a combined subscription.” This is apparently motivated by “harder” competition in this area, including from OpenAI’s new ChatGPT health service.
This can mean big changes in the way you use Fitness+. Currently, it’s located in the Fitness app and is separate from Apple Health (although fitness and exercise data can be viewed in the Health app). If Gurman’s claim is correct, Apple could shift from maintaining separate apps and instead bring them under one roof.
Simplified or inflated?
This might not be the only big change coming to Apple’s health and fitness efforts. Alongside a potential merger of Fitness+ and Health, Apple has reportedly decided to ditch its long-term plan to introduce an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered health coach that will examine your fitness metrics and offer tailored advice and suggestions.
Instead, Gurman believes that Apple will take the planned features of the AI health coach and combine them “into the Health app over time.” Gurman added that “the features, including one that can analyze a user’s gait with an iPhone camera, are scheduled to begin appearing later this year.”
Both changes – the merger of Fitness+ and Health, and the decision to drop a separate AI health advisor and add its features to the Health app – could be seen as a way to simplify Apple’s fitness apps. Instead of offering multiple services that run across multiple different apps, Apple appears to be bringing them all under the umbrella of the Health app. That could make them much easier to use and understand.
At the same time, it risks making Apple Health bloated and unwieldy. The app already manages everything from exercise and cycling tracking to mental wellbeing and sleep data, and adding more could blow it way beyond its existing proportions.
And there is a further unanswered question: how much will all this cost? If Apple wants to mix Fitness+ and an AI wellness coach into the Health app, it could result in an expensive subscription package. And with everything in one place, you risk using features you don’t need instead of just paying for the service you want.
Still, while the well-connected Gurman is unsure of the direction Apple will take, there is still plenty of wiggle room for the company to change course or refine its decisions. Ultimately, we’ll find out what Apple’s plans are later this year, if Gurman’s timetable is to be believed.
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