Apple Inc’s new paid online fitness class service, designed to work with its Apple Watch, was a long-planned extension of the watch’s fitness features rather than a quick reaction to a pandemic that has closed many gyms, executives said in an interview.

The Fitness+ service is Apple’s first subscription geared to make money directly from the sensor-packed device it has been selling since 2014.

The service, which Apple said will be available by the end of the year, has new workouts each week filmed by a team of trainers in a purpose-built studio in Los Angles and focuses on exercises that require little or no gym equipment, using Apple Watch sensors to track progress.

Many analysts viewed the service, which was announced on Tuesday, as well timed for a work-from-home world. But Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams said in an interview on Wednesday that work on the service started “quite a while ago.” He described it as “a natural extension of the goal of Apple Watch, which is to help people live a better day.”

“At least pre-Covid, if you could write one prescription for the world from physicians, it would have been to be more active. It’s so powerful,” Williams said in a press briefing. “So anything we do in that realm that helps people be more active is something we’re excited about.”

Once gyms do reopen, the Fitness+ service will also work with compatible gym equipment such as smart treadmills. The service will cost $10 per month or $80 per year.

Jay Blahnik, senior director of fitness technologies at Apple, said the service’s goal is to reach as broad an audience as possible and that Apple aimed to assemble a diverse lineup of instructors.

“We have trainers in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and even their 60s. Showcasing that kind of diversity was really important to us because how we move and how we train is different as we age,” Blahnik said.

Source: Reuters

Also Read:

WHY IS GAMING MOUSE BETTER THAN NORMAL MOUSE?

TOP 5 NAKED SPORTS BIKE IN NEPAL | 2020

KITCHEN CABINET & DRAWER ORGANIZERS IDEA

TOP 150CC SCOOTERS IN NEPAL | 2020

HYUNDAI GRAND I10 NIOS LAUNCHED IN NEPAL

BEST BUDGET EARBUDS UNDER RS. 6000 IN NEPAL | 2020

Apple is about to change its subscription services, like Apple Music, Apple TV+ and so on, with a new Health service announced in the coming weeks.

An announcement is likely next month or in October, a new report from Bloomberg claims. While Bloomberg focuses mostly on the revised subscription system, where different services are bundled together for a lower cost than individual subscriptions, for me it’s the Apple Fitness suggestion that’s the most striking. Here’s everything you need to know about both parts of the report.

Apple Fitness

This looks like being a whole new service, intriguingly. Apparently, it’s going to be made up of virtual fitness classes which can be used by an app that will work on the iPad as well as on the iPhone and Apple TV.

By the way, it might not be called Apple Fitness, but let’s remember that the iPhone Activity app, found on iPhones linked to Apple Watch, is being renamed Fitness in iOS 14.

This project, you might like to know, has the codename Seymour, and is seen as something to rival classes offered by Nike or Peleton.

Apple will doubtless have its own take on this – if it was going to be a carbon copy of Nike Training Club or Peleton’s offerings, it wouldn’t bother. The integration of the app across multiple Apple platforms is interesting, but since Nike and others do that already, there’s going to be more to it than that.

Bloomberg says that Seymour will be a new subscription that will be offered in a higher-end bundle with other Apple services. It’s not clear from this whether or not it will be available as a standalone service.

Apple One bundled services

The suggestion of Apple bundling its various subscriptions has been mooted for some time but seems to be gaining momentum just now. After all, services are increasingly important to Apple and there’s a lot to choose from. Apple Music costs $9.99 a month. The gaming service, Apple Arcade, is $4.99 a month, as is Apple TV+, although buying a wide range of Apple products delivered a year’s free subscription of the TV+ service. Then there’s Apple News+, $9.99 a month and iCloud which starts with a free tier but rises to $6.99 a month for 2TB of data storage.

The latest indication is that Apple will link multiple services together under the aegis of Apple One, though this may just be a working title.

Bloomberg says the Apple One bundle could be launched with the next iPhone, which means it could be revealed as early as September.

 

Multiple tiers

A basic Apple One package would pair Apple Music with Apple TV+ for, presumably, something less than the two would currently cost. The next step up might add Apple Arcade, then there would be another tier with Apple News+ in the mix and another that includes extra iCloud storage.

All of which is very similar to Amazon’s Prime offering, where delivery of purchases is included alongside a video streaming service, among other things, for one monthly fee.

 

Family tiers

The report claims that all these options will be skewed towards families. So far, Apple Music has two main tariffs, individual at $9.99 and family at $14.99. Arcade, News+ and TV+ all include family sharing of up to six people and the highest iCloud storage tier is shareable within a family.

What’s interesting about the Apple range of services is they are so different. Someone with Apple News+ may well like Apple Music but have no desire for Arcade, say. The addition of the family aspect means a more diverse group of interests could be satisfied.

 

The overall intention, of course, will be to increase subscription numbers. And if it’s priced carefully enough, it could be a no-brainer to upgrade.

Source:Forbes

 

Also Read:

APPLE AND GOOGLE ADDING NEW FEATURES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH DEVELOPERS TO BUILD CONTACT-TRACING APPS

APPLE LAUNCHING IPHONE SE 2020, MACBOOK 2020, NEW IMAC 2020 IN JULY IN NEPAL

APPLE PREVIEWS NEW IPHONE SOFTWARE, CHANGES TO MAC CHIPS

APPLE IPHONE SE 2020 LAUNCHED WITH A 13 SOC,TOUCH ID SUPPORT | PRICE, SPECS

APPLE RELEASES IOS 13.6.1 AND IPADOS 13.6.1

MICROSOFT SURFACE DUO: PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER

Facebook is pushing back on new Apple privacy rules for its mobile devices — and putting app developers in the middle.

Apple will soon require apps to ask users for permission to collect data on what devices they are using and to let ads follow them around on the internet. The social network said Wednesday that those rules could reduce what apps can earn by advertising through Facebook’s audience network.

Facebook said it expects “less impact” on its own advertising revenue than on the ad-supported businesses that rely on its audience network to promote their apps. The audience network allows Facebook and Instagram advertisers to place their ads elsewhere on the internet.

Apple says the latest version of its mobile operating system, iOS 14, is designed to protect people’s privacy. It will require apps to ask users for permission to collect and share data using a unique code that identifies their iPhones and iPads. The update is due later this fall.

Facebook said that because of this change, it will no longer collect the identifier for advertisers on its own apps for iOS 14 devices. It is also asking businesses to create new ad accounts dedicated solely to running ads for apps for iOS 14 users in order to comply with Apple’s new rules.

Apple, on the other hand, said it is intent on giving people more choice over how they want to be tracked by companies on the internet — and the ability to say no if they don’t.

David Chavern, CEO of the news-publisher trade group News Media Alliance, said the change is “more annoying than material.” But he added that it could still cost publishers money by making ads on their apps less valuable to advertisers.

“The annoying part comes from the loss of revenue at a time when all revenue is important, and the unilateral nature of Apple’s decision,” he said. “They decide and the rest of the world just has to adapt.”

Source:AP

Also Read:

GOOGLE LAUNCHES READ ALONG OFFLINE APP TO HELP KIDS LEARN AND READ BETTER

TOP PHONES UNDER 50000 IN NEPAL 2020 (UPDATED) | SPECS - BEST MOBILES..

GOOGLE HOME 2.27 BRINGS DARK THEME TO ANDROID

ONLINE LEARNING EFFECT ELECTRONIC DEVICE USAGE TO RISE

SMARTPHONE WINNERS OF EISA AWARDS 2020-2021

XIAOMI LAUNCHES REDMI NOTE 9 PRO MAX QUAD CAMERA SETUP | FULL SPECIFICATIONS

WHAT ARE BEST GAMING PHONES AVAILABLE IN NEPAL?

Google has announced the Verified Calls feature for its Phone app. At a time when many users face the peril of spam callers and are uncertain to receive calls from unknown numbers, this feature will come in handy as it will identify genuine calls. Verified calls will also state if the caller is authenticated by Google and will state the reason for their calls.

Verified calls will show a blue shield icon that features a checkmark, business name, logo, and number. The call reason field will include messages like confirm transaction activity, food delivery, and flight time changes. Google asserted that it does not collect or store any personally identifiable information after verification.

As per Google, this capability materially improves answer rates, similar to Verified SMS that was launched by the company last year. Verified Calls in the Google Phone app will first roll out to the US, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, and India.

Google Phone app will be available on non-Pixel Android devices and comes preloaded on many Android phones. It will be available for download starting later this week on even more Android devices, according to Google. Users can download it from PlayStore in case their smartphone uses a custom dialler.

The feature will mainly tackle phone call frauds. Google cited a 2019 FTC report that found that phone calls were the number one way people reported being contacted by scammers. "While most people said they hung up on those calls, those who lost money reported a median loss of $1,000. Spam and scam calls erode trust in businesses and increase costs to consumers," Google noted.

The verified calls feature is also likely to reduce business costs. This is because businesses attempting to reach out to customers will face fewer rejected calls with the feature in place. While piloting the feature, Google observed that Verified Calls improves the likelihood of someone answering a call.

"For instance, banks calling to alert a customer about a possible fraudulent transaction can increase answer rates by stating the call reason. A food delivery or logistics company can do the same to make sure customers are available to receive their deliveries," Google noted.

Google Verified Calls can receive competition from Truecaller in India which has over 170 million monthly active users in India.

Source: indiatoday

Also Read:

APPLE PLANS SPECIAL EVENT FOR SEPTEMBER 15, NEW PRODUCTS ANTICIPATED    

HONDA HORNET 160R PRICE IN NEPAL | SPECIFICATIONS WITH PRICE    

BENELLI TNT 15 PRICE IN NEPAL | SPECIFICATIONS | 2020    

CHINA LAUNCHES INITIATIVE FOR GLOBAL DATA SECURITY ISSUES    

GOOGLE URL PARAMETER TOOL UPGRADE WILL BE 'REALLY COOL' WHEN MIGRATED TO NEW SEARCH CONSOLE  

NISSAN CELEBRATES PRODUCTION OF THE 500,000TH LEAF    

NIKOLA AND GM TEAM UP TO MAKE THIS 900-HORSEPOWER SUPER ELECTRIC TRUCK    

UBER OFFER RIDES ONLY IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN US    

THEE GO LAUNCHES THREE ELECTRIC COMMERCIAL VEHICLES IN NEPAL    

DFSK GLORY 560 LAUNCHED IN NEPAL: PREMIUM MID SIZE SUV IN TOWN