Apple today officially launched a new Time to Walk feature that brings a new audio walking experience on the Apple Watch for Fitness+ subscribers.
Walking is one of the healthiest activities and Apple wants to motivate you to move more with Time to Walk episodes that feature personal stories, photos and music from celebrities and influencers like Shaw Mendes, Uzo Aduba, Draymond Green and Dolly Parton. In one of the episodes, for instance, country music star Dolly Parton reflects on her career, family, and growing up in rural Tennessee.
Once a Time to Walk episode is selected on Apple Watch, a Walk workout automatically begins and users can go at any pace that suits them while listening with AirPods or paired Bluetooth headphones. New episodes ranging from 25 to 40 minutes will appear automatically in the Workout app on Apple Watch, and users can also browse episodes in the Fitness+ tab in the Fitness app on iPhone.
These guests record their Time to Walk episodes while walking outside or “in locations that are meaningful to them,” Apple notes in a press release.
Time to Walk requires a Fitness+ subscription.
Celebrity guests
New celebrity guests will be added each Monday through the end of April, with their audio episodes appearing in the Workout app on the watch. You can also browse and enjoy previous Time to Walk episodes.
Each Time to Walk episode is shaped by the guest’s personal, life-shaping moments and includes lessons learned, meaningful memories, thoughts on purpose and gratitude, moments of levity and other thought-provoking topics, recorded while walking outside or in locations that are meaningful to them.
Time to Walk isn’t just about audio.
The narrative comes to life through photos that appear on Apple Watch, perfectly timed to amplify a corresponding moment the guest shares. Following the guest’s stories, the experience extends with the guest introducing a short playlist of songs that has given them motivation and inspiration, so the listener can continue their walk to a soundtrack intimately connected to each guest.
The episodes are automatically downloaded to your watch and you can start one directly from the Workout app. This cool new feature is also available for wheelchair users as Time to Push (it auto-starts an Outdoor Wheelchair Walk Pace workout).
Workouts in the COVID era
Jay Blahnik, Apple’s Senior Director of Fitness Technologies, says a brisk walk can be more than just exercise as it helps clear the mind, solve a problem or welcome a new perspective.
Even throughout this challenging period of time, one activity that has remained available to many is walking. With Time to Walk, we’re bringing weekly original content to Apple Watch in Fitness+ that includes some of the most diverse, fascinating and celebrated guests offering inspiration and entertainment to help our users keep moving through the power of walking.
Apple co-founder and its late CEO Steve Jobs was known for taking long walks with peers to discuss new ideas and concepts.