What you need to know
- Jeff Williams and Jay Blahnik sat down for an interview with the Independent.
- The pair talked about the new "Time to Walk" feature for Apple Fitness+ and Apple Watch.
Apple launched its new "Time to Walk" feature for Apple Fitness+ today, giving subscribers the ability to take audio-guided walks in order to promote everyday exercise. Jeff Williams, Apple's Chief Operating Officer, and Jay Blahnik, Apple's Director of Fitness and Health Technologies, sat down for an interview with The Independent to talk about the new feature.
The feature includes audio content from "influential and interest people" who share stories, photos, and music. It works with Apple Watch and AirPods, or other Bluetooth headphones. Time to Walk launches with four audio experiences, with many more expected to arrive in the coming weeks and months.
Blahnik says that Apple intentionally focused the experience around the idea of you walking with a guest, saying that it "felt like the right thing."
"There were a lot of ways that the creative execution of this could have gone but in the end, having just the guest felt like the right thing. The conversations you would have with another person if you were really walking with them are different to the way an interview might go or a big group conversation can happen."
Jeff Williams says that they specifically looked for stories that involved challenges, saying that working through those is "such a part of the human connection."
"If you ask somebody to tell you a life story, they will almost always involve challenges and, because we all face those, it's wonderful to hear about other people's challenges and how they've dealt with them. It's such a part of the human connection."
There are currently four "Time to Walk" experiences that range between 25 to 40 minutes with more set to release once a week through April. The first batch includes stores from singer Shawn Mendes, NBA player Draymond Green, actress Uza Aduba, and singer/songwriter Dolly Parton. Williams says that it is the "latest step in our journey" with the Apple Watch.
"From the very beginning of Apple Watch our goal was to help people live a better day and be more active. If doctors could write one prescription, it would be to move more. If we can get the whole world out walking, listening and sharing a diverse set of people's experiences, the world's going to be a better place and so it absolutely is the latest step in our journey."
You can check out the full interview at The Independent.
