What you need to know
- The new feature launches with four stories.
- Another story arrives each week
- Draymond Green, Shawn Mendes among first hosts
If you're an Apple Watch and Apple Fitness+ customer, you're walking experiences are about to change thanks to Time to Walk. 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.
Episodes of Time to Walk are between 25 to 40 minutes in length and appear automatically in the Workout app on Apple Watch. You can also browse the available episodes in the Fitness+ tab in the Fitness app on your iPhone. For wheelchair customers, Time to Walk becomes Time to Push and automatically starts an Outdoor Wheelchair Walk Pace workout.
Apple's 'Time to Walk' content can be found inside of the workout app on your iPhone or Apple Watch and can be activated with just one tap. You don't even need your iPhone to use it, just a pair of wireless headphones. Each episode also a playlist attached so you can store any of the songs you hear whilst you're listening, you don't need an Apple Music subscription to listen to the songs during the walk, however.
The first four Time to Walk experiences include:
Country music star Dolly Parton has won nine GRAMMYs and is also a celebrated actor, businessperson, and humanitarian. Dolly reflects on her career, family, and growing up in rural Tennessee. "I've loved walking ever since I was a little girl in the Smoky Mountains," Parton says. "I think it's so important to be able to get out and walk if we can during this time. I do my best thinking when I walk. And while many of us feel confined during this time, I'm hopeful that people will take a walk down memory lane with me and we can all feel a little more freedom taking the time to walk together."NBA player Draymond Green won three basketball championships with the Golden State Warriors, helping to change how the game is played. He reflects on the virtues of failure and tuning out criticism. "There's nothing better than a walk in nature, getting lost in my thoughts, and taking a deep breath of fresh air," Green says. "Take all the stresses of your day and let them blow away with the wind. I hope sharing my stories with those who go on a walk with me will give them the same drive to chase their dreams that I had in chasing mine."Musician Shawn Mendes went viral on social media at 15, had his first platinum album by 19, and has toured the world. He shares how a slower pace has helped him personally and creatively. "Taking a walk is a great way to clear your mind," Mendes says. "It's the most simple thing you can do to calm the body and soul, reflect, and slow down. I hope people get to feel the same sense of calm I do while walking and can bring that to their own experiences."Emmy Award winner Uzo Aduba found stardom on the series, "Orange Is the New Black," but only after many rejections. She talks about lifelong relationships and keeping the faith. "I love walking either by myself or with my dog," Aduba says. "It's a time to connect and have the conversations with myself that can often get overlooked throughout the day, and bring peace of mind. The experience of walking and telling my stories gave me that familiar feeling that walking brings, answering questions that need to be answered, and addressing topics that need to be addressed. I'm so excited to share that with those who take the time to walk with me."
According to Jay Blahnik, Apple's senior director of Fitness Technologies, "Walking is the most popular physical activity in the world, and one of the healthiest things we can do for our bodies. A walk can often be more than just exercise: It can help clear the mind, solve a problem, or welcome a new perspective.
Further, "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."
New Time to Walk episodes launch in the Workout app on Apple Watch each Monday through the end of April. New hosts haven't been announced.
First introduced in late 2020, Apple Fitness+ is available in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It's priced at $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year. The service is also included in the Apple One Premier plan, giving customers access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and 2TB of iCloud storage for $29.95 per month.
