Apps
Apple Fitness+ brings the gym to your iPhone
A new kind of fitness experience
With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing gyms and fitness centers to close indefinitely all around the world, many of us have been opting for home workouts with the help of popular YouTubers Chloe Ting and Blogilates, as well as popular apps like SWEAT, Nike Training Club, and Peloton.
At its September event, Apple unveiled what might make those said apps to lose business: Fitness+. At just US$ 9.99 per month, anyone can have access to studio-style workouts delivered by world-class trainers on their iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, while incorporating metrics from Apple Watch.
“With diverse studio workouts that are suitable for all ability levels, led by a phenomenal group of unique trainers, and an approachable program designed for beginners all the way through to the fitness enthusiast — as well as the flexibility to work out anywhere — there’s something for everyone,” said Jay Blahnik, Apple’s senior director for Health Technologies.
Apple Fitness+ will launch with the most popular workout types including Cycling, Treadmill, Rowing, HIIT, Strength, Yoga, Dance, Core, and Mindful Cooldown. Each workout is accompanied by music thoughtfully curated by the trainers.
READ: Peloton vs excuses: Mind tricks that can help you squeeze in a workout
Each week, the team of Fitness+ trainers will deliver fresh workouts from the studio across a range of lengths, disciplines, and music genres so there are always new workouts to explore.
If you’re just starting your fitness journey, an Absolute Beginner program is built into Fitness+ that will help coach the basics of movement and exercise, and give you an option to prepare for Studio Workouts.
If you have a an indoor bike or treadmill at home, you can use that with Fitness+, and many workouts can be done with no equipment at all or just a set of dumbbells.
For those who start a Treadmill session with Fitness+ on Apple GymKit-enabled machines, the workout will prompt users to tap to connect their Apple Watch so metrics are in sync.
Apple Fitness+ offers personalized recommendations by considering previously completed workouts and intelligently suggests new options that match the workouts you select most often, or something fresh so your workout stays challenging.
There’s also an intuitive filtering tool to choose what is most important to you when looking for a workout, whether it’s the workout type, the trainer, the duration, or the music. For Apple Music subscribers, favorite music from Fitness+ workouts can also be easily saved and listened to later, whether in a workout or otherwise.
When a workout is selected and started on iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, the correct workout type will automatically start on Apple Watch. During the session, the metrics from Apple Watch will be shown on the screen. For example, when the trainer says to check heart rate or begins a countdown timer, those numbers will animate on the screen. For those who like to push themselves with a little healthy competition, the optional Burn Bar shows how their current effort stacks up against anyone who has done the same workout previously.
At launch, customers can conveniently find Fitness+ in the tab located in the new Fitness app on iPhone, which will also arrive on iPad and Apple TV.
At launch, Apple Fitness+ will be available in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.
Fitness+ will be available to Apple Watch customers as a subscription service. Everyone can try Fitness+ free for one month, or three months free with a purchase of a new Apple Watch.
Update as of December 8, 2020
Apple Fitness+ will officially be available starting Monday, December 14.
Apps
Honor, Xiaomi are working on their own Privacy Displays
Samsung’s Privacy Display is apparently very popular.
Normally, a smartphone brand’s blatant copying of another brand’s feature is not a good practice. Today, however, there is a new feature that we wish other brands would copy: Samsung’s Privacy Display. Thankfully, some brands, like Honor, have finally gotten the message and are working on version of the feature.
As reported by Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Honor is reportedly working on a privacy screen for its smartphones. Likewise, Xiaomi is working on the same thing, potentially launching the feature for the Xiaomi 18 Pro.
For the uninitiated, the Samsung Privacy Display is a built-in feature that blocks visibility of the screen at certain angles. If you’re not looking at the screen from the front, all you’ll see is a black void. It’s a built-in version of those protective screens that you can buy separately. Besides adding a nice layer of protection against scratches, it’s also meant to prevent snooping from your shoulder.
Samsung’s take was widely acclaimed for being insanely useful. When it arrives, this feature will be a godsend to more brands. Even better, users will no longer need to rely on third-party screen just to enjoy the privacy.
That said, there’s still no indication as to when these features will arrive on either Honor or Xiaomi.
SEE ALSO: LE SSERAFIM Chaewon flexes Galaxy S26 Ultra Privacy Display
Meta does not have the most stellar of reputations. Despite offering the world’s most popular social media platforms, the company, through its various experiments throughout the years, continuously proves that it has other priorities than just providing the best for its users. Today, another reported experiment wants to take Meta to a new market that its users might fall into: the prediction market.
If you haven’t heard of the prediction market, consider yourself lucky. These apps, such as Kalshi, are basically just gambling platforms without the glitz of playing cards or the rigor of the stock market. Users gamble on mundane circumstances like the weather and more serious ones like war.
Today, as reported by The New York Times, Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly asking Meta to develop a prediction app of its own. Interestingly, the experimental app, supposedly called Arena, will use virtual points, rather than real money. However, Meta has not ruled out real money — and hence, real gambling — in the future.
Meta is entering the industry at an extremely volatile time. The world is starting to crack down on prediction markets. Some users, for example, have been accused of using insider information to get easy wins on these platforms. Some markets have also accused these platforms of subverting anti-gambling laws.
SEE ALSO: Meta adds subscriptions for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp
Apps
foodpanda relaunches cult-favorite roast chicken brand after 8 years of persistent search queries
Heritage chain Andok’s returns to the platform, driven entirely by long-term user analytics.
In the world of e-commerce and food delivery, platform algorithms usually dictate what consumers see. But occasionally, consumer behavior is so relentless that it shapes the platform’s strategy.
In a move driven entirely by long-term user analytics, foodpanda has officially relaunched Andok’s, one of the Philippines’ most iconic heritage rotisserie chains, back onto its platform after an eight-year absence.
The search bar as a digital wishlist
The decision to ink the partnership wasn’t just a marketing play. It was a response to an ongoing data anomaly. Despite being offline from the foodpanda platform for eight years, Andok’s consistently ranked as one of the most-searched merchants on the app.
Year after year, users treated the empty search results page as an unofficial wishlist. This persistent search intent gave foodpanda a clear, data-backed signal of pent-up demand.
Prior to the official digital rollout, teaser campaigns on social media validated this demand, generating thousands of organic interactions from users anticipating the return.
Bridging heritage flavor with digital infrastructure
For foodpanda, onboarding a merchant with this level of built-in demand fits its broader strategy of marketplace optimization and hyper-local network expansion, turning a heritage brand into another data point for how legacy retail plugs into delivery infrastructure.
For Andok’s, the integration works as a fast track to digital scale. A legacy quick-service chain skips years of independent app development and reaches customers already using foodpanda’s existing logistics network, on a platform they already check daily.
Andok’s built its following on charcoal spit-roasted chicken, a slow-cooked technique that’s stayed largely unchanged since the brand’s early days, alongside seasoned grilled pork belly.
More recently, the Dokito line extended that following into crispy fried chicken and chicken burgers, broadening the brand’s appeal beyond its original rotisserie format and giving foodpanda a menu with both heritage pull and everyday fast-food convenience.
-
Buyer's Guide2 weeks agoBuyer’s Guide: TECNO SPARK 50 Pro vs SPARK 50 5G
-
Reviews1 week agovivo X300 Ultra review: A “Whole Different Animal”
-
Reviews2 weeks agoHONOR Watch 6 Review: Less guessing, more knowing
-
News2 weeks agoBudget smartphone realme C100 Series launches
-
Reviews2 weeks agoThe realme P4 Power: realme’s midrange power play?
-
Camera Shootouts7 days agoCamera Shootout: HONOR 600 Pro vs OPPO Reno15 Pro
-
Entertainment2 weeks agoSamsung brings the Galaxy Z series into Spider-Man: Brand New Day
-
Accessories2 weeks agoFather’s Day gift guide: Gadgets for every kind of dad



