Apps

5 best workout apps to try at home

Start creating healthier habits and close your rings!

Published

January 27, 2021

Chay Lazaro

Over the past year, taking care of ourselves has become a priority for a lot of us. Eating healthier, getting a good amount of sleep, being mindful, and working out will not just make us less susceptible to diseases now and in the long run, they also help relieve stress and avoid bouts of lethargy in our day to day.

As a beginner, exercise will always seem daunting — or even feel like a chore. This is why fitness apps are now more comprehensive than ever, offering guides for different kinds of physical activities to cater to people’s different needs and lifestyles.

Whether you’re a mom of a toddler who thinks she doesn’t have time for working out, or a workaholic who wants to spice up her rather drab routine, here are some of the best workout apps for iOS that you can try at home to help you start creating healthier habits.

Fitness+

US$ 9.99 per month / US$ 79.99 per year

Apple’s very own Fitness+ doesn’t require a separate app, but you do need an Apple Watch and either an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV to access the workouts within the Fitness app.

You can choose from different sets of workouts: HIIT, core, strength training, yoga, dance, treadmill, rowing, cycling, mindful cooldown. There are also options to sort by trainer, duration, and music.

Apart from its seamless integration with the Apple Watch, the biggest draw of Fitness+ are the high production value, diverse set of trainers, and integration with Apple Music.

With 21 different personalities to choose from, you’re sure find one that you will enjoy working out with. My personal favorites are Bakari for HIIT, Jessica for yoga and mindful cooldown, and Kyle for core and strength workouts.

In each class, the trainer walks you through each move that you are doing. A brief warmup and cooldown are also included in every workout.

Having songs you love play in the background makes a grueling 30-minute HIIT actually exciting. It especially helps that the trainers encourage you to sing or dance to the songs during recovery.

Aaptiv

US$ 14.99 per month / US$ 99.99 per year

Sometimes watching a video of someone doing push ups is not necessary. Aaptiv packs all the motivation you need to work out in audio-only classes tailored to your needs.

The beautifully designed UI helps make working out less daunting. Upon signing up, you are asked what your fitness level is, what kind of workouts you’re interested in, length of classes that you prefer, what equipment you have, and one healthy habit the app can help you build. Choose from foam roll, work on your core, master the plank, do squats, do push-ups.

Based on your answers, you then get a weekly personalized coach plan. There are also guided programs, team challenges, and playlists of great music.

Nike Training Club

Free

If being in a virtual class isn’t your cup of tea, Nike Training Club has a good selection of routines that you can easily follow.

You can search workouts based on your needs. Whether you’re looking to improve endurance, mobility, or strength, routines with dumbbells, or those that target specific muscle group, the app has you covered.

One of my favorite features that’s not available on the other apps mentioned here, is the use of the Apple Watch’s haptics. This allows you to focus on doing each rep, instead of looking at your screen to check the time. Getting your form right — including your neck’s position — is important in maximizing results.

My other favorite feature: The app is free!

Peloton

US$ 12.99 per month

While Peloton is known for its high-end treadmill and indoor bike, its app can be downloaded by anyone. It offers different classes that don’t require any of their equipment.

No matter how busy you are, you won’t run out of options with thousands of live and on-demand workouts to choose from. Like Fitness+, Peloton workouts are accompanied by great music and energetic trainers that make exercising fun. Emma Lovewell and Adrian Williams have made strengthening my core a lot more enjoyable.

The leaderboard on the app shows other users who are simultaneously doing the workout with you. If you join any of the live classes, you might even get a shoutout from the trainer.

The app also lets you filter classes by duration, class type, instructor, or music. On days when you feel like doing cardio with Britney Spears or yoga with Elvis, know that those are options.

With more than three million members, challenges within the Peloton app help motivate you to create healthy and consistent fitness habits with other users. The Annual 2021 challenge, which tracks every active minute on all Peloton platforms, has more than one million participants as of writing.

READ: Peloton tips and tricks: How to make the most out of your workout

Wondercise

US$ 4.99 per month / US$ 35.99 per year

If you want to virtual classes but don’t need a charismatic trainer or great background music, try Wondercise. At more than half the price of a paid subscription, this is the workout app that offers all the basics, whatever your level of fitness is.

Using its live motion matching technology, the app analyzes and maps your movements as you train by using a compatible wearable, including the Apple Watch.

Wondercise identifies how closely your movements match those of the onscreen trainer. The more similar your movements are to the trainer, the higher your score will be.

Finding a class that suits your needs is easy. Recommendations that are served to you are tailored to the fitness level and goals you indicate when signing up. This saves you time from scrolling through all the available workouts.

There is also wide range of exercises that you can try that are not available on other apps. Apart from HIIT, core, and strength training, you also get access to tai chi, MMA, kickboxing, and pilates.

Note: All five apps work seamlessly with the Apple Watch. This means that when you start a workout on your phone it automatically syncs with your Apple Watch and records your heart rate and active calories. Apart from Fitness+, all other apps can be used without an Apple Watch.

Related Topics:Aaptiv Apple Apple Watch Fitness+iOS Nike Training Club Peloton Wondercise

Apps

Google Photos can now censor your kid’s face better

The new Redact feature can censor sensitive information.

Published

September 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Censoring photos is heavy work. Either you stick on random emojis or draw an indiscriminate splotch of doodles to cover sensitive information. It’s an imperfect art but an essential one to protect privacy. Today, Google Photos is getting a Redact feature which can censor sensitive bits with pixelated blocks.

An addition to the Markup tool, Redact acts like a nifty pen that can hide information that you don’t want seen. Unlike a ghastly emoji or a splotch, the censored bar mixes better with the surrounding elements. In the example that Google used, a censored license plate blends well with the car it’s attached to, making the photo look more cohesive. Besides license plates, it’s the perfect tool for covering other information like phone numbers, addresses, and the faces of your loved ones.

Google Photos is also rolling out Moods, a set of filters that give photos a nostalgic look, including a 2000s night digicam vibe that’s popular today. There are also 15 new Remix templates to add more creation options.

Both the Redact and the Moods features will roll out to Android users starting today. The new Remix templates, however, will be limited to some countries on both Android and iOS.

Apps

Smart launches LiveSmart App for exclusive deals

Exclusive deals, cashback, and bill payments in one app.

Published

September 18, 2026

GadgetMatch

Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and TNT have launched the LiveSmart App, a new platform that combines loading, bill payments, exclusive offers, and other everyday transactions in one app.

The app is available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. It is open to Smart, TNT, and subscribers of other mobile networks.

The LiveSmart App gives users access to exclusive deals and savings. These include cashback offers, discounted Smart and TNT data packages, and limited-time access to AI.Smart.

“Filipinos are becoming more deliberate about where they spend and how they can get more value from every peso,” said Lloyd R. Manaloto, FVP and OIC for Smart. “The LiveSmart App is designed to help make those everyday decisions a little smarter, by giving users convenient ways to load, pay bills, and access exclusive savings and offers in one place.”

Exclusive deals and perks

Smart and TNT are rolling out several offers on the LiveSmart App starting September 18.

Smart and TNT subscribers can get 5% cashback when they purchase load or pay their Smart Postpaid bill through the app.

The app also offers data packages at exclusive prices. Smart Prepaid subscribers can get Power All 109 for PHP 105, while TNT subscribers can get Saya All 109 for PHP 105.

Users who download the LiveSmart App may also receive limited-time free access to AI.Smart.

AI.Smart combines multiple AI models, including AWS Nova, ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, and Thinking Machines, in one workspace. Users can use it to generate images, create presentations, draft documents and spreadsheets, and get help with schoolwork, content creation, and other projects.

To claim the free AI.Smart credits, users need to tap the AI.Smart banner in the LiveSmart App. They then need to create an AI.Smart account using their Smart or TNT number.

Smart says users can also expect more exclusive deals and perks from lifestyle partners as it expands the LiveSmart App.

Powered by Smart 5G

The LiveSmart App runs on Smart’s network. Smart 5G supports activities such as video streaming, gaming, and real-time social media sharing.

The company said Ookla recently recognized its network for the Best Mobile Video Experience in the Philippines for the first half of 2026. Smart recorded a Video Score of 72.82, which it said was the highest among mobile operators in the country.

The LiveSmart App is now available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Users can learn more about the app through Smart’s website.

Apps

Apple’s best feature to cure motion sickness is finally on Android

Google copies a good page from Apple’s playbook.

Published

September 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

As an Android user, I’ve been jealous of iPhone users for a while now, but it’s not for the reason you might think. See, I’m ridiculously prone to motion sickness when I’m not driving. So, when I discovered that Apple has a software-based cure called Vehicle Motion Cues, I wanted it immediately. Now, Android does have third-party apps that do the same thing, but they’re not as good as a fully native version. Well, those dark, nauseating days are about to come to an end. Android 17 is finally getting a similar tool called Motion assist.

Before that, let’s rewind for a bit. What do these features do? How can they cure motion sickness?

Whenever you open Vehicle Motion Cues or Motion assist, the interface spawns a series of dots on the screen. These dots respond to movement. For example, if the vehicle turns to the left, the dots also go to the left, mimicking the movement. Without cues like this, the stationary nature of the screen clashes with our brain’s perception of movement. The disparity creates that feeling of nausea. Basically, our eyes are desperately trying to focus on the static screen, but our brains are telling us that we should be seeing motion. Having moving dots reorients our brain and places the phone inside our perception of movement.

Now, you can enable the same feature on your Android 17 device through Settings > All services > Motion assist under Personal & device safety. You can also set it so that the feature turns on automatically when the phone detects that you’re in a moving vehicle. Finally, you can also tweak the shape, color, and opacity of these dots.

Android 17’s Motion assist is rolling out now to compatible devices.