Happy new year, everyone! I hope you all had a great break. I certainly did, working on a few side projects and thinking about my workflows. I also spent some time considering where the Apple Watch and watchOS stand going into 2025. Last year, I wrote my first watchOS review for watchOS 11. It was...
Apple Fitness+ Announces Strava Integration, New Workout Programs, and More
Apple has announced a slew of additions to its fitness subscription service, Apple Fitness+, including new workout programs for strength, yoga “peak poses”, breath meditation, and even training for pickleball. New editions of the Artist Spotlight series are also on the way featuring Janet Jackson, Coldplay, Bruno Mars, and Kendrick Lamar. Upcoming guests for the Time to Walk series have been revealed, too, and they include Steve Aoki, Lana Condor, Tiffany Haddish, Rita Ora, Daddy Yankee, and Maddie Ziegler. To kick off the latest season of Time to Walk, January 13 sees a new episode with Severance star Adam Scott, four days ahead of the show’s second season premiere on Apple TV+.
However, along with a guest appearance by dancer Alex Wong in a special dance workout, the service’s most notable new feature is a collaboration with popular fitness tracking app Strava. Users can now share Fitness+ workouts directly to Strava, and the app will display richer details for workouts, including episode images, trainers’ names, and metrics. Additionally, Strava subscribers can take advantage of three free months of Fitness+ membership, and celebrated athletes from the Strava community will make guest appearances on the service later in the year.
This collaboration is notable for several reasons. Apple rarely offers free trials of Fitness+ without the purchase of an Apple device. (You will still need an iPhone, iPad, or an Apple TV to use the service.) Fitness+ has also never featured trainers from a different training community before. Lastly, Strava made a decision in November of last year to restrict how third-party apps could access its data, angering a fair few users. It seemed to indicate that Strava was becoming a more closed platform, but this partnership lends evidence to the contrary.
It will be interesting to see if Strava announces more collaborations with services like Fitness+ and if Apple reaches out to other apps and services in this way. Fitness+ is a fantastic service that I use several times a week, but it can sometimes feel a little one-size-fits-all and closed off. A collaboration like this is a good sign that it might be about to evolve.
Netflix Appearances, Ecobee Cameras, and Trying Alternatives
Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: MacStories, as seen on Netflix. (Link) A word of warning from Jeff for those who use 1Password and are thinking of trying out the iOS 18.3 beta. (Link) Any thoughts on connecting an Ecobee Smart Camera Doorbell to HomeKit Secure Video? Member nello would love to hear...
My Favorites of the Year in Threes
It’s almost the end of 2024, and there are lots of best-of lists floating around. It’s part of the predictable yearly news cycle. I’m nothing if not predictable, so here are some of my favorites of 2024, in multiples of three, each with a slight twist. Tech Stories There have been so many big tech...
Albums, Albums, and Albums
It was a quiet week on Discord, but Jarrod did make a very useful Raindrop collection including platform-agnostic links to all the best albums of 2024 that John and Federico shared on Unwind last week. (Link) Want to join the Club MacStories+ Discord?Upgrade toClub MacStories+ or Club Premier, then visit theAccount page....
I’m Going to Compliment Apple’s AI Efforts
Yes, I really am. But first… This week saw the release of the .2 updates to all of Apple’s OSes and, with them, the introduction of a significant number of Apple Intelligence features. Federico shared an excellent write-up of them on MacStories, but it’s fair to say that none of the features are mind-blowing. Even...
Alcove: An Excellent Notch Utility with Beautiful Animations
Dia, Music Filtering, and a Spatchcocked Meal
Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: The Browser Company announced plans for a new AI browser this week, and members had some thoughts. (Link) scribblenik has been playing with an intriguing-looking productivity app. (Link) Spatchcock, anyone? (Link) If you’re looking at an end-of-year music recap full of kids’ music or white noise, here’s...
Wallace and Gromit Video Shot on iPhone and Projected onto Battersea Power Station→
If you were around London’s Battersea Power Station – home to Apple’s UK headquarters – over the weekend, you might have spotted plasticine heroes Wallace and Gromit projected onto the station’s two 101-meter-high chimneys. While this could be dismissed as some giant-sized promotion for the duo’s new film, set to be broadcast on the BBC this Christmas (and Netflix outside of the UK), the story behind it is more interesting.
These short animations were created by Aardman Animation using the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple shared the details in a press release:
iPhone 16 Pro Max was mounted on motorised heads on set to capture two angles of the Christmas trees, shooting a total of 6,000 frames. Eight iPhone 16 Pro Max devices used the 5x Telephoto camera to shoot super-high-resolution images in ProRAW, which were then assembled frame by frame to produce a stunning 6K video.
Apple even created a special page on its website featuring a behind-the-scenes video (also available on YouTube), details of how to visit Battersea Power Station, and another video with quick tips for making your own stop-motion video using Aardman’s app.
Additionally, the director of the short, Gavin Strange, will be giving a talk at Apple’s Regent Street store on Thursday, December 12.
The projection will be on display every night from 5:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. until New Year’s Eve. It follows artist David Hockney’s Christmas display from last year, which was created on an iPad and similarly projected onto the Battersea Power Station.
It’s lovely to see Apple commission projects that highlight artists’ talents, with the use of Apple devices serving as the thread between them rather than the focus.