What you need to know
- Apple has announced its new Apple Watch Connected program.
- It's an extension of GymKit that can connect you to different rewards based on your activity, like a discount on your membership.
- Initial partners are Orangetheory, Crunch, YMCA, and Basecamp Fitness, which is going to give members an Apple Watch Series 5 and let them pay it off by completing goals.
Apple has announced its new Apple Watch Connected program, which will connect users with different rewards based on their activity.
As reported by CNET:
Apple's newest gym partnership, announced Thursday, is aiming to knit the gym experience and the Apple Watch experience more closely together by connecting your Watch's activity data to gym reward programs. The "Apple Watch Connected" program is an extension of the GymKit technology that pairs Apple Watches to gym equipment, and the first partners -- Orangetheory, Crunch, YMCA (starting with Twin Cities YMCA gyms) and the boutique Basecamp Fitness -- are going to include different takes on earned rewards with Apple Watch activity.
Apple's Senior Director of Fitness for Health, Jay Blahnik has explained how Apple Watch Connected can be used by gyms to reward members with different incentives based on their activity. For example, the YMCA is going to offer donations to build a kid's swimming program, Crunch will offer $3 off memberships for completing weekly programs, Basecamp is going to give its members a Series 5 Apple Watch and allow them to pay it off completing fitness goals.
It's starting with a small number of gyms, but reports are that it will expand over the coming year. The report continues:
I peeked at an early demo in action at the FiDi Crunch Signature Club gym, and really, it's like an extension of existing Apple Watch features like GymKit and Apple Pay (and Wallet for membership cards), along with a promise of app support on-watch for partners in the program. CrunchTime Active Rewards app is the gym's new cardio rewards program app. Weekly reward goals are calculated based on algorithms working off height and weight data, and Worts promises the goals will be easy, but will progress with just enough challenge. Making a week means a $3 discount to the monthly bill.
So there you have it, with Apple's new Apple Watch Connected program, you can now start earning real-life rewards (other than the improvement to your health and fitness of course) in certain gyms!
