You won’t need a pricey Apple TV to stream Fitness+ classes to your television anymore.
When Apple launched Fitness+ in December, users were only able to access it using their iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Soon, they’ll be able to cast it to TVs and other devices using AirPlay 2.
Fitness+ offers a variety of workouts, including classes for strength training, cycling, and more. But in order to participate, users need an Apple Watch to track their metrics.
Apple’s Airplay 2 is a feature that allows you to mirror whatever’s on your iPhone or iPad right to your Apple TV, or a TV that supports it. You can also do the same for audio — whether it’s a HomePod or a third-party smart speaker.
With Fitness+ specifically, you’ll be able to mirror workout classes (with the option to choose between video or just audio) to your TV to make for a more comfortable viewing experience. It’ll also save you about $149 to $179 — the price for an Apple TV HD or 4K model, respectively.
But there are some caveats. For starters, you won’t be able to see your metrics on the screen, the way you can when using Apple TV. So, to keep an eye on stats like the countdown timer, heart-rate, Activity rings, and Burn Bar (which shows how you’re doing compared to others who have taken the class), you’ll have to glance at your Apple Watch.
Additionally, you’ll have to make sure that your TV is compatible with AirPlay 2. I’d recommend taking a look at Apple’s list of AirPlay 2-enabled devices to double-check the feature will work with your gadgets at home.
The feature isn’t available for everyone yet, either. As of now, it’s been released as part of the developer beta for watchOS 7.4 and iOS 14.5. So, unless you have a developer account, you’ll have to wait a little while.
While it’s nice of Apple to give users more options to access Fitness+, it would’ve been nice to have this capability when the workout service first launched. Let’s just hope those who purchased an Apple TV, specifically for this reason, saved the receipt.