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Case Studies
How Apple Cleverly Onboards People To Fitness+

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BFM+Exclusive

How Apple Cleverly Onboards People To Fitness+

8 mins
about Apple
Apple logo
  • Summary:

Most people find running on a treadmill boring—after all, how long can you really stare at your garage wall before losing motivation?

In an attempt to leverage some of the social psychology behind a group exercise class, Peloton released a premium spin bike for your home, with a giant screen mounted on the front. This lets you join live video classes, and cycle along with others in a pretty seamless experience.

But there's a catch: the equipment isn't cheap. The cheapest bike and treadmill being £1,390 and £2,295, plus a £39 monthly subscription for the live classes.

What if you could get the benefits of a that group psychology, without having to spend thousands of pounds?

Instead of buying a Peloton treadmill with an integrated screen for £2,295, couldn't you just use your iPhone, and a £400 treadmill that you picked up from Amazon?

That's more or less what Apple Fitness+ is—a subscription for home-workouts, that aims to utilise Apple hardware with standard fitness equipment.

But is the user experience any good? That's what this case study is about.

Summary:

  • 🪂

    Beware of the 'jump in' fallacy

  • 🚧

    Why Apple intentionally adds friction

  • 🧙‍♀️

    Some UX wizardry by YouTube

  • 😰

    Why to not constantly push for upgrades

  • 😍

    How Apple strikes a perfect balance

Profile photo. A circular headshot of a smiling young man with short tousled hair and round glasses, suitable as an author avatar or user profile picture. No interface elements are shown.

Written by Peter Ramsey

Consultant to 100+ companies

Part of:
Mastering Onboarding
Published: 29/09/2021
Last edited: 01/04/2025

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