Apple Watch Connected: Is Apple now killing all fitness apps?

The Apple Watch measures your biometric data, just like any other smartwatch. This data can now be used to save money in the USA. Apple has partnered with fitness providers Basecamp, Crunch Fitness, Orange Theory Fitness and YMCA have launched the "Apple Watch Connected" programme in the USA. Participants can connect their Apple Watches to the suppliers' fitness devices, which then provide more reliable data. For example, a stationary bike can transmit the number of kilometres ridden to the watch, as a GPS would always display zero.

In return for connecting to the Apple Watch, users receive discounts at fitness centres. In the case of Crunch Fitness, it is possible to save $3 per month.

Sign in, register, train

Apple Watch Connected is free for users. All they have to do is take out a fitness subscription and then receive a code from the gym, which they have to enter in the gym's WatchOS app. In the case of Crunch Fitness, this is Crunchtime Active Rewards.

If the user achieves certain fitness goals, discounts are offered. Apple obviously wants to encourage Americans to exercise: If money can be saved with little effort and as a side effect the user also becomes healthier, then everyone wins. In return, Apple receives more data for its research and for possible sale and/or "exchange with selected partners". Apple Watch Connected provides Apple and its partners with data on a body under stress. Obviously, that's what Apple was missing.

For gyms, participation in Apple Watch Connected is free of charge. However, the companies must fulfil certain requirements that could cost them money. The gyms must also support Apple Pay. Furthermore, Apple's GymKit must be installed on the cardio devices.

The whole initiative sounds good, but is questionable from a data protection perspective. Not only is more data being channelled towards Apple, but gyms are being directed towards the Apple track. Will initiatives from other smartwatch manufacturers be authorised? Who exactly does the data go to? What will they do with it?

These questions remain unanswered. A report by the news channel CNBC only has a response from the gym chain Crunch Fitness on the topic of market research. The Apple data is not used to find out which cardio machines are used the most. This is already happening with other sensors.

For now, Apple Watch Connected is only being rolled out in the USA. As fitness devices are the same all over the world and some manufacturers dominate the market, an international launch is only a matter of time and will involve little additional effort. Apple Pay is likely to be the major obstacle, because without Apple Pay, there is no Apple Watch Connected.

The trend towards the app

Apple is not doing anything new with Apple Watch Connected, but it is bigger and much more powerful. Because Apple is the most valuable brand in the world and therefore has something that other manufacturers and developers don't have: Power. If Apple wanted to, the company could quickly drive the competition out of the market. That would be a shame, because the people from Cupertino are not the only ones venturing into the world of fitness with an app and devices.

Apps are currently trending in the fitness world. The pioneer was the manufacturer Polar, whose smartwatches have been connecting with at least the Technogym brand devices for years. Automatically and without being asked, by the way. Polar provides a Developer Kit for this purpose, but it is based on Android. Does Apple Watch Connected outperform Polar?