Apple's vice president of fitness technologies Jay Blahnik will retire this summer, bringing to an end a 13-year stint with Apple that was marred by accusations that he created a toxic work environment and sexually harassed an employee.


In an email to employees this week, Apple said Blahnik, 57, will retire in July "to spend time with his family and make an exciting move to New York City," according to The New York Times.

Blahnik joined Apple in 2013 after two decades as a consultant at Nike. He played a central role in developing the Apple Watch's iconic Activity rings (the three colored circles that users close daily by exercising, standing, and burning calories) and later oversaw Fitness+, Apple's subscription workout service featuring video classes for strength work, HIIT, cycling, meditation, yoga, and more.

His leadership of the Fitness+ team however drew serious complaints. In an August 2025 report by the Times, nine current and former employees accused Blahnik of being "verbally abusive, manipulative and inappropriate." More than 10 of the roughly 100 employees on his team had sought extended mental health or medical leaves of absence since 2022, the report said.

Apple settled one complaint alleging sexual harassment by Blahnik and is currently defending him in a separate lawsuit brought by employee Mandana Mofidi, who accused him of bullying. That case is scheduled to go to trial next year.

When employees raised concerns about Blahnik's conduct, Apple initiated an internal investigation and found no evidence of wrongdoing, so Blahnik remained in his role. At the time, Apple spokesperson Lance Lin called the NYT report full of "many inaccurate claims and mischaracterizations," but didn't specify which claims the company disputed.

It's unclear who will succeed Blahnik at Fitness+. Meanwhile, the future of Fitness+ is itself said to be "under review," according to Bloomberg, with services chief Eddy Cue apparently "considering changes" to the service.

Apple Fitness+ launched in 2020. In the U.S., the service costs $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year. Apple Fitness+ is also available as part of the Apple One Premier bundle, with U.S. pricing set at $37.95 per month.
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The future of Apple Fitness+ remains "under review," according to the latest word from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. However, he did not share any specific details.


"If I were to guess, Apple will ultimately meld its Health app with Fitness+ in some fashion — perhaps offering it as a combined subscription," said Gurman.

Gurman recently reported that Apple has scaled back plans for a separate Apple Health+ subscription service, which would have provided AI-powered health recommendations. However, he said some of the features that would have been part of Apple Health+ will be repurposed and rolled out individually.

Launched in 2020, Apple Fitness+ offers a library of trainer-led workout and meditation videos in Apple's Fitness app, across the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. In the U.S., the service costs $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year. Apple Fitness+ is also included in the Apple One Premier bundle for $37.95 per month.


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Apple today announced a number of updates to Apple Fitness+ and activity with the Apple Watch.


The key announcements include:

• New Year limited-edition award: Users can win the award by closing all three Activity Rings for seven days in a row in January.


• "Quit Quitting" Strava challenge: Available in Strava throughout January, users who log 12 workouts anytime in the month will win an Apple Watch badge in the app.


• New multiweek programs: From January 5, the "Make Your Fitness Comeback program" will be available for Strength, HIIT, and Yoga. Each week builds on the previous one to help users progress.


• Fitness+ Artist Spotlight returns: New workouts featuring music from KAROL G and, from February 5, Bad Bunny.


• New Time to Walk episodes: Starting January 19, new episodes feature actor and producer Penn Badgley, Spice Girls member, singer, songwriter, and TV personality Mel B, and actor Michelle Monaghan.

Apple added that many people abandon New Year's fitness resolutions by the second Friday of January, known as "Quitter's Day," but Apple Watch users appear far more likely to stay on track. An analysis of four years of data from around 100,000 participants in the Apple Heart and Movement Study found that, after a seasonal dip in activity during November and December, average daily exercise minutes rise sharply in January and continue increasing into spring.

More than 60% of users boosted their exercise by over 10% in the first two weeks of January compared with December levels. Nearly 80% of those users maintained the increase through the rest of January, and 90% of that group sustained higher activity levels through February and March. The findings are based on participants who consistently wore an Apple Watch and shared Activity data as part of the long-running study conducted with major U.S. health institutions.
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Apple Fitness+ today expanded to 28 new markets in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre.


The service today became available in Norway, Poland, the Philippines, Sweden, Vietnam, Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year. The expansion increases total availability to 49 countries, with a full list available at the bottom of Apple's press release.

Hundreds of sessions are initially available with digitally generated voice dubbing in Spanish and German, with Japanese set to be added when the service launches in Japan. New dubbed episodes will be released weekly across all supported regions.

The new dubbing system uses a generated voice modeled on each of the 28 Fitness+ trainers' real voices. Users will be able to switch audio tracks after starting a session or set a preferred language in the Fitness app, which will automatically default to the dubbed version when available. Apple has not previously offered dubbed workout content on Fitness+, instead relying on subtitles for non-English markets since the service launched in 2020.

Apple is also adding a new K-Pop music genre to the service, which will be available across workout types. The new category joins existing genres such as Upbeat Anthems, Latest Hits, Hip-Hop/R&B, and Latin Grooves.

Prior to today, Fitness+ was already available in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK, and the U.S.
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Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre.


Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year. The expansion increases total availability to 49 countries.

Hundreds of sessions will initially be available with digitally generated voice dubbing in Spanish and German, with Japanese added when the service launches in Japan. New dubbed episodes will be released weekly across all supported regions.

The new dubbing system uses a generated voice modeled on each of the 28 Fitness+ trainers' real voices. Users will be able to switch audio tracks after starting a session or set a preferred language in the Fitness app, which will automatically default to the dubbed version when available. Apple has not previously offered dubbed workout content on Fitness+, instead relying on subtitles for non-English markets since the service launched in 2020.

Apple is also adding a new K-Pop music genre to the service, which will be available across workout types. The new category joins existing genres such as Upbeat Anthems, Latest Hits, Hip-Hop/R&B, and Latin Grooves. Apple also noted that the latest episode of Time to Walk features Japanese Formula 1 driver Yuki Tsunoda, and is available today.

Fitness+ is currently available in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK, and the U.S. The service will reach the newly announced 28 markets, which include Norway, Poland, the Philippines, Sweden, Vietnam, and others, on December 15.
This article, "Apple Fitness+ Coming to 28 New Regions With Digital Voice Dubbing" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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