"Unleashing the Power of Pop Icons: Apple Fitness Plus Introduces Rihanna and Britney Workouts, Alongside Mind-Blowing 'Sound' Meditations"

Apple is ringing in the new year by refreshing Fitness Plus, its subscription exercise and wellness service. Here’s what to know.

Jessica RendallWellness WriterJessica is a writer on the Wellness team with a focus on health news. Before CNET, she worked in local journalism covering public health issues, business and music.ExpertiseMedical news, pregnancy topics and health hacks that don’t cost moneyCredentials

A Fitness Plus meditation.

Apple

Fitness Plus, Apple’s subscription service for iPhone and Apple Watch users, is getting a refresh this year. New workouts with huge music stars, new meditations featuring tranquil sounds and tones, new workourts for golfers and an integration with Time to Walk and Apple Podcasts will all start rolling out Jan. 8.

Apple is revamping the Artist Spotlight workout series, kicking off a line of popular musicians starting with Rihanna and then Britney Spears and U2, with Usher joining the lineup to coincide with his Super Bowl halftime appearance. It’s apparently the first time Rihanna has licensed her music to any workout app.

On a more relaxing note, the app’s meditations are getting a new Sound theme, which will feature tranquil tones, rhythms and deep reverberations meant to soothe and engage someone during a meditation with light guidance from a trainer. This may be a more relaxing complement to other more involved or guided meditations featured on Fitness Plus.

Apple

Also this year, Fitness Plus is moving some episodes of its podcast-like feature, Time to Walk, into Apple’s actual podcast portal, Apple Podcasts. Subscribers of Fitness Plus will be able to access 50 episodes on the podcast app at launch in addition to the fitness app, and people who don’t pay for the subscription will be able to access 10 episodes for free. Time to Walk episodes feature notable people like Al Roker, Dolly Parton and more.

Lastly, Apple announced a new workout for golfers on Fitness Plus with an emphasis on strength, core and yoga, as well as a deal with Anytime Fitness: Memberships come with a free Fitness Plus subscription and prospective members of the nationwide gym can get three free months of Fitness Plus when they sign up. Similarly, Fitness Plus subscribers can get 30 days of Anytime Fitness free when they sign up for a 12-month membership.

Fitness Plus subscriptions cost $10 (£10, AU$15) per month or $80 annually. It’s free for new subscribers for three months if you buy an Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad or Apple TV.

For more, read where to get the best Apple Watch deals. Also, get caught up on latest news around Apple Watch sales and the company’s patent dispute.