I hate walking a lot less than running, but little is more exciting than spending an hour outdoors in the boring blah the suburb. Give me hills, trails, water – anything but asphalt and go through six different Starbucks in three blocks. And while Apple can’t make lush trees and landscapes grow out of thin air, the company’s new “Time to Walk” audio stories at least reduce the monotony.
I’ll get the bad news out first: these audio narratives, designed to accompany your walk the way your favorite band or podcast would, are exclusive to Apple’s Fitness + service. So, you won’t hear Dolly Parton calm your tired self from exercising with sparkling stories, unless you pay $ 10 / month (or $ 80 / year). Or, well, unless you subscribe her winning podcast, which I fully endorse.
It is not only the country queen who is appearing in Apple’s new “Time to Walk” series. You’ll also find stories from Golden State Warriors, Draymond Green, musician Shawn Mendes and actress Uzo Aduba. Nothing against these three, but I’m not sure if anything can capture Dolly’s high-pitched and occasionally obscene conversation style.
To check any of these audio narratives, attach your Apple Watch – a requirement – and pull the Fitness application on your iPhone or iPad. Scroll down to the new Walking Time section:
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Touch a person and you’ll see the option to add your Time to Walk episode to your Apple Watch:
Each of these episodes is a mix of music and chat – some roughly a 50-50 split, others heavier in chat than in music (which tends to be just three songs). Once you’ve completed the transfer to your watch, you won’t be able to start it on your iPhone or iPad. Instead, you’ll access the Workout app on your Apple watch, where you’ll see the Time to Walk episodes listed among your usual exercise routines:
Strangely, the audio narrative didn’t start as soon as my walking training started; I had to slide it to the left, which showed the normal music controls. This can also be a peculiarity of my AirPods Pro connection, which has been complicated lately; so if you don’t hear anything at first, know that you may need to start the Time to Walk episode yourself.
Other than that, sit back and enjoy the mini monologue. Apple will release a new episode of Time to Walk every week on Mondays from now until the end of April. This will give you plenty of time to find the next big distraction you will need to keep your habits healthy.