Fitness+ Ascends Worldwide: Apple’s AI-Driven Leap Accompanies Tap to Pay Expansion

Apple has unfurled one of its most expansive Fitness+ growth waves to date, a sweeping enlargement propelled in part by the quiet machinery of generative AI.

In parallel with that announcement, Apple revealed that Tap to Pay on iPhone has now reached Singapore, granting independent merchants, boutique vendors, and larger commercial outfits the ability to convert any compatible iPhone into a frictionless, contactless payment hub.

Originally debuting in the United States in February 2022, Tap to Pay empowers iPhones to receive transactions via Apple Pay, tap-enabled credit and debit cards, and a constellation of digital wallets all processed through encrypted channels. Apple, ever-guarded about user anonymity, receives no insight into the purchaser’s identity nor their acquisitions.

No auxiliary terminals, dongles, or credit card rigs are necessary. Using NFC technology as its quiet sentinel, Tap to Pay authenticates transactions securely while also supporting PIN entry and its accessibility accommodations.

At launch in Singapore, the service will harmonize with Adyen, Fiuu, HitPay, Revolut, Stripe, and Zoho. Grab is slated to bring Tap to Pay aboard early next year.

Any iPhone from the XS onward can operate as a merchant terminal. Sellers merely open their commerce app, register the sale, and extend their device to the buyer, who completes their payment with any recognized tap-ready method. With its newest extension, Tap to Pay now touches 50 countries and regions, with Apple maintaining an updated roster of supported locales on its site.

Meanwhile, Apple’s Fitness+ its digital constellation of guided training, wellness sessions, and energetic workouts is preparing for a monumental surge. Next week, the platform will unfurl across more than two dozen additional markets, effectively more than doubling its global presence. Apple notes that generative AI is serving as a key enabler in orchestrating this massive rollout.

With the exception of Japan, which will join in early 2026, every newly added region will gain access beginning Monday, December 15. The expanded cohort includes Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and many additional territories.

To cultivate a more welcoming, multilingual environment, Fitness+ will introduce digitally dubbed workouts and meditations in Spanish and German, with Japanese narratives arriving early next year. Each dubbed session employs a generated voice intricately modeled on the authentic timbre of the 28 Fitness+ trainers themselves.

Fresh episodes in all three dubbed languages will appear weekly, alongside the original English editions. Users can select their preferred audio language through the in-session audio controller. Moreover, those who set their Fitness app to Spanish, German, or Japanese will automatically receive dubbed content whenever available.

Fitness+ is also weaving K-Pop into its musical offerings, enriching its sonic palette for energized movement.

Jay Blahnik, Apple’s vice president of Fitness Technologies, echoed the significance of this global stride. He emphasized how Fitness+ interlaces effortlessly across Apple devices, unlocking real-time metrics via Apple Watch or AirPods Pro 3 and transforming everyday moments into opportunities for vitality. This expansion, Blahnik said, marks Apple’s most ambitious push yet to connect users worldwide with invigorating activity.

The broadened lineup now includes countries where Fitness+ is already active such as Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, the UAE, the U.S., and many others and those soon to activate on December 15, spanning Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Venezuela, and beyond, with Japan following shortly after.

This cascade of developments emerges upon reports suggesting that the service’s future is being re-evaluated internally amid leadership shifts.

In the United States, Apple Fitness+ costs $9.99 per month or $79.99 annually and supports up to six individuals through Family Sharing. It is also bundled into Apple One Premiere at $37.95 per month, alongside a suite of Apple’s premium services like Apple Music and Apple TV.

While the experience flourishes best with an Apple Watch displaying live heart metrics, calorie counts, and more — it remains fully functional without one. Users can access Fitness+ through iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV 4K, or stream sessions to any AirPlay-compatible display.