A Twitter handle @KhaosT spotted a new ‘Time To Walk’ Apple Watch workout in iOS 14.4 beta. 9to5Mac code investigation details that the new Time to Walk will be guided audio workouts on Apple Watch with synced music. Currently, in testing phase, the new feature is not functional and might be subjected to changes at the time of release.
In December 2020, Apple seeded iOS 14.4 beta to developers with bug fixes, performance improvements, and handoff to HomePod mini via U1 chip. Prior to that, iOS 14.3 was released to users with Apple ProRAW, Fitness+ home workout service, AirPods Max support, privacy updates, Air Quality information in Weather app, and more. Therefore, it is assumed that the new ‘Time to Walk’ Apple Watch workout might be an extension of Fitness + for outdoor workouts.
Time To Walk – new Apple Watch Workout
As mentioned in the description of the feature in the Apple Watch app on iPhone, users will be able to download the ‘Time To Walk’ Apple Watch workouts via their iPhones and the session will automatically delete after completion.
Time To Walk Workouts are downloaded when Apple Watch is connected to power and near your iPhone. Completed workouts are deleted automatically.
Standalone Fitness+ support coming soon? (On iOS 14.4 beta, not actually working right now) pic.twitter.com/lz9ZK603SZ
— Khaos Tian (@KhaosT) January 5, 2021
9to5Mac writes that ‘Time to Walk’ branding might be continuation of the ‘Time to Stand’ feature on Apple Watch which pushes notifications for users to stand and walk a little once every hour. So, the new feature would encourage the users to complete a walk session per day.
Based on the fact these special workouts need to be downloaded and automatically deleted when completed, it follows that there is an associated audio track with these sessions.
This heavily suggests that Time to Walk workouts will resemble guided audio workout sessions. 9to5Mac code findings back this up, with references to ‘WORKOUT_GUIDED_WALK’ found in the beta source code.
Having said, since the Time To Walk workout will disappear after completion, a lot of details about the sessions are not clear at the moment like how long will the walk session be, will they be customizable as per preference, age, medical condition, weight, or select the music. We will have to wait for upcoming beta updates to get more information on the new Apple Watch workouts.
