Apple to celebrate Valentine’s Day with new health features

Valentine’s Day may be on February 14th, but American Heart Month is set to last the entire month—and Apple is greeting it with a few aces up its sleeve.

Needless to say, all of Apple’s Heart Month specials are health-related, and the Apple Watch in particular is getting a few new limited-time features to encourage users to get up and moving—all with the goal of having a healthier body and mind.

For starters, if you complete Apple’s new Health Month Activity Challenge on Valentine’s Day, you will win a custom iMessage sticker coupled with an exclusive award. The challenge isn’t daunting by any means; it’s just 30 minutes of exercise to complete Apple’s activity ring that wins you these prizes.

Apart from that, all month long, Apple will be including a special featured set of 30-minute workouts on Apple Fitness+. The “Time to Walk” experience, which was unveiled at around the same time last year, is receiving a new episode featuring Georges St-Pierre, a former Canadian mixed martial arts champion.

To make use of these additions, you’d need an Apple+ membership—which comes with a free trial for three months, then costs $9.99 a month afterward.

“We’re strong believers at Apple that if you can empower people with information about their health, you can change the trajectory of their well-being,” stated Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer.

“Keeping your heart healthy requires a holistic approach — something we’ve focused on since the first generation of Apple Watch with the inclusion of activity and workout apps, in addition to heart rate. Today, people of all ages can use our products and services to learn more about staying healthy, work toward their personal goals, and have a lot of fun along the way.”

Along with the Apple Watch-exclusive features, Apple is also going to be offering new custom compilations across Apple Fitness+, the App Store, Apple TV, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Books, according to Apple’s newsroom post.

You’ve got to give it to Apple for giving users’ health some extra attention this month; both physical and mental health have been difficult to maintain in light of recent events, and this may just make things just a tad easier.