Apple being Apple (Fitness + video streaming)

[lumo94]

I’m not a fanboy of any company, but it’s fair to say I like most of the stuff Apple makes. I have bought several generations of IPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods and MacBooks. Not because they have Apple logos on, but because I think they’re great products. I also really like that Apple seem to respect my privacy more than other tech companies. So, it’s fair to say I am all in on their ecosystem and have given them a lot of my money.

 

Now, I forgive Apple for a lot of the annoying things they do but today I’ve encountered something so unnecessarily anti consumer it’s ridiculous. With gyms closed in my area at the moment due to Covid, I’ve been really looking forward to Apple Fitness + launching. I thought that the Apple Watch integration would make it a step above competing workout apps. So, after buying the subscription I cleared a space in front of my TV and got ready for my workout. Except there was a problem, my Samsung Smart TV didn’t show up in the Airplay list like it normally does. I restarted both devices, checked that Airplay was working in other apps and tried again, but nothing.
 

Thinking it was a bug, I contacted Apple support. It turns out that the workout videos don’t work with Airplay, and you can only stream them to an Apple TV. What a joke. There is no technical reason for this. My TV supports Airplay 2 and even has an Apple TV app installed on it. I can even Airplay the workout preview videos to the TV but not the workouts themselves. I checked the internet for a potential workaround and it turns out that even with iPad screen mirroring using a HDMI cable, the workout videos won’t display. This is a service I have paid for! Sure, I can still watch it on my iPhone screen but that really isn’t the same. I have no need of an Apple TV, it doesn’t do anything my smart TV doesn’t already do. It’s just Apple being Apple and making everything outside their ecosystem incompatible for no reason. 
 

Anyway, rant over. Can anyone on here think of a workaround that would allow me to stream the videos to my TV?

[The_russian]

You mentioned it doesn't work on iPads when using an HDMI cable, have you tried Screen Mirroring the iPhone screen instead of trying to Airplay though the video player? If the iPad scenario doesn't work this probably won't either, but worth a try. 

[lumo94]

3 minutes ago, The_russian said:

You mentioned it doesn't work on iPads when using an HDMI cable, have you tried Screen Mirroring the iPhone screen instead of trying to Airplay though the video player? If the iPad scenario doesn't work this probably won't either, but worth a try. 

Yeah, I tried this and the Audio plays through the TV but the screen just goes black. It looks like Apple have deliberately blocked it.

[The_russian]

15 minutes ago, lumo94 said:

Yeah, I tried this and the Audio plays through the TV but the screen just goes black. It looks like Apple have deliberately blocked it.

That's what I thought would most likely happen, it reminds me of how some companies/programs implement DRM protection. In that case I'm not really sure what to suggest. 

[lumo94]

1 minute ago, The_russian said:

That's what I thought would most likely happen, it reminds me of how some companies/programs implement DRM protection. In that case I'm not really sure what to suggest. 

Thank you for trying. I really don’t understand why they would implement DRM on this. I’ve already paid for the service and just want to play the videos on a bigger screen. Expecting me to buy an Apple TV which I don’t need just to do this seems really unfair when I’m already using their phone and watch.