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Apple Employees Who Completed This Year's 'Close Your Rings' Challenge Receive Shirt and Congratulatory Card

Apple each year hosts a company wide fitness challenge for its employees at corporate offices and retail stores around the world, tasking participants to close all three of their Apple Watch Activity Rings every day of the month.

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The challenge is normally held in February as part of Heart Month, but this year's challenge was delayed due to the ongoing public health crisis that had people staying in their homes for the early months of the year.

Apple reinstated the activity challenge on Monday, July 20, and it ran through Sunday, August 16. Employees who participated and successfully closed their rings each day are now receiving their award, which is an Apple-designed t-shirt that says "2020" in a logo with Apple Watch Activity-style rings.

The t-shirt is accompanied by a congratulatory card, but Apple appears to have skipped the pins that have been provided with past challenges. Apple has held these challenges each year. In 2018 and 2019, employees received an exclusive Apple Watch band with Activity ring colors.

Apple's annual February fitness challenges are internal only and limited to Apple employees, but Apple also regularly holds public fitness challenges, though these come with digital achievement awards rather than physical rewards.

The next Apple Watch Activity Challenge, which celebrates national parks, is set to take place on August 30. Apple Watch owners can complete the challenge by recording a walk, hike, roll, or run of a mile.

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Top Rated Comments

jonnysods Avatar
79 months ago
I like that even though there is so much negativity in 2020, Apple are still having fun and engaging their staff.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Macintosh 128K Avatar
79 months ago

Looks very cheap. Would be better giving them a nice discount at Apple Store.
They already get a very nice discount at the Apple Store.

Wow, nothing but complaints from people here. Did your own workplace give you gold Porsche for working out a little bit? What kinda amazing rewards have you been compensated with for doing some very basic things for a month?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
79 months ago
Richest company in the world has to watch those costs. No pins for you!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unity451 Avatar
79 months ago
"I closed all my rings in 2020 and all I got was this lousy t-shirt."
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
79 months ago
I wouldn’t mind having the shirt. Nice move by Apple to encourage more employees to exercise.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BreepBreep Avatar
79 months ago

I did and I spoke to that.
Doesn’t mean that employees didn’t complain.

I wasn’t one of them but then again I got a MacBook Pro tricked out at 25% off and then an additional $500 off of that. Watch for 50% off. $100 free towards commute expenses each month.

the list goes on but I also know tech companies that have personal chef on site.

Going to Apple campus is same except the price is heavily subsidized vs free.
“No one is complaining” wasn’t meant to be taken literally. Every company has complaints, and Apple isn’t perfect. Point is that employees are generally very happy and value their jobs. Some seem to miss things like thousands of employees sitting at home collecting paychecks for months. And they have no idea what other benefits they’ve gotten during COVID because they’re not supposed to know. This is why Apple keeps stuff like this a secret. If they gave everyone free MacBooks, the narrative would be that employees are spoiled at the cost of customers. They know it’s a lose-lose for them either way. Best to just treat employees as best as they can and not brag about it.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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