here we go again. There are rumors that Peloton, probably one of the most popular fitness brands in the world to ever exist, will be acquired by Apple.
Deepwater Asset Management, a major Minneapolis investment firm, released its annual forecast in January in which it said tech giants will acquire popular fitness brands. “Apple will look to strengthen its workout department in 2024 by adding fitness equipment to complement its Watch and fitness tracking software,” the company wrote. Peloton has a loyal subscriber base of about 3 million users, which would add about $1.7 billion to Apple’s subscription revenue. Additionally, this fits well with Apple’s continued investment in health and wellness. ”
It’s hard to think of a better brand to acquire a brand like Peloton, other than perhaps Nike. With Apple Fitness Plus, Apple is building on its own fitness equipment workout subscription service that Peloton has already been working on for years.
Apple may be home to Peloton, but I don’t think this is the right direction for Apple’s health and fitness ambitions. In fact, I think the company needs to focus more on partnerships, like it did when it wanted to bring iPhones to cars. Instead of building gym equipment, Apple could go the CarPlay route.
CarPlay is already a proven strategy
Apple’s treadmills and bikes seem appealing, but I can’t imagine going to an Apple Store and buying one of those things. I also can’t imagine having an Apple repair technician come to my house and fix my treadmill if it breaks. Peloton is already working on all of these issues, and they’re not great.
When Apple wanted to put iPhones in cars (which we know the company is having a hard time doing right now), instead of building its own cars, it created CarPlay and partnered with car companies. Did. This will allow people who own not only Apple Cars (who knows if that will ever happen) but also participating car brands to connect their iPhones for music, podcasts, maps, and more. Now you can enjoy a much better software experience than before. Something car manufacturers were trying.
This strategy has been so successful that CarPlay is now available in almost every car on the market. As of this writing, Apple says its CarPlay is available in over 800 of its car models, which is no surprise. Extensive research shows that many consumers expect CarPlay (or Android Auto, if you’re from Google) to be included in new cars, to the point where they refuse to buy a car that doesn’t have CarPlay installed. .
Apple continues to focus on this area with next-generation CarPlay, which is expected to launch first on select Aston Martin and Porsche models later this year.
GymKit is the CarPlay of fitness
So if CarPlay worked when Apple tried to bring the iPhone into the car, how will Apple bring Fitness Plus and the Apple Watch to fitness equipment? Thankfully, the company does just that. You don’t need to buy Peloton to do that. In fact, a technology has already been built that can do just that: GymKit.
Have you ever heard of GymKit? No surprise. There aren’t many fitness devices that support this yet. Apple is rolling out a new feature in 2017 that lets Apple Watch owners connect their watch to compatible gym equipment like treadmills, ellipticals, and indoor bikes to more accurately track their workouts. He announced his GymKit as a technology.
That’s a great idea. Apple says in a support document that all you have to do is “hold your Apple Watch within a few centimeters of the gym equipment’s contactless reader” to complete the connection. You don’t need an Apple-branded treadmill or bicycle. Connect your watch to any brand of gym equipment.
The problem so far is that gym equipment brands haven’t made much progress in incorporating this technology into their products. GymKit has been an available technology for seven years, but if you walk into a newly built Planet Fitness, you’re unlikely to find a treadmill that can connect to a smartwatch like the Apple Watch.
Apple needs to rely on GymKit
The future of Apple Fitness Plus isn’t about buying and reinventing Peloton. Apple doesn’t need to get into the business of selling treadmills and bikes that cost over $3,000 (that’s Vision Pro money). Instead, Apple needs to focus on partnering with the fitness industry, similar to the auto industry, to make GymKit as successful as his CarPlay.
I hope this future becomes a reality. I’ve stayed at one of her hotels (again) that had a gym room that supported her GymKit with a treadmill and it was great. Imagine the experience of being able to tap your Apple Watch to a compatible treadmill.
In addition to syncing your watch with your treadmill, the display will show you compatible workouts from Fitness Plus. It may be bananas, but in a world where almost every new technology has a display, it doesn’t seem so crazy to dream of it.
So please, Apple and gym equipment companies, please make this experience available to everyone without us having to spend thousands of dollars.