William Gallagher
Exercise firm Peloton has told its users that will no longer support Apple's GymKit health data sharing service on Apple Watch, and instead will move them to its own app.
In 2020, Peloton announced its then-new Bike+ would pair with the Apple Watch using Apple's GymKit platform. GymKit lets an Apple Watch gather health data from exercise machines, specifically cardio equipment.
Peloton also included it in its Bike Bootcamp, but that combined cardio with strength exercises. Later in 2021, Peloton removed GymKit support from Bike Bootcamp, saying Apple required it to.
Apple said at the time that mixed-focus workouts were not supported on Apple Watch. Instead, if a user wanted to change from a cardio workout to a strength training one, they would have to manually switch workouts within the Fitness app.
In 2022, Peloton launched its own Apple Watch app.
Now as spotted by The Verge, Peloton is transitioning its remaining GymKit users over to its Peloton One-Tap tracking app. The move will begin on February 27, 2024.
However, since new users have been being directed to use Peloton's app since 2022, it's unclear if many people are still on the old system. It appears to be the same story outside of Peloton, too, as few manufacturers have adopted GymKit, and then not on many of their machines.
Apple launched GymKit alongside watchOS 4.1 in October 2017. It appeared first in equipment at a gym in Australia, then one in London, before finally reaching the US in December 2017.
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GymKit is one of those technologies that I always have felt Apple didn’t push enough or advertise enough. A couple of years after GymKit was announced we were in the market for a treadmill for home use. The only company I could find that had products that integrated GymKit was TechnoGym. At the time the pricing was out of our budget, I think the lowest cost treadmill that TechnoGym offered with GymKit was around $14,000.
A few weeks ago I needed some new dumbbells and went to the local fitness supply store. For reference, I’ve been working part-time at a gym for 17 years and this is the store our gym uses to buy equipment. While I was there I was talking to the “sales guy” and asked if he knew if GymKit was available on replacement head units for the indoor cycle we have at home. He didn’t know what GymKit is. In his defense, they don’t carry TechnoGym, which, outside of Peloton, is the only manufacturer I’ve ever heard of that supported GymKit. But to me that’s ridiculous. How is it possible that a guy who works at a fitness supply store doesn’t know anything about GymKit when GymKit has been available for so long? That’s a failure on Apple’s part.
By the way, I’ve used GymKit enabled equipment a few times, usually at hotels, and it works well. If I use our home treadmill my watch doesn’t get the mileage as accurately as the treadmill does and the treadmill doesn’t get my heart rate/calorie burn as accurately as my watch does. Using GymKit resolves those issues and it’s really nice.
Is this the last gasp of a dying company?
Must be taking a page out GM's playbook to alienate all their Apple users.