Peloton drops Apple Watch GymKit in favour of its own fitness app

Peloton has recently made the announcement to discontinue its support for Apple Watch’s GymKit, with the intention of prioritising its own Peloton app for tracking health and fitness metrics. As of February 27, users will no longer have the ability to utilize GymKit to connect their Apple Watches to Peloton’s extensive gym equipment, such as exercise bikes and treadmills. Instead, users will be required to depend on Peloton’s One-Tap tracking feature within the Peloton app to gather their workout data.

This decision may be disheartening for Peloton users who were anticipating the integration of GymKit, particularly for those who invested in the Peloton Bike Plus for this specific feature. Nevertheless, despite the discontinuation of GymKit, the day-to-day use of the Peloton Bike Plus is not anticipated to undergo significant changes. This is not the first instance in which a feature has been removed from the Peloton Bike Plus, as the in-class video calling functionality was also discontinued in 2022.

So, what are the implications of this decision for Peloton and Apple Watch users? Although some users may experience disappointment due to the removal of GymKit, it is unlikely to have a negative impact on the transfer of data to Peloton for Apple Watch users. Even though some users have reported reliability issues with GymKit and the new One-Tap feature, all workout data will remain accessible through the Peloton app, with only a subset of data being transferred to Apple Health.

Furthermore, the decision to move away from GymKit may prompt questions regarding the success of the Apple Watch’s protocol for connecting to gym equipment since its inception in 2017. Despite being promoted as a significant feature of the Peloton Bike Plus, many other manufacturers and gyms did not fully utilise the GymKit integration.

In addition to the changes related to GymKit, the Peloton app has recently undergone a redesign and introduced three new paid subscription tiers. While these developments may be disappointing for some users, Peloton continues to be a popular choice for fitness enthusiasts.

In summary, the decision to discontinue GymKit support in favour of the Peloton app demonstrates Peloton’s dedication to providing a seamless and dependable fitness tracking experience for its users. Despite the potential inconvenience for some Apple Watch users, the overall impact of this change is expected to be minimal. As Peloton continues to enhance its fitness platform, it will be intriguing to observe how users adapt to these changes and whether they will enhance their overall fitness experience.