Peloton announced in an email Monday that it will discontinue support for GymKit on the Apple Watch starting February 27th. Instead, it will track users’ health and happiness metrics within its own Peloton app.
Peloton One-Tap Tracking, as its replacement is called, doesn’t mean you need additional manual tracking to register your Peloton workouts with Apple Health. GymKit is an Apple Watch protocol that allows the Watch to connect directly to large gym equipment such as exercise bikes and treadmills. Instead, the device connects via his Peloton app and collects workout data through the app.
Peloton users who purchased the Peloton Bike Plus touting its Apple Watch GymKit integration may be feeling a little blue, even though GymKit integration was the primary focus at the launch of the more affordable Bike+. There’s a good chance it won’t be of much use. Difference from your daily life.
This isn’t the first time Peloton Bike Plus has lost functionality, with Bike Plus, Bike, and Peloton Tread models removing in-class video calling for friends in 2022.
Peloton also famously removed the Just Run feature on its treadmill for users without a Peloton subscription, but it was replaced after an outcry.
Analysis: What does this mean for Peloton/Apple Watch users?
It’s unlikely to change your day-to-day usage much, except that it can be a bit of a hassle if a feature is removed.
On forums like Reddit, some users complain that GymKit is a little unreliable, while others say the same about One-Tap. However, moving away from Apple’s API will not negatively impact an Apple Watch user’s data transfer to his Peloton.
You may notice that Apple Health, which is where Apple stores all your fitness and health data, only receives a subset of your data, but all your stats still reside in your Peloton account. .
In many ways, it’s hard to judge how successful GymKit has been since it debuted in October 2017. APIs often feel underutilized, and while Peloton made a big splash by incorporating them into Bike Plus, many other manufacturers and gyms are also building their hardware to take advantage of it. It appears that you have chosen not to upgrade your software.
The Peloton app was redesigned last year for use on and off its own branded machines, including three new paid subscription tiers of varying levels.
