Peloton looking to branch out into heart rate tracking armbands
Peloton is looking to branch out from the stationary fitness equipment market. Code found in its smartphone app suggests the company is working on a heart rate tracking armband.
This was perhaps to be expected. Peloton snapped up Atlas Wearables earlier this year and has a few other acquisitions under its belt. Atlas is a wearable tech pioneer which has dished out a number of iterations of its gym tracking watch. It gained a following but never really made it very big.
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This is not the first venture of Peloton in wearables. A couple of years ago it churned out something akin to a traditional heart rate monitor. The $49 gizmo is a rather simple affair as indicated by the low price. It straps around your chest from where it monitor your ticker.
Peloton Heart Rate Armband
As reported by Bloomberg, info in the code of the iOS app shows that we should get a more sophisticated version of the same in the near future. This one will track your heart rate from the arm. The info will make its way wirelessly via Bluetooth to Peloton’s bikes, treadmills and other connected equipment. It will also sync to the company’s iPad and iPhone app.
This will present another of its own alternatives to third-party ANT+ heart rate monitors and the Apple Watch. According to code in the app, the armband will have a tiny screen which will show the battery level when it is in pairing mode. The strap will be adjustable, plus there will be a large and small size to choose from.
It’s all fairly standard stuff. For example, the band will work with Pelaton’s heart-rate zones.
“Track the intensity of your workouts from Zone 1 (lowest effort) to Zone 5 (maximum capacity),” the code reads.
“Using the adjustable strap, wear the Peloton Heart Rate Monitor snug on your forearm to accurately monitor your effort during workouts.”
As far as abilities of the armband, there is nothing particularly innovative here. The gizmo sounds like one of a bunch of others that are already out there. The news is that a big manufacturer of stationary fitness equipment is looking beyond its core business at the lucrative wearables space. With Atlas Wearables under its belt, this will most likely continue.
At this stage it is difficult for a new entrant to make a significant presence in the already saturated wearables space. But Peloton has a well known brand name and a loyal customer base which should make it easier to capture a slice of the pie.
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