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Apple Fitness vs Peloton: Which is the Best for Home Fitness?

One of the more intriguing announcements made earlier this week at this year’s installment of a September Apple event was the launch of the Apple Fitness+. The Fitness+ is centered around workouts and is integrated with the Apple Watch, another product that will see an update. The Fitness+ will also present these workout regiments in videos that can be watched on an Apple TV, iPad, or iPhone. This led many people to ask the question of how Fitness+ differed from the already popular service, Peloton. Below is a breakdown of the two services when compared with one another.

Ease and accessibility

Each of these services offers users the ability to easily watch a wide assortment of workout videos on most devices of their choosing, but there are some significant gaps where the services won’t work.

The Fitness+ videos can be viewed on the aforementioned Apple products and will work in tandem with the Apple Watch. This means the Watch will show statistics in real-time from the workout. Fitness+ can be used on a Roku TV because Apple TV is an app available there as well. However, the Fitness+ will not be available for Android or PC users.

Peloton has a bit larger reach than the Apple Fitness+. This is because the app is available on the same Apple devices sans the Watch, and is available in the Google Play Store so it can run on all Android devices. Peloton have also launched a Roku app that should cover many people working out at home, and is also available on Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast. Finally, Peloton has its own trademark bikes and treadmills, which come with their own video touchscreen with good quality.

Gadgets and gathering data

Peloton certainly has the most in your face gadgets when it comes to a home gym with its custom built bikes and treadmills. The Apple Fitness+, on the other hand, does not focus so heavily on using actual equipment. Thus, the two products are easily distinguishable in this manner.

One area where Apple does have the upper hand is the actual tracking of a person’s workout. Peloton does not track as much information as the Apple Watch will, even if a person is using the company’s trademark equipment. Getting the number of calories lost and a heart rate will be an expensive endeavor with Peloton. Meanwhile, the Apple Watch will easily track a person’s health and exercise statistics.

The workouts

Another crucial aspect of both services is the actual content that is offered. Apple Fitness+ will have nine different studio workouts available including Treadmill, Rowing, Cycling, and HIIT. Then there’s also Strength, Core, Dance, Yoga, and Mindful Cooldown videos. Each of these sections will be updated on a weekly basis from various instructors, though the company did not mention if any of the workouts would be live or not.

Peloton offers a comparable amount of options including outdoor running, indoor running, cycling, stretching, bootcamp, meditation, yoga, and strength training. Unlike the Fitness+, Peloton does have classes that are able to be streamed live. Being the market leader in this space and having a headstart on Apple, Peloton’s library will likely be much larger than Fitness+.

Cost

The two services have fairly comparable prices. The Apple Fitness+ will cost $10 per month if purchased on its own, while the Peloton Digital subscription costs $13 per month. Peloton also offers an “All-Access” membership that requires its equipment for $39 per month. One thing that does put Apple on top with costs is that users can purchase a subscription for an entire year at the reduced cost of $80.

These prices are of course the most basic options. Apple offers the Fitness+ for $30 as part of its most complete bundle package on the newly announced Apple One offerings. Fitness+ will be available to six people in these packages. Peloton also offers the service along with the signature bikes and treadmills for $2,250 and $2,450. 

Finally, each service does offer its own free trial period. Peloton is free for a month long trial. Fitness+ is also free for a month but there are a few ways to extend the trial period. Fitness+ is free for the first three months for anyone purchasing an Apple Watch Series 3 or a newer model, and purchasers can even get up to six months free if the Watch is purchased from a Best Buy.

So which one is better?

The answer truly comes down to two key points here. 

The first is whether or not a customer is already an Apple user and owns a Watch or not. The initial costs are incredibly cheap if the answer is yes, and it especially makes sense if the $30 bundle is a consideration.

On the other hand, anyone with Peloton equipment already will not have any reason to switch over to Fitness+. Android users will also opt for the Peloton simply because Fitness+ isn’t available to them.

The other factor at play with these two services is how much commitment and time a person wants to spend on working out. Peloton is purely an exercise company and offers the high end equipment and live programming for those who have already been serious about their workout regiments. 

Apple, on the other hand, is just getting into the game and are using their other products to convince people who might not have been thinking about using something like Peloton in the past.

They both have their pros and cons, but generally speaking Apple enthusiasts and casual fitness participants should try the Fitness+, while anyone really looking to immerse themselves in a more serious regiment might opt towards Peloton.

Brenda

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