Just days after announcing that the company would stop using Apple's GymKit, Peloton has backtracked on the decision. In an email sent to Peloton members, the company said, "We heard you loud and clear" and "Based on your feedback, we will continue supporting this integration."
It was a strange decision for the company to remove GymKit, considering the feature has been a huge selling point for its Bike+ fitness bike. In 2022, the company added Apple Watch support via the Peloton One app to all of its fitness equipment, although GymKit remained a huge selling point for the more premium Bike+.
After Peloton contacted members last week to announce the fitness tracking would no longer work with GymKit from the end of February, instead going through the Peloton One app and connecting with the Apple Home app, many users voiced their anger.
The calls for Peloton to backtrack have worked, and Apple GymKit lives on. Not only will GymKit still be available on Bike+ moving forward, but the company added that "Peloton One-Tap Tracking will continue to be available on Bike+ as well as on all of our equipment," giving users the choice of how they want to track their fitness metrics.
A win for Peloton users
All-Access Peloton members can continue to use Apple GymKit, and that's fantastic for users like myself, who initially bought the more expensive Bike+ just for GymKit integration. Removing GymKit would've been a real kick in the teeth for users who have supported Peloton throughout the COVID pandemic and beyond, paying monthly memberships for fitness classes and exercise bikes.
Last week, I would've said to hold off on buying a Peloton, but this 180 makes me feel that Peloton is still one of the best exercise bikes, even if it doesn't have built-in Apple Fitness Plus classes. But if you're looking for one of the best exercise bikes for Apple Fitness Plus, iMore has you covered.
