It’s long been rumored that Peloton has been working on a strength-training product, with the company even teasing its upcoming launch during its disastrous earnings call last week. Now the sub-$500 Peloton Guide is here, making it one of the most (somewhat) affordable of the company’s offerings.
What is it? The Guide is a device equipped with an AI-enabled camera that you connect to your TV via an HDMI cable to stream workouts from Peloton’s massive library of content. The camera tracks your movements as you work out, and therefore your progress throughout the class, and can even show you an on-screen image of yourself exercising in real time so you can compare your form to the instructors. So in some ways this replicates the functionality of Tonal or Lululemon’s Mirror products with a huge TV customers likely already have.
Peloton Guide users can access a Peloton interface similar to the Bike or Tread once you log into your account. The device, however, doesn’t come with weights, so members will need to supply their own equipment. Many will already have the dumbells required.
While the Guide is a full $1,000 cheaper than the coveted Peloton Bike, it is very much a slimmed-down piece of hardware without a lot of frills compared to Mirror or Tempo, but again, we’ve yet to have a chance to try it out for ourselves. At $495, it’s still a bit pricier than the just-announced Tempo Move, a compact $395 workout kit that comes with its own connected weights.
While details are a bit scant on how this actually works, the Peloton Guide features a Movement Tracker, “powered by machine learning,” designed to encourage members to complete the demonstrated exercises and follow the instructors for the entire class. Users can also track which muscle groups they’ve been working with Body Activity, and Peloton will recommend classes focusing on those muscles you’ve been ignoring. The Guide is also voice activated, so members can start, stop, rewind, and fast-forward without having to fiddle with buttons. (Note: This feature is only available in the US, Canada, and the UK, with other markets to come soon).
Tom Cortese, Peloton’s cofounder and chief product officer, says:
Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen the interest in our strength content explode. Peloton Guide demystifies strength training to create a more engaging experience that will help Members stay motivated. We combined our world-class Instructors and class content with the best machine learning technology to create a whole new way to train. This is just the beginning for Peloton strength. Guide will keep getting smarter so it can grow stronger alongside our Members.
Peloton Guide includes the new Peloton Heart Rate Band for an overall bundle price starting at $495/CAD $645/£450/AUD $750/€495. Release dates in the US and Canada are set for early 2022, and UK, Australia, and Germany in 2022.
Images: Peloton Guide
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