Peloton is developing its own wearable fitness tech

The home fitness brand known for its treadmills and exercise bikes is apparently eyeing up an entry into the wearables market.

One of the big winners from the past year’s pandemic has undoubtedly been home fitness brand Peloton, who have sold exercise bikes and treadmills to fitness fanatics deprived of communal gyms while restrictions have been in place. According to the BBC, the company’s revenue increased by 172% year-on-year, as more and more people were confined to their homes.

It is therefore little wonder that the manufacturer wants to build on its success and its esteemed brand name in the world of sports, and we’ve just heard the first rumblings of its new venture.

Bloomberg reports Peloton has been developing an armband that can measure your heartrate. The device will have a small screen to display battery life, and will connect via Bluetooth to the brand’s stationary home fitness installations. The details of the device under development were revealed after a close inspection of the company’s app for iPad and iPhone, where buried code revealed these specifications. Bloomberg reports that shareholders’ response to this news was positive: “Peloton shares jumped on the news and were up 7.4% at 12:11 p.m. in New York”.

We still don’t know when (or even if) the arm band will be released, but it’s an unmistakable sign that Pelton has ambitions to expands its enterprise. 

Although these initial plans are modest (it seems more of an accompaniment to the brand’s pre-existing products rather than an attempt to take on the likes of the Apple Watch), it is interesting to consider where Peloton could go after taking this first step. The brand seems to be in a unique position to capitalise on indoor fitness tech, while the likes of Garmin can remain firm favourites among amateur athletes who hit the track rather than the treadmill.