Peloton is rolling out new apps for Apple Watch and Amazon Fire TV, plus cheaper pricing
- Peloton is releasing a new app for Apple Watch, which will make it easier for people to access fitness metrics on the go.
- The company is now offering an app for Fire TV so users can stream fitness content from home.
- In addition, Peloton is bringing down pricing for its digital service.
Peloton said Wednesday it is releasing a new Apple Watch app and Amazon Fire TV integration.
Peloton, which went public in the fall, sells a combination of connected exercise machines and fitness classes to around 1.6 million people. It is known for having a die-hard fan base, on par with companies like Apple and Tesla.
The high-end hardware, including a treadmill and cycle, costs thousands of dollars and comes with a $39 per month subscription to classes that are streamed to the equipment's built-in screens. But the company also offers a cheaper "digital" membership for anyone to access classes like yoga and running, which don't require an expensive Peloton machine. It's also looking to expand that subscription base by slashing prices for the membership down to less than $13 per month.
The move is also important to Apple, which has large ambitions when it comes to health and fitness technology. Peloton is a natural extension of Apple's luxury brand, and some have even speculated that Apple might want to acquire Peloton as it seeks to grow its business into new products and services outside the iPhone.
Here's the breakdown of what Peloton announced:
Apple Watch
Peloton built out an Apple Watch app so that users can get metrics about their workouts by glancing at their wrist. That will make it easier for people who are using Peloton's digital membership to track pace and distance for runs, and get access to the watch's heart rate monitor to more accurately extrapolate calorie count, the company said.
According to Peloton Digital's senior vice president and general manager, Karina Kogan, the Apple Watch app will allow runners to pause their workout by tapping on the smartwatch, versus having to pull out their iPhone. "We see it a better user experience for the phone and the watch to talk to each other," she said.
The company did not say whether it would integrate in the future with Apple Gymkit, which would involve a direct sync between its fitness equipment and the watch.
The Peloton app for Apple Watch will be available on Wednesday.
Amazon Fire TV
Peloton is also coming to Amazon's Fire TV streaming devices and smart televisions across the U.S., the U.K. and Canada.
The company confirmed that the relationship with Amazon Fire TV is both its first and an exclusive one, so there won't be any deals with competitors in the near future. But Kogan said Peloton will continue to be available for users to cast through the Google's Chromecast device. Fire TV has more than 37 million users around the world and competes with Apple, Roku and Google, among others.
Peloton also said Fire TV customers will be able to use their Alexa voice assistant to issue commands, such as to pause or play their workout, as long as they pair their Alexa-based device.
Kogan described the opportunity to stream classes via the TV as the "number one in demand platform," which users were asking for.
Pricing changes
The company also said it is cutting the price for access to its digital membership from $19.49 to $12.99. Kogan said Peloton did so after her team found that prices of most of its competitors range from $15 to $100 per month.
The move comes as Peloton looks to move from its core user base, primarily affluent people who can afford the equipment and subscription, to a broader market that will pay for content alone. The company noted in its earnings report that its fastest-growing market segments are people under age 35 or with household incomes under $75,000.
The company said people used Peloton for 17 million floor-based workouts in 2019.
Peloton is also extending its free trial membership from 14 days to 30 days in the hopes that people will get a taste for Peloton's content and eventually splurge on the more expensive products.
"Providing more people with a path to the connected fitness products made sense," said Kogan.
Disclosure: CNBC parent Comcast-NBCUniversal is an investor in Peloton.
Correction: An earlier version misstated the usage figure for 2019. The company says there were 17 million floor-based workouts this year.
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