The fact that Peloton bikes run on Android, with lousy panels, makes me think this would never happen. But then again, the talent and the community would be good to fold into Fitness+
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Peloton Looking for Investor Like Apple to Buy 20% of Company
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Are you talking about John Foley? He resigned and the new eco is Barry McCarthy as of a couple months ago, or is McCarthy ruining their reputation already too?
I think a lot of people that are dismissing this idea are missing that Peloton likely controls the largest installed base of GymKit equipment that exists anywhere via the Peloton Bike+ users. For the 'minimal cost' that Apple could probably acquire Peloton, I sure wouldn't rule it out.
The base of classes and well-known instructors would be icing on the cake. Fitness+ is kind of a joke, and I enjoy the Peloton experience so much that it feels like it would be a good fit with Apple.
The base of classes and well-known instructors would be icing on the cake. Fitness+ is kind of a joke, and I enjoy the Peloton experience so much that it feels like it would be a good fit with Apple.
I don’t see Apple being interested, they’ve already done the heavy lifting building Apple Fitness. I just don’t see much value in Apple buying Peleton considering what Apple already has done.
I don't think Apple will buy Peloton. But Apple may now consider a bid for Netflix, of all things; Netflix shedding users and losing a lot of titles to other streaming services makes them quite valuable to Apple, who would have access to Netflix's gigantic video distribution system.
I know many around here are adamantly against the idea, but I own a Peloton and I love it. I don't pay too much attention to the companies financial issues, but I like my bike, I like the classes/content, and I like staying in shape.
I guess it would be nice if Peloton was based on iOS and had better Apple integration, but it's also not necessary.
For the life of me though, I can't figure out why so many people around here are so passionate about their hate for Peloton.
I guess it would be nice if Peloton was based on iOS and had better Apple integration, but it's also not necessary.
For the life of me though, I can't figure out why so many people around here are so passionate about their hate for Peloton.
I absolutely love the peloton platform. The hardware is great and the classes are excellent. I own a peloton bike and treadmill. I was an outdoor-only exerciser for years (marathons and triathlons). I never thought I'd enjoy a treadmill or stationary bike, but regularly use them as a go-to when riding or running outdoors is a viable option.
I haven't taken an Apple Fitness+ class, but I have watched some videos of their classes on youtube and I can say with certainty that Peloton's product is far superior. Apple Fitness+ financials can hide behind and be supported by Apple's other businesses, but in a fair fight, Apple's product doesn't have a shot against peloton. This coming from an apple fanboy (I'm fully immersed in the apple ecosystem).
As long as Peloton's classes stay in their same form, it doesn't matter to me if peloton is acquired by a new owner or stays independent. But, whoever buys the product, please don't turn it into something like apple fitness+ or worse... iFit
I haven't taken an Apple Fitness+ class, but I have watched some videos of their classes on youtube and I can say with certainty that Peloton's product is far superior. Apple Fitness+ financials can hide behind and be supported by Apple's other businesses, but in a fair fight, Apple's product doesn't have a shot against peloton. This coming from an apple fanboy (I'm fully immersed in the apple ecosystem).
As long as Peloton's classes stay in their same form, it doesn't matter to me if peloton is acquired by a new owner or stays independent. But, whoever buys the product, please don't turn it into something like apple fitness+ or worse... iFit
Treadmill with built in iPad, Apple Watch support and Apple Fitness in one. Tim might bite but buy the whole company like they did with beats. I could see Amazon going for it.
Seems like the only people who hate on peloton are people that do not own a bike. Those that do, love the content and equipment.
‘Sova
Was a pandemic flash in the pan
There is still “a business” there, but nowhere near what it was looking like during the pandemic
We still use their classes here and there, but on a third party bike with screen I mounted up with an AppleTV. I didn’t want to be stuck with abandonware on the bike hardware side, nor be restricted to only Peloton stuff on their screen.
Was a pandemic flash in the pan
There is still “a business” there, but nowhere near what it was looking like during the pandemic
We still use their classes here and there, but on a third party bike with screen I mounted up with an AppleTV. I didn’t want to be stuck with abandonware on the bike hardware side, nor be restricted to only Peloton stuff on their screen.
You’re probably right about them hitting their saturation point. Speaking of high acquisition prices, I wonder what the availability of Fitness+ and similar services has done to Mirror (which is another fitness startup, this one sells, well, a mirror that’s also a display, and I assume they also sell classes on a subscription model, IIRC their display was $1000 or so, but it could have been closer to $2000).
Pelotons business model is sustainable and they grew during the pandemic for obvious reasons, but I question why pursue Apple to take stake at ~20% other than what’s speculated. It leads me to believe there is more going on here, other than just more potential ‘growth’ factors with sales declining. I’m not buying Pelotons reasoning. I suspect there is more to it.
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For me, the big turn off is the bulky gear, such as the bike. I don’t have a whole lot of space in my apartment, so large exercise equipment is mostly a non-starter. Something like Fitness+ to provide the courses and a gym membership to have access to equipment probably equates to lower cost of ownership over the timespan of the bike’s or treadmill’s usable life. Really, they should have left the hardware to the dedicated manufacturers of home exercise equipment and focused on their courses. The market would be considerably larger, and the cost of customer acquisition would probably fall dramatically. With a better quality set of courses, they could probably compete with Apple even with the price difference if it didn’t also require their hardware.
Don't forget the money they invested to make ruby glass for about a month and a half.
Never understood the appeal. My SO wanted to buy one, and I was like hmmmm... an internet connected bike with workout classes? Sounds cool. Can you race other people? can you program your own courses? can you tie it to your own bike metrics? does it have a real powermeter in it you can use offline and to compare? can you record a course you rode on a real bike on a meter, then transfer it the bike? Can you download famous cycling courses, like the TdF, or local courses? No?! none of that? Why, that would be the entire point of an internet connected trainer. uh...so why not just buy a regular exercise bike and use youtube? or a real bike you can ride, a trainer, and youtube a spin class/spotify mix? At least with an iPad mount its removable. Or just put a bike in front of the TV we already have (or buy a TV) and steam a course to that, with the option of watching TV while training?
Dude, did you get laid off in February too?! Foley needs to come back down to Earth. Also, how would investors feel knowing this already sinking ship is throwing lavish parties STILL?!
Every family has a peloton -- not the bike, the person who can and will blow through all their money. Hold your wallet when they come calling.
I really can’t understand people’s obsession with wanting Apple to acquire a company which I feel is an ill fit for their business model.
Apple has shown that nobody has a monopoly on good storytelling, and their strategy of prioritising quality over quantity is beginning to pay off. Contrast this with Netflix, where the bulk of their content probably isn’t even worth the bandwidth used to host them.
If anything, it vindicates Apple’s decision to do the total opposite, and it shows that Netflix’s strategy was never really sustainable in the first place.
At this point, Netflix is a tainted brand, and it has nothing that Apple might possibly want or need.
I am looking for an investor to give me $1B. Apple would be ideal because they have a lot of money. While Apple has not yet indicated interest I believe it would be a great move because I have so little money and they have so much.
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