GeorgeBMac said:Apple already has a raft of classes and excellent instructors -- and they are continually building and improving on that.
And, like you say, Apple would not want their hardware.
So, what's left? A couple million subscribers who would have to buy Apple equipment anyway? Why bother?
Agree. I like Peloton and their product (I have one). The instructors are top notch. The hardware is excellent and creates great stickiness. The issue is that if they roll Peloton into Fitness+, subscription revenue disappears, like my $40-$50/mo. Even if theses are new subscribers, it's still as drop in revenue unless they retain a separate fee for the bike / tread classes. So they get talent; whatever, there is a lot of talent out there. It's worth something, but not the billions they'd need to pay, in my opinion. Way cheaper to selectively poach instructors with signing bonuses.
Moronic. Apple is already eating Peloton's lunch with Fitness+. They don't need to acquire exercise hardware, and there's nothing special about Peloton's. Leave it to the consumers to buy any bike they want, toss their iPad up on it and get a Watch if they don't have one. Done.
Yeh, Peloton has a subscriber base of primarily serious exercise enthusiasts (many of which likely wear Garmin watches -- so they won't incorporate well into Apple's ecosystem).
Beyond that, what does Peloton have to offer that Apple doesn't already have and, in many ways, surpass?
No. Lot's of people use Apple watches with Pelotons which Pelotons promotes heavily. I did get a laugh out of "serious exercise enthusiasts with Garmin watches" though. Not even close to true either statement. Apple could improve the quality and service of Peloton bikes, which is needed, plus tie it into Fitness plus at a great cost. It would be a win win for both. But not sure Apple wants to deal with making exercise equipment. Peloton needs Apple a lot more than the other way round.
Seems like most of you commenters don’t actually have Pelotons. While Apple certainly doesn’t need their kind of inferior interface - one of you is correct the value to Apple is getting MORE integraron into Peloton not less. So far the inability to fully integrate Apple products into Pelotons equipment is lame - totally lame. ONLY the Apple Watch integrates HR and calories/mileage but that’s the extent. You can’t “cast” to your HomePod sitting next to your bike or tread. DUMB. Or to your Apple TV to watch Peloton classes in your living room instead of trying to from your bikes monitor. DUMB.
But yes - it’s the active lifestyle market that IS Apples most important connection and Peloton has a small piece at that table. Their talent and extensive classes are very valuable. And remember didn’t Peloton buy the gym equipment company as well? Name? Precor.
Oh also - Pelotons operate using ANDRIODs software which is horrible on their devices. Obviously that closes off Apple easy integration to existing hardware.
So - Apple would never buy their hardware. For what?? But would be great is a buyer that FULLY opens the Apple ecosystem to seamlessly integrates it like logging in, creating a Peloton account, using Apple Fitness, AirPods, HomePods, Apple TV, your Mac or bikes and treads that just work from your iPhone screen or dropping your iPads on them. That’s where it makes some sense.
Apple could take them to another level….. Like the Apple Watch, iMessage, iPay, and the eventual domination of the AirPods after buying Beats…..Peloton isn’t failing they have plateaued, the current owners can’t take it to the next level but Apple can.
GeorgeBMac said:Apple already has a raft of classes and excellent instructors -- and they are continually building and improving on that.
And, like you say, Apple would not want their hardware.
So, what's left? A couple million subscribers who would have to buy Apple equipment anyway? Why bother?
Agree. I like Peloton and their product (I have one). The instructors are top notch. The hardware is excellent and creates great stickiness. The issue is that if they roll Peloton into Fitness+, subscription revenue disappears, like my $40-$50/mo. Even if theses are new subscribers, it's still as drop in revenue unless they retain a separate fee for the bike / tread classes. So they get talent; whatever, there is a lot of talent out there. It's worth something, but not the billions they'd need to pay, in my opinion. Way cheaper to selectively poach instructors with signing bonuses.
Exactly, that was my first thought. Apple would be transitioning those subscriptions into its much cheaper service, and diminishing the “value” of peloton dramatically. This would make peloton a *very* expensive purchase.
As an Apple fan, a part of me really wants them to make reckless purchases to dominate markets, which likely would work out in the end. But apparently that’s not the way Apple works. That said, I do wish they would be a bit less OCD about their acquisitions. Seems like a lot of lost opportunities out there.
If I’m gonna dream.. one acquisition that I’d like, but probably totally out of the question, is for Apple to buy out Fight Camp, which is basically peloton, but for boxing/kickboxing. I have one, very cool, and an amazing workout.
If Apple wanted to buy Peloton they’d have done it 2-3 years ago, if not before. They don’t buy things because the stock price is tumbling. Monetary cost isn’t an issue for Apple, it’s strategic value that matters.
Apple’s known about Peloton since the early stages of planning their Fitness+ service, and they passed.
Sometimes they buy things to jump start a new service (Beats -> Apple Music), sometimes they decide they want to go it alone and start from scratch (TV+, Fitness+).
Peloton - where the puck was, not where it’s going. With Covid restrictions dying off this seems like a shrinking market for a while.
True! But as a nurse I hope it doesn't drop off too far or too much: I've learned the limitation of medicine (particularly as one ages) and the value of self-care. I addition, I've learned the value of a home gym over regular gyms (I replaced twice a week machine workouts with more frequent and consistent (4-6 days a week) moderate workouts).
Very simply, the body was not meant to sit 5 days a week then "workout" for an hour or so on the other two days. The body was meant to move most of everyday. A home gym facilitates that.
Admittedly, I've received enough one-on-one coaching that I am able to go it alone and pretty much know what I'm doing. But, even for a novice, a home gym would still be beneficial: they could see a personal trainer the standard 2-3 days a week and workout at home the rest of the week.
Actually a better option I feel would be a joint purchase by Apple & Nike.
Apple could effectively have the fitness instructors and the subscribers and Nike have the hardware which should be a doddle to integrate into Apple Fitness (at least future versions of the hardware), given Apple and Nike’s current, long standing, relationship with the Nike Apple Watch and trainers that link to iPods and iPhones etc.
Of course Apple might have to sweeten the deal for Nike otherwise Nike might think it worth trying to keep them subscribers for themselves, but that’s a much bigger risk than the above idea with Peloton’s current trajectory..
If I had any influence at either company I would be suggesting it that way. Either going alone with it would be unnecessarily large risk. Except of course if they don’t, Amazon probably will..
Actually a better option I feel would be a joint purchase by Apple & Nike.
this is the best option so far. I’ve had a lot of scorn for the peloton crowd even before the pandemic, and predicted the stock downfall long before.
My question is, what if any, IP & actual useful patents does Peloton hold? If none, stop right there. I like apple fitness+, but LIVE classes with more competitive crowd indexes is the main difference I see. Their hardware market is a no go for apple though.
Licensing that higher level of integration - mainly calibrated effort / resistance on equipment might be the path. Like home kit, but maybe with a better kick start. I wasn’t into Beats or that acquisition, but maybe the markets and people were good.
Peloton - where the puck was, not where it’s going. With Covid restrictions dying off this seems like a shrinking market for a while.
True! But as a nurse I hope it doesn't drop off too far or too much: I've learned the limitation of medicine (particularly as one ages) and the value of self-care. I addition, I've learned the value of a home gym over regular gyms (I replaced twice a week machine workouts with more frequent and consistent (4-6 days a week) moderate workouts).
Very simply, the body was not meant to sit 5 days a week then "workout" for an hour or so on the other two days. The body was meant to move most of everyday. A home gym facilitates that.
Admittedly, I've received enough one-on-one coaching that I am able to go it alone and pretty much know what I'm doing. But, even for a novice, a home gym would still be beneficial: they could see a personal trainer the standard 2-3 days a week and workout at home the rest of the week.
Comments
I thought Beats was a great acquisition. I think the way Apple handled it was terrible.
Apple could take them to another level….. Like the Apple Watch, iMessage, iPay, and the eventual domination of the AirPods after buying Beats…..Peloton isn’t failing they have plateaued, the current owners can’t take it to the next level but Apple can.
Apple could effectively have the fitness instructors and the subscribers and Nike have the hardware which should be a doddle to integrate into Apple Fitness (at least future versions of the hardware), given Apple and Nike’s current, long standing, relationship with the Nike Apple Watch and trainers that link to iPods and iPhones etc.
Of course Apple might have to sweeten the deal for Nike otherwise Nike might think it worth trying to keep them subscribers for themselves, but that’s a much bigger risk than the above idea with Peloton’s current trajectory..
If I had any influence at either company I would be suggesting it that way. Either going alone with it would be unnecessarily large risk. Except of course if they don’t, Amazon probably will..