Speaking at a tech conference in San Francisco, Peloton's CEO hinted at a deeper integration with Garmin Connect.
Few details were revealed but it is thought the integration could see Peloton workouts appear in Garmin Connect, with the Garmin platform also helping to tailor recommendations on Peloton.
Peloton has developed considerably over the last few years. There was a time when the platform was pretty locked down, meaning you could only really use the large screens on Peloton equipment to do the workouts offered and that was it.
But the company has since introduced support for entertainment, allowing users to be able to train whilst watching their favourite Netflix box set, for example, and you can also connect devices like Garmin smartwatches and an Apple Watch to pull in your heart rate. This gives you more accurate metrics rather than using the Peloton-specific heart rate monitor.
Now it looks like integrations with other platforms could improve in the near future too – specifically the integration with Garmin's Connect platform.
Peloton already integrates with Apple Health to sync and share data, and there's a partnership with Google's Fitbit too, but Peloton's CEO, Peter Stern suggested that a deeper integration with Garmin was on its way.
What could a Peloton and Garmin collab look like for users?
According to a report on pelobuddy.com, Stern was asked during the recent Bloomberg Tech conference about data collection at Peloton. He was quizzed on how extra information could help the company use AI to optimise user's workout recommendations.
He was also asked about whether Peloton would need a new wearable, heart strap or new sensors on the Tread or Bikes to help with this data collection, to which Stern responded suggesting the partnerships the company already has means its own device wasn't necessary.
According to the report, Stern mentioned the integration with Garmin smartwatches specifically, saying: "We have done an integration with Garmin smartwatches because a lot of top athletes choose that." It was also mentioned in the broader context of importing data from other ecosystems like Garmin Connect and Apple Health.
It's not yet clear how deep the Garmin Connect integration might go, but the hope is that it would allow Peloton members to have their workouts from Peloton equipment sync to the Garmin Connect platform without the need for any workarounds.
It is also suggested that it could work the other way too, with Peloton able to read workout and other data from Garmin Connect. That would offer a more holistic view of a member's workout history and tailor recommendations accordingly. Here's hoping.
