At CES 2022, Wondercise aims to rock connected fitness with a series of compelling launches including new exercise bikes, TV apps and trackers. However, the most interesting launch of a Taiwanese company is Wondercise Studio. It’s a fitness social media platform that allows anyone to livestream their classes with real-time metrics and performance feedback from fitness trackers.
Wondercise describes Studio as a “fitness-focused social media platform,” but in reality it’s a mix of all the fitness technologies that exist today. Users can have voice and video chats with each other during a livestreamed class. Anyone can host their class and users can “follow” other users and instructors as they would on social media. If you have an Apple Watch, Garmin, or Wondercise-specific wearable, you can also view the metrics on-screen, along with the metrics for everyone else in the class. (Of course, the instructor can also see them.) Classes can be viewed on your smartphone or cast to your smart TV using Google Chromecast.
“We have changed from on-demand classes only to social platforms and are now becoming a platform for instructors and users,” said Eric Chuang, CEO of Wondercise. The Verge.. Chuan further said that the next step after launching the studio would be an online booking system. The idea is that the instructor will place the class in Wondercise so that users can directly search and book. He also said Wondercise is exploring multiple payment options that allow users to subscribe to the entire service or a la carte to individual classes. The Wondercise app is currently available for free download, but users can upgrade to the ad-free version for $ 9.99 per month.
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Image: Wonder Scythe
Wondercise also highlighted its unique LiveMotion Matching technology introduced at CES 2021 last year. Use the motion data recorded from the wearable to evaluate techniques and forms during your workout. According to Chuang, the instructor wears four wearables (two on the arms and two on the legs) when recording the class. These movements are sent to the algorithm. When a user follows while wearing an Apple Watch, Garmin, or Wondercise tracker, the user’s movements are compared to the instructor’s movements and rated on a scale of 1-100.
The company has also launched Wondercise Cycle Studio. Cycle Studio is a system consisting of the company’s new Flex Cycle (a 4-in-1 exercise bike with four training modes and two seat configurations) and Wondercise Timeless Band, a screenless fitness tracker that measures heart rate. is. Classes are provided through Wondercise Studio and tracked metrics include heart rate, elapsed time, distance, RPM, watts, and calories burned.
Wondercise’s final CES launch is Wondercise Trilogy. This is a combination of TV app, Timeless Band, and Wondercise tracker. Users can compete in a video game-like battle mode with up to four players, with feedback on the technique.
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What Wondercise brings to the table isn’t new in nature. Fitness startup Tempo has multiple gadgets to evaluate forms. Apple Fitness Plus and several other apps display wearable data live on your screen. Peloton pioneered live and on-demand classes using leaderboards (and linked expensive hardware to expensive membership). ClassPass has been connecting users to studio classes for years. During the pandemic, fitness instructors and influencers gathered at Zoom, TikTok, and Instagram to connect directly with their customers. The novelty here is that it’s all in one platform. Currently, connected fitness has major ecological problems. If you want to take advantage of all these features, you’ll have to hunt around for multiple gadgets (mostly expensive), and in some cases pay for multiple subscriptions.
Wondercise’s success depends on being able to convince people to gamble on a relatively untested fitness brand. Wondercise didn’t immediately answer the price question, but so far the product has been relatively affordable.The original tracker sells for $ 79, and Chuang The Verge Wondercise’s products are intentionally open source and aim to be cheaper than their competitors. Hey, at least it’s a bit more interesting than some other Peloton clones.
