It took a while, but the Peloton app is finally available for Android smartwatches. If you’re sporting the Pixel Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch 4/5 and are a Peloton subscriber, check the Play Store to install it.
The Peloton app update hit over the weekend and is compatible with smartwatches running Wear OS 3 and up. Once installed, you can use it to track your heart rate during a Peloton workout. But that’s it: the watch only offers data from classes started on the mobile app. It doesn’t currently sync with the Peloton bikes, which most folks were hoping for with the Wear OS update. Peloton launched the ability for the Apple Watch earlier this year.
At least some tracking is available, which is better than the absolute nothing that Android smartwatch users had before. If you track a class taken through the app, the stats will sync with whatever third-party integrations you have set up. I took a five-minute meditation class that synced my worryingly high heart rate with the Peloton app. When I finished, Peloton pushed the numbers out to Strava, which I had set up beforehand, and which I use as a unifier of my various fitness data.
Writing this was a great reminder that I have a Peloton Bike collecting cobwebs in the garage. I’m also relieved because this means more functionality for the smart bike after I feared it would face obsolescence before I had the will to ride it again. Sales haven’t been the best for the brand.
This also gives Wear OS a little push forward into being considered a fitness-minded platform. That’s what Google and Samsung need in order to sell more watches — and what I need to justify sticking with this platform to track my exercise.
Annoyingly, I still have to log a separate workout on the Peloton with my Samsung smartwatch and input the data manually after a ride. Here’s to hoping the Apple Watch-like integration comes sooner than later.