Things are quieting down in the sports tech world as companies tend to take a breather after the busy fall season for most of them. Still, there’s always a few items that pop-in around this timeframe, and this post is here to cover them. Plus, it gives you a reprieve on Black Friday sales (which are admittedly very solid this year), and gives me a distraction for the two in-depth reviews I’m putting finishing touches on for the coming day or three. I’m always up for a distraction.
With that, let’s dive into it.
Netflix & Peloton:
This first one has been a LOOOOONG time coming. Back many months ago, pretty much seasons ago at this point, Peloton started rolling out integration with various online entertainment platforms, including Netflix, Disney+, MAX, NBA, and YouTubeTV. These were officially in beta, and the exact platforms came and went without much warning. Just as who they were rolled out to was nearly as random. But as of this week, it’s finally out in production – along with a new sign-in screen and dashboard to boot.
Setup seemed relatively straightforward for me. I went to the ‘Entertainment’ option on the Peloton Bike (Bike+ in my case):
Then selected Netflix.
From there I signed in, and it was pretty much a normal Netflix tablet experience in terms of choosing shows/movies/etc.
On the right side you’ll see a slim-bar of your ride stats. So the idea being that you can watch what you want to watch, while recording your ride.
Note that the YouTube listed there is not YouTube, but rather YouTubeTV (basically like a cable operator), and in my case since I live outside the US, it didn’t work. Thus, not watching YouTube sessions here. Yet anyway.
While this whole concept may seem perplexing to some (given if you just want to watch Netflix, buy a cheaper bike and not pay the subscription). But my wife is actually a pretty good example of this. We have a Peloton Bike she uses from time to time, but rarely does a specific Peloton workout. It’s often just a place to get in a recovery ride, or a mindless Z2 ride. In her case she’s almost always either reading a book (on phone), or watching a Netflix show (on her phone). So, this works out perfectly, as there’s actually no TV in the spot the Peloton Bike is in.
Apple Satellite Emergency SOS Extended:
When Apple initially announced the Satellite Emergency SOS feature on the iPhone 14 last year, they said they’d give everyone two free years before…well…charging? They actually didn’t say what’d happen after the two free years. We all assumed there’d be a fee – but how that fee was integrated was very unclear, let alone what that fee might be.
(As a reminder, Apple’s Satellite SOS is the feature that lets your phone send short mostly-emergency messages via low-earth orbit satellites in areas without cellular coverage, more on my testing/etc here.)
And it appears Apple would prefer to kick this can down the road as well. Thus, Apple has announced that iPhone 14 users will get an additional free year of Satellite SOS, meaning that users will have till at least Nov 15th, 2025 before the first batch of US-based people reach the the now 3-year free period. Your free trial period starts whenever it was activated in your home country. So for countries like France or the Netherlands, where it wasn’t activated till later, your clock starts then instead.
Oh, and for iPhone 15 peoples, the existing two-years free applies. Meaning that on the whole, Apple has deferred this potential-payment-problem decision till 2025. These days, the feature is available in the following countries, for both iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users.
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S
RideWithGPS Adds QuickNav:
Finally, a quickie that just made the cut for this post today – which is the cycling app RideWithGPS has added a new navigation feature that makes it easier to get where you’re going. In general, many people here will probably be using a dedicated cycling bike computer, but this is kinda the halfway point between that and the most basic option of Google/Apple Maps. So probably more likely to be used on a commuter bike than a race bike.
The core difference with an app like RideWithGPS is that it also has sensor support (even Garmin Varia radar integration), as well as uploads to all the various 3rd party platforms like a head unit (whereas Google Maps will most definitely not upload to Strava).
The update today adds a new ‘QuickNav’ feature that’s designed to act more like Google Maps in terms of you set your destination via simple long-press, and it’ll give you turn-by-turn directions in real-time, but more specifically actively update if you go off-course:
And then on the lock screen for iOS, you’ll also get a new widget that includes your typical ride stats, but also estimated arrival time at your destination.
As noted above, I don’t tend to cover the cycling ride apps a ton, but this came across today at just the right moment and I thought it was interesting enough to mention. Especially since RideWithGPS was the first app out there to include cycling radar data back when Garmin initially opened that up to 3rd party apps via Bluetooth.
With that – thanks for reading!
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I’m assuming the answer is no, but can you have a peleton workout running in the background while watching something on netflix (or any of the other media options)? Picture in Picture?
Two Things:
1-I like the PeakDesign phone holder on the handle bars, good choice!
2-I wish Peloton would allow none Peloton bikes to connect to their system, specifically for their scenic rides. I like to do those rides from time-to-time, but I am not a fan of the bike itself as I prefer to ride my Cannondale on my Wahoo.
Anyway, just some thoughts.
I’m surprised Apple has actually rolled out Satellite SOS in the Netherlands. I struggle to imagine the situation and the place in the Netherlands where you’d have to use it.
Same thoughts: are there really places in the Netherlands, where you have no cell or Wifi connections? Ray, have you already found a place?
Ok, nice that we have now a 3 year free use of Apple satellite SOS. Good to have, if you not have a Garmin iR device or a Maotorola Satellite link or Zoleo or… I think it is not free for 3 years because Aplle want to be kind to the users, but because they are probably still working on enabling messages via satellite and that this will only be chargeable afterwards…We will see.
I wonder if they ever end up charging for Satellite SOS – both from a practical standpoint and also from a PR standpoint.
Most other communicators (EPIRB/PLB, 911 call on a cell phone) will pass through an emergency call without any other charges, so long as the device functions. I think where Garmin and others in the satellite device arena are making their money is non-emergency check-ins and tracking, as well as messaging, rather than on a cost per emergency call.
Similarly, from a PR standpoint, I don’t think Apple wants to be in the position of saying ‘well, they hadn’t paid, so they ended up stranded at sea or on a mountain for a week’. I think the most likely outcome is either Apple eats the cost, they find some other way to monetize it (a la Garmin’s inReach), or they include it in the upfront price of satellite enabled models.
I agree, I suspect they don’t end-up charging for it either. For exactly the reasons you cited.
With Garmin’s inReach model, it’s not something that’s in your pocket every day that you forget about the subscription for. Thus, people are quite well aware you need a sub (and the unit even tells you this when you power it on).
I also wonder if/when we’ll hear of ‘people saved’ type metric, as Garmin does every once in a while. While we occasionally hear of things in the news media for Apple SOS, it doesn’t seem as common as I thought it would be – making me wonder if uptake is lower than everyone expected (I think that’s a good thing, but may not?).
Looks like that rwgps quicknav is just what the Garmin longpress does?
From the intro I was hoping that it might be something that works with the currently navigated course, suggesting a deviation that re-joins the course somewhere ahead.
And even that would still not be the fabled ice cream button that searches through POI near the upcoming track and suggests them on the metrics of both minimal distance (time?) added to the original course and how far it is from the current location. Whenever someone suggests that Garmin might be running out of meaningful features to add, that’s my answer: ICE CREAM BUTTON! NOW!
I agree, ice cream search should just be a dedicated ice cream cone icon visible at all times on the map.
It’s funny, if I were Garmin/Wahoo/Hammerhead, I’d have an option toggle for a coffee cup icon on the map: At any time, you could tap it and instantly get directions to the nearest cafe.
I’m really wondering when and if Apple will add next countries for sos feature in Europe like Poland Czech Republic Norway etc….
Not sure on these, but I suspect in the case of Norway, they might be hesitant there due to the 62* limiter, in that it doesn’t work reliably north of that, for which the vast majority of Norway (land-mass-wise) is north of that: link to dcrainmaker.com (see map)
I doubt it will ever happen, but it would be interesting if NordicTrack finally feels enough pressure to add Netflix to its platform after years of users having to use all kinds of workarounds to get it working.
Thanks Ray for all you share out! Any hope for native Peloton/Garmin Connect integration without adding $$$ power pedals?
I use synchmyworkout.com but not sure if that really evaluates the power data Peloton generates during my winter workouts.
Happy holidays!
Jeff
I know Garmin is interested in making that happen. Really up to Peloton.
Hi Ray, on my peloton bike+ (UK based) I only see the Disney App in the Beta Entertainment function. Is there a way of getting access to more providers or is all pushed depending on your country etc? There is the netflix app hidden away in the Apps area but there is no ride data displayed in a sidebar so pretty useless. Anyone else had similar experiences?