The Apple Watch offers excellent fitness tracking capabilities. Partnering with Orangetheory, the Apple Watch will now be able to track workouts at the popular fitness center.
By Chand Bellur
December 12, 2019 at 3:33 p.m. PDT
Apple Partners with Orangetheory for Fitness Tracking
The Apple Watch features the ability to track workouts. The knowledge enables fitness enthusiasts to gain insight into their exercise plan. Progress can be measured and tracked, encouraging improvement.
Orangetheory has taken this one step further. Although they’re integrating with the Apple Watch, they’re not using the device’s heart rate monitor. Instead, the company has built connectivity and interoperability between the Apple Watch and their own OTbeat Link heart rate monitor.
OTbeat Link Offers Sophisticated Heart Rate Monitoring
Although the Apple Watch offers heart rate monitoring, it often falls short compared to other devices. Due to its diminutive size and location on the wrist, Apple Watch heart rate monitoring works, but it’s not completely accurate.
One of my relatives had an issue with the device calling 911 due to a false reading. He was driving on the freeway and had to exit and deal with the issue. His experience is not unique. When the Apple Watch loses contact or shifts position, it can produce a false heart rate reading.
Orangetheory, one of the larger gym chains in the US, already has three different fitness tracking devices. Early next year, they will be launching OTbeat Link, which integrates with the Apple Watch.
Orangetheory’s monitoring devices are larger, worn on the arm and are dedicated solely to tracking vital signs. They also beam the data to monitors in the gym, so members can see results in real time. All of these features require additional hardware. The Apple Watch alone simply can’t deliver all of the requirements.
Apple Watch integration is frequently requested by Orangetheory members. They want fitness tracking beyond what the popular gym already offers. While the system may seem superfluous and trendy, the Apple Watch is tremendously popular. It makes perfect sense for a high tech fitness facility to partner with Apple.