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Lululemon are getting in on what is sure to be a crowded field. Mirror is just one of a few products that try to take the old Home Workout Video into the iPhone

Lululemon are getting in on what is sure to be a crowded field. Mirror is just one of a few products that try to take the old Home Workout Video into the iPhone era. Some of the others that I’m aware of: Echelon Reflect, https://echelonfit.com/products/reflect-small https://echelonfit.com/products/reflect-small. This one is interesting cause Echelon are a large, established company, though it seems like their position might be lower cost versions of other popular fitness products. They also have a Peloton competitor. FORME Life, https://formelife.com/ https://formelife.com/. Similar to Mirror but also has a resistance component via cables and various attachments. They’re betting on the use of AI and virtual trainers will differentiate them. I think they’re the newest product, I’m not even sure their commercial systems have launched. Tonal, https://www.tonal.com/ https://www.tonal.com/. Similar to FORME but their focus is mostly on the resistance/strength training side of things. They were, as far as I know, the first of these to launch and they’re still the most interesting to me because the concept is so novel, the tech is cool, and their software looks really nice. Think “Peloton for strength training,” as far as I can tell. I’m sure there are more launched and on the way.

jamesmcintyre 6y ago
I've had a Tonal for about a month and it's a super impressive product in many ways. From someone who love great product design: - Very well-designed, distraction-free, non-buggy, snappy UI - For being a 1st gen product it seems SO well put-together, everything feels very solid- especially considering what kind of weight and force is being applied at times. - For being early on in the software lifecycle it already has Apple Watch heart rate integration via a Tonal Watch app as well as allows you to turn the weight on/off via the watch Which brings me to what I think really sets Tonal apart.. I was a very early iPhone adopter and I vividly remember showing people the phone and what really got them hooked/interested was: pinch-to-zoom and the "rubber-banding" inertial scrolling. Both interactions of which demonstrated beautifully what a no-physical button, multi-touch slab of glass could do that nothing before it came close to... and most importantly, it felt a little like magic. With Tonal it is a very weird feeling to "turn on" the weight. It's like you hit a button (built into the handles/bar/screen or your watch) and boom it's full-force to whatever weight you set with zero sound/noise.. it's very impressive. I thought maybe this was just something that struck me but I've had numerous friends who are much more experienced with weight lifting try it out and they are so surprised and impressed. Not trying to sell people on Tonal just saying that after seeing people's reactions to it I can totally see it being a viral type product that sells high-price to early adopters then lowers entry-level price as economies of scale allow it (then introduces new subscriptions, accessories, upgrades, better models to keep high margins for customers who can afford it).

jamesmcintyre 6y ago

I've had a Tonal for about a month and it's a super impressive product in many ways. From someone who love great product design: - Very well-designed, distraction-free, non-buggy, snappy UI - For being a 1st gen product it seems SO well put-together, everything feels very solid- especially considering what kind of weight and force is being applied at times. - For being early on in the software lifecycle it already has Apple Watch heart rate integration via a Tonal Watch app as well as allows you to turn the weight on/off via the watch Which brings me to what I think really sets Tonal apart.. I was a very early iPhone adopter and I vividly remember showing people the phone and what really got them hooked/interested was: pinch-to-zoom and the "rubber-banding" inertial scrolling. Both interactions of which demonstrated beautifully what a no-physical button, multi-touch slab of glass could do that nothing before it came close to... and most importantly, it felt a little like magic. With Tonal it is a very weird feeling to "turn on" the weight. It's like you hit a button (built into the handles/bar/screen or your watch) and boom it's full-force to whatever weight you set with zero sound/noise.. it's very impressive. I thought maybe this was just something that struck me but I've had numerous friends who are much more experienced with weight lifting try it out and they are so surprised and impressed. Not trying to sell people on Tonal just saying that after seeing people's reactions to it I can totally see it being a viral type product that sells high-price to early adopters then lowers entry-level price as economies of scale allow it (then introduces new subscriptions, accessories, upgrades, better models to keep high margins for customers who can afford it).