We’re big fans of the Tempo Studio, a smart home gym equipment that hides a full weights training package inside a freestanding cabinet. It’s quite unique in the smart home gym space. Problem is, it requires a steep initial investment, starting at two grand just for the basic equipment alone, on top of the $40 monthly subscription. The Tempo Move seeks to lower that initial barrier to entry.
It’s not hard to figure out why the Tempo Studio is so expensive, as it integrates everything right into the cabinet. Not only do you get the dumbbells, barbell, and weight plates, along with other workout equipment, it also comes with a 42-inch screen, 60W stereo speakers, a camera, and a heart rate monitor. In order to lower the cost of the new equipment, they ditched most of that, sticking just to the bare necessities.
The Tempo Move consists of a smaller cabinet (about the size of a small nightstand) that houses the dumbbells, weight plates (only 50 pounds’ worth), and other accessory equipment, as well as an iPhone dock on top called the Tempo Core that connects to your TV’s HDMI port. It uses your TV to stream the outfit’s workout library, while using your iPhone’s front camera to monitor your movements, allowing it to, essentially, perform the same functions as its bigger, more expensive counterpart.
Do note, it won’t work with every iPhone. Instead, it requires one of the newer versions with a True Depth Sensor, so you’ll need an iPhone XS, iPhone XR, or newer (iPhone SE not supported). That’s right, the outfit somehow leverages the True Depth Sensor to properly recognize not just your form during the exercises, but how much weight you’re lifting and how fast you’re going. According to the outfit, they’re also working on an update that will use the depth-sensing LiDAR on new iPhones for even more precise monitoring of your movements.
The Tempo Move will inform you of how you’re doing in real time, providing positive or negative feedback based on your performance, so you can make changes to your execution on the fly. It won’t shoot live footage of your exercises, so you won’t be able to watch your form the way you would on Peloton’s camera, but the real-time guidance it provides should do plenty to help you make corrections every step of the way. Plus, you can always put a mirror nearby to keep an eye on your form.
The more you use the system, the more it’s able to learn about your workout habits, too, allowing it to offer more informed recommendations about the workouts you should do and how heavy you should go. Tempo’s library, by the way, offers workouts in strength, yoga, meditation, cardio, and HIIT categories, so there are plenty of directions to take your training towards. According to the outfit, they’re also launching dedicated barbell and kettlebell classes, beginning in 2022.
The Tempo Move is now available for preorder, priced at $395, with deliveries slated to start in December. It requires the same $39.95 monthly subscription as the original Studio for access to the streaming library.
