Peloton’s ‘Worst-Kept Secret’ Is Out (Yes, It’s a Rowing Machine)

A person is rowing a boat and the account for the digital fitness company sent out an image of the person. That's it, that's the message. If you wondered if it meant that Peloton was sinking, you couldn't be blamed because its third quarter earnings weren't great and its outlook for the next quarter isn't great. A video that was shared in a follow-up post showed a rowing machine. It was a quick glimpse of the product, but the company has yet to give any details on availability and price. We've asked, trust me. The worst kept secret on Earth was the rower, as described by the company's founder and chief product officer.

The upcoming rowing machine and the recently launched Peloton Guide are both niche hardware products that cater to people who want to do a specific kind of workout. The fact that Peloton will soon allow people to track non-Peloton workouts in its mobile app is likely to get less attention. This shows that the company wants to keep people engaged in its apps. Barry McCarthy has piloted a program to lower the up-front cost of the hardware, while the price for access to the bike and treadmill apps just went up. The rowing machine is more of a part of the broader ecosystems than a stand-alone product.

There are more news from the world of gadgets.

It's possible that the iPhones will get a couple of USB-C ports.

In a perfect society, you wouldn't need a different cord for every device. That utopian vision could be getting closer. According to Mark Gurman, Apple has been testing new phones that do not have Apple's proprietary lightning ports.

Apple has been the most prominent holdout of the USB-C ports. Gurman suggests that Apple may be following a decision by the European Union to use the standard. The company seems to have made other decisions to get out of legislation. After a device repairability law was passed in France, Apple began to provide repair parts for its devices.

Gurman says Apple's new ports won't be in the phone until next year. It is huge news for everyone who has accidentally jammed the wrong charge into their phone.

Both ways foldables could go.

You might think of folding screens as fully flexible. Most foldables bend in one direction. A new tech from the company aims to combine them into a single screen that can fold in half.

At the Society for Information Display conference this week, the company showed off an 8-inch screen that could do this. The screen is able to hold 200,000 folds before showing signs of wear. There is no timetable for when this will make its way into a mass-market product. Whether or not foldables will become the future of screens or not, companies are moving ahead with them. Hopefully this will give them more flexibility.

There is a new OP-1.

Teenage Engineering's flagship beat box is the OP-1 synthesizer. It's a compact, feature-stuffed machine that's popular with musical pros and beginners alike. Those who are willing to pay the asking price. The company announced this week that the OP-1 has received its first major update since its launch in 2011.

The new model is thinner and lighter, has a higher-resolution display, 32-bit audio, and 24 hours of battery life, compared to the original's eight to 10 hours.

The hugely anticipated retro-style gaming handheld Playdate was codesigned by Teenage Engineering. The new OP-1 Field is available now, even though the device isn't shipping again until 2023. It is more expensive than its predecessor, retailing for $2,000. Good things can come in small packages, but they will cost you.

Hal, it's time to shut the iPod doors.

Please, a moment of silence for the iPod. The iPod Touch is the last product in Apple's famous line of music players. The original iPod was launched in 2001 and has come to an end.

Steven Levy, who wrote the book on the iPod, goes in depth on the device's demise.

There is aaggle of gadgets.

The I/O developer conference was held this week. The company showed off a lot of software and hardware updates. There are some changes to make Search more inclusive, a new Pixel phone, and even a real-life Pixel watch.

All the hardware that was announced this week is here. There are all the new software updates here. The important announcements of this week are discussed on the Gadget Lab.