The coronavirus pandemic changed the fitness habits of people around the world, with many adapting to working out at home, and the connected fitness industry exploded, offering consumers new ways to get fit without leaving their homes. peloton, Mirror, Brands like Peloton, Mirror, and Tempo were at the forefront of this growth, but they all had one thing in common: consumers needed a lot of space and a lot of money to invest in equipment. This week, Tempo introduced Tempo Move, a product designed to solve this problem.

Tempo Move is a home gym the size of a mini-fridge; unlike Tempo's first product, the $2,500 Tempo Studio, launched in 2020, Move is designed to bring the same experience, but in a smaller, more affordable package At $395, Tempo Move is more feasibly priced. However, a monthly subscription of $39.95 is still required.

Move looks like a side table that would look at home in most homes. It comes in two colors, light and dark, and contains a 50-pound weight plate and dumbbells. At the top of the unit is a dock where you can connect your iPhone, which forms an important part of the workout experience.

Once connected, the iPhone takes over the TV for class; Move requires a new iPhone (iPhone XS or later, the cheaper iPhone SE is not supported). If your iPhone is supported, Move uses the iPhone's True Depth camera system to track you and your weights during your workout.

Like a personal trainer in your living room, Move will guide you on your form, pace, and corrections along the way. The more you workout, the more Tempo learns your workout habits and adjusts how much weight you should use for certain exercises and recommends which courses to take.

Tempo's platform offers live and on-demand classes. Classes include HIIT, strength, cardio, meditation, and yoga. Barbell and kettlebell classes will be added in 2022.

Tempo also announced that the platform will utilize the depth-sensing LiDAR scanner on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro in the future; Tempo CTO and co-founder Josh Augustine said, "The iPhone is now running advanced AI locally and has accurate depth sensing technology, we are at an inflection point."

Tempo Move is currently available for pre-order directly from Tempo or at Best Buy, and will begin shipping in early December. While we have yet to test the platform, it is exciting to see brands listening to consumers and trying to come up with solutions that don't limit connected fitness to those who can afford the space and money.

But the question remains, is it really necessary to spend $400 and $40 a month on a set of weights?

Sure, the personal training component is impressive, but for me, it's training in real life with like-minded people who encourage me to run faster, lift heavier, or just finish that last rep with a smile, That's when I made the biggest gains in fitness. But like I said, I haven't tried tempo moves yet.

Now that the restrictions have been lifted, it remains to be seen if we'll all be ditching our studio memberships and working out with friends via our TV screens, but it's definitely exciting.