Tempo Move Review: A $495 Camera That Counts Reps Better Than It Coaches
By The Ironnook Test Desk ·
6.8
tempo.fit
The verdict
Tempo Move is the cheapest way into camera-tracked strength training, and the rep counting is dependable. The form feedback is hit and miss, the weight estimate can be wrong by 10 lb or more, and the $39 monthly plan adds about $470 a year. Buy it as a structured planner for beginners with an iPhone, not as a replacement for a coach.
Best for: iPhone owners who want guided, rep-counted strength work at home
What we liked
$495 undercuts wall and freestanding smart gyms by thousands of dollars
Rep counting is dependable, per Garage Gym Reviews' 4.3 out of 5 test
Uses your own iPhone and TV, so there is no extra screen to buy
One $39 plan covers up to 6 accounts and 1,000+ classes
Plain loadable dumbbells still work if the company folds
What could be better
Needs an iPhone XS or newer, with no Android support at all
The Gym Monster 2 is the smart gym for people who rent, cannot drill into studs or want barbell, cable and rowing work from one machine. It offers more range of motion and exercises than any wall-mounted rival we looked at, for hundreds of dollars less than Tonal 2. Software polish, loud heavy sets and the 220 lb ceiling stop it short of a top score. Serious lifters should still buy a rack and plates.
amp is the value pick among wall-mounted smart gyms: $1,795 with installation, a 6 ft by 2 ft panel and a plan that costs well under half of Tonal's. The price buys a 100 lb ceiling, an iPhone-only app and a recall on early units. Buy it for general fitness and hypertrophy at moderate loads, not for heavy strength work.
7.2$1,795 (plus $23/mo app plan)
Smart Strength Systems
Weight estimates can be off by 10 lb or more, hurting progression
Form correction is inconsistent, according to a three-year owner
35 lb of plates is light, and swapping plates slows circuits
$39 a month with a 12-month commitment on top of the hardware
Tempo Move turns an iPhone, a TV and 35 lb of plates into a rep-counting trainer for $495 plus $39 a month. Rep tracking works, form feedback is patchy and weight estimates miss.
Tempo Move is a small black box that sits under your TV, watches you lift with an iPhone camera and a depth sensor, and counts your reps. That is the pitch for $495: Tonal-style coaching without a $4,000 wall unit. What you actually buy is a camera dock, a pair of loadable dumbbells and a $39 monthly bill. The question is whether the camera earns the bill, and the honest answer is: partly, and only for the right buyer. Tempo's homepage lists virtual personal training from $39 a month, which is the number that decides the real cost.
What comes in the box
The Move holds an iPhone upright on the Core, plugs into a TV over HDMI and tracks you with the phone's camera and depth data. Garage Gym Reviews lists two 7.5 lb dumbbell handles, four collars, and plates in 1.25, 2.5 and 5 lb sizes, adding up to 35 lb of loose weight, all of which fit in a small cabinet. The Core, an HDMI cable and a Lightning cable complete the kit. The phone is yours: the system needs an iPhone XS or XR or newer, and a Pro model with LiDAR is the best match. On Android, the Move does nothing.
Brand image from Tempo's site: the Move is sold on strength work in a normal living room.
The weights matter more than the camera at first. They are plain loadable dumbbells with collars, so every change in load means spinning off plates. That is fine for slow sets of presses and rows. It gets tiring in a fast circuit, and a few reviewers say so.
Does the camera coach or just count?
This is the claim worth testing. Garage Gym Reviews gave the Move 4.3 out of 5 and found rep tracking and form feedback strong. It also found the system wrong about the weight in its test, which matters because the app uses the load to decide your next set.
Garage Gym Reviews calls the Move the tiniest smart home gym ever.
A long-term owner, Ian, offers the harsh version. After nearly three years he said the weight estimate was off by 10 lb or more about as often as it was right, and that the form correction, as he put it, had "corrected me accurately maybe one time." He also hit Bluetooth drops and Apple Watch problems, and found that you cannot skip a movement or shorten a class. He still called it the best value in home fitness and only left for a Tonal. That balance is what we would expect for a $495 camera: it is a good rep counter, a mixed form coach, and a bad judge of what is on the bar.
So, is this just dumbbells with an app? Partly. The camera counts and nags well enough to be worth having, and the classes are structured. But nothing here replaces a coach looking at your back angle.
What it really costs
The hardware is $495, per the sources we checked. Tempo's current page now sells it as a Move gym with a cabinet and shows financing from $69 a month, so check the checkout total before you assume the older price. The $39 monthly plan covers up to 6 accounts and a library of more than 1,000 classes, with a 12-month commitment. Over two years, the hardware plus the plan comes to about $1,430.
Compare that to the options:
A pair of adjustable dumbbells and a free or cheap video app costs far less up front.
Wall and freestanding smart gyms such as Tonal and Speediance cost several times more but add cable-style resistance.
Tempo's own Studio has a built-in screen and costs about four times the Move, for the same coaching.
If Tempo ever shut down, the dumbbells would still work, which is more than you can say for a wall gym.
T3 gave the Move four stars and called it far more affordable than the Studio.
Who should buy it
Buy it if you own an iPhone, you have a TV in the room you train in, and you want structure and rep counts more than heavy loading. It suits a beginner who has never planned a week of lifting. Skip it if you are on Android, if you already know how to program, or if you want weights heavier than the 35 lb in the box. We would rather see most people spend the $39 a month on a gym membership or a decent app and a heavier pair of dumbbells. For the specific person who wants a camera counting reps in a tiny space, the Move is the cheapest way in.
Tonal 2 is the best digital-resistance trainer you can buy, and it does fold a rack and dumbbells into one wall panel. But the real cost is closer to $5,800 in year one, the membership is mandatory, and the machine is a smart screen first. Buy it for space and coaching, not to save money.
