[benb]

Big risk is:

a) Need to pay ongoing fees to keep it working as well as it should due to the software

b) The software support gets cancelled cause the company moves on or goes out of business, and now the fitness equipment is no longer fully functional.

On a more practical level these ones that hide everything inside a mirror cabinet don't look like they're actually big enough to hold a full set of dumbbells and/or kettle bells.

If you get more traditional equipment (rack + dumbells/kettlebells) you can supplement with a video/software program on an iPad. If that video/software program goes kaput you just switch to another one and aren't holding onto an expensive proprietary device.

We have a Nordic Track connected treadmill, the content is really good, but it's the same risk. And at least for me the connected video content is all for naught.. I get motion sick if I run on the treadmill and watch the running content on the screen. That completely defeats the point. It's my wife's treadmill and it doesn't bother her cause she's shorter. For me I have to look too far down at the screen and that causes the motion sickness + posture issues. I don't know that I'd ever have been able to tell before purchase. For whatever reason I don't have any trouble with this riding a bike trainer with a video or doing Zwift, etc.. but in those cases the video can be moved so there's not a posture issue.

Posture issues seem like they won't be a thing with these "vault" type things as you can stand further away.

A lot of the bike stuff can theoretically have the same software/fee risks.

These things are expensive enough you could get the traditional stuff and then work with a personal trainer a bit and/or on-off in a fashion that would get you more personalized recommendations. If the recurring fees are high enough there's no way non-personalized content off these platforms is going to be as good as working with a trainer or PT.

For expensive stuff from Nordic Track I would want to see it in person and try it... I am ultra not impressed with the build quality of the treadmill we have, which was similar price to the Fusion CST thing. It looks nice on the outside and is advertised as commercial grade but putting it together some parts of it the build quality was like a walmart bike, and one of the fans has already failed after 18 months. There's no way I believe it would actually survive in a commercial gym getting used hours every day.