What Does 2025 Have In Store For Ellipticals? New Features, Capabilities & Technology
We typically do our analysis of the new year in December, but this year we were waiting a bit as there were some new models that were supposed to be released in January. We’re still waiting on that, so we decided to just get into our 2025 elliptical review so you all know what’s in store this year.
One of the main things we have noticed, and this has been going on for a few years now, is that the number of elliptical offerings from two of the most popular brands, NordicTrack & ProForm, has been steadily declining. When we first started reviewing ellipticals way back in 2012, each of these companies had about 3-4 different series, with 2-3 models in each. There was a front drive, a rear drive and sometimes a center drive.
Fast forward to 2025, and NordicTrack currently features just 4 ellipticals on their site and ProForm just one, the Carbon E7. That’s a huge drop and it begs the question: Why do these top companies no longer offer a lot of ellipticals? My guess, ellipticals just aren’t as popular as they once were. Treadmills and ellipticals used to be the top selling cardio equipment for many years. But other cardio machines seem to have taken over, mainly indoor exercise bikes to a lesser degree rowing machines.
Peloton had a lot to do with the rise in popularity of the exercise bike. They were huge during Covid when gyms were closed and other companies emerged with their own versions of exercise bikes to compete with them. Alongside that some companies started producing high end rowing machines that offered the same live/on demand workout capability that Peloton offered.
As bikes and rowers typically require less room than treadmills and ellipticals, and still offer a great cardio workout, they have grown in popularity significantly over the past few years. Granted, now that everyone is back at the health club sales of all cardio equipment aren’t nearly what they were then…but there will always be a market for home exercise equipment since not everyone wants to work out at a gym, and even if they do, they may want to work out at home occasionally as well.
At any rate, let’s take a look at what 2025 has in store for ellipticals…
Touch Screen Displays are Becoming the Norm
Although touch screen technology has been around for quite some time, only the higher end ellipticals used to have them. NordicTrack and ProForm were probably the first residential ellipticals to feature them on their top models. They then started putting them on some of the mid-priced models as well.
In 2025 you’ll actually see a lot of the newer ellipticals with touch screen technology.
NordicTrack has the new X16 elliptical, along with the FS10i and AirGlide 7i/14i ellipticals. All 4 of these ellipticals have really nice touch screens, from 7″ on the AirGlide 7i to 16″ on the new X16. You can tap into all of the iFIT workouts right on the machine, and now the company is even offering streaming capability, something they didn’t have previously.
On ProForm’s one remaining elliptical, the Carbon E7, there’s a 7″ touch screen similar to the one on the AirGlide 7i. (Note that both are made by the same company iFIT Health). Similarly, you can see all of the iFIT workouts right on the screen and stream your favorite apps.
Sole Fitness has pared down their elliptical offerings a bit, but they still have 5 machines for sale in 2025. For many years all of their machines had various sized LCD displays, one of the main drawbacks compared to their competitor NordicTrack. However, in 2025 4 out of 5 of their ellipticals now have touch screen technology.
The popular Sole E95, one of our top picks, as well as the E95s and E98, now have a 13.3″ touch screen with WiFi as well as screen mirroring. The E35 has a 10.1″ touch screen. Only the entry level E25 does not have the touch screen. It still has the 7.5″ backlit LCD display. We’ll have to see if they add a touch screen to that one.
Bowflex currently has four different Max Trainers to choose from. The base Max Trainer SE and mid-level M6 still have backlit LCD displays, but the up-level M9 and top of the line Total 16 have a 10″ and 16″ touch screen display, respectively. On the screen you can tap into JRNY, which is BowFlex’s version of iFIT.
Horizon Fitness still hasn’t jumped on the touch screen bandwagon. It may be because it would raise the costs of their machines and they want to keep them low as an alternative to the pricier NordicTrack and Sole ellipticals. But I have a feeling they will be adding them at some point in the future.
Interestingly, Life Fitness, one of the top high end cardio brands, still does not offer touch screens on their home ellipticals, despite their hefty price tag.
Interactive Training is Gaining In Popularity
Although interactive training, i.e. expanded workout capability typically requiring a subscription, has been around for quite some time, Peloton definitely brought it to the next level with their live classes. Ever since then, many other cardio brands have introduced their own versions of the Peloton program, or expanded what they were offering previously.
The biggest program in the space is definitely iFIT, which can be found on all NordicTrack, ProForm & Freemotion ellipticals and other cardio equipment. As of this writing iFIT can also be found on the high end Matrix ellipticals, even though they are owned by rival Johnson Health Tech.
iFIT is an ever-expanding immersive workout experience, now with over 10,000 workouts to choose from led by experienced personal trainers. You can choose workouts in exotic locations around the world via Google maps, and the elliptical automatically adjusts the resistance, incline & decline to match the selected workout. There’s tracking, sharing, recommendations, app connectivity, challenges…you have endless capability with iFIT.
Interestingly, they used to offer a free trial of iFIT, one year at the beginning, then it got shorter and shorter. Before they did away with free trials in 2024, you were able to get one month free. Perhaps they will bring it back, who knows? But at $39 a month it’s really not so bad for what you are getting.
The most comparable program to iFIT, besides Peloton, is Bowflex’s JRNY. It’s not as comprehensive as iFIT, but it does offer a library of trainer led courses and you can choose from over 200 virtual destinations. They also have JRNY radio as well as streaming capability.
JRNY is a lot cheaper than iFIT, at $11.99 a month currently, and they still offer a free trial, which is currently 2 months.
Sole Fitness had their own version of iFIT for a while, but now the machines come with an app called Kinomap which offers virtual workouts with professional trainers. Not sure why they no longer offer their own app or if it will be coming back. Stay tuned!
Horizon Fitness ellipticals offer the ability to connect with a number of apps, including AtZone, a free app with a number of training options. Their push is that you are not locked into anything like the other membership programs, giving you more freedom.
Most of the other brands do not offer interactive training, but will probably start to in order to compete in the market.
Incline & Decline Training Are Growing
Just a few years back it was rare to find incline capability on ellipticals and decline? Forget about it. Now incline is becoming much more commonplace and decline training is also taking hold. This means you’ll be able to target a lot more muscle groups on 2025 ellipticals.
Starting out with NordicTrack, all four current models have incline capability. The FS7i and FS10i incline to 10%. The AirGlide 7i & 14i incline 15% and declines 5%. The new X16 inclines and decline 10%.
The ProForm Carbon E7 has even more incline capability, at 20%. We’ll see if they introduce any other new ellipticals in 2025.
Sole Fitness has always had incline on all of their ellipticals. Even the base model has 20 levels of incline. However, none of the half dozen Sole ellipticals have decline capability…perhaps they will be adding that this year.
Bowflex Max Trainers aren’t like traditional ellipticals, so they don’t really lend themselves to incline and decline. They did offer regular ellipticals for some time but have since discontinued those models, likely due to low sales.
Taking a look at Horizon ellipticals, the base EX-59 does not have incline capability, but the top of the line 7.0 AE does, up to 20 levels.
Ellipticals in 2025 – Summary
So although it seems that most manufacturers are paring their elliptical offerings in 2025, technology is still advancing, making these ellipticals better with each passing year. You’ll find more touch screen displays, more interactive workouts and more incline/decline ability this year, making for a much more enjoyable workout experience.
Looking for a new elliptical? Check out our 2025 best ellipticals to find the perfect one for your home gym!