Review: Tonal 2 Home Gym

Tonal is a high-tech slab of ambition—a gym in a mirror for those wanting to trade dumbbells for algorithm-powered gains. Tonal 2 is sleeker, sharper, and somehow even more expensive than before. At $4,295 (plus several add-on costs), it’s both a statement piece and a serious financial commitment.

I wanted to know if Tonal could change the way I train. After weeks of testing, I analyzed everything from installation to daily performance to see if Tonal 2 could keep me motivated—no small feat given my squirrel-like attention span—or if it would just turn my living room into the set of a Black Mirror episode.

New and Improved

Tonal 2 sticks with the same wall-mounted design as its predecessor (7/10, WIRED Recommends) but refines the aesthetic with an all-black finish and chrome accents. It looks cool in any home gym—as long as you wipe off the inevitable smudges after every workout. The most noticeable upgrade is the built-in camera, which enables real-time form feedback on-screen. Previously, Smart View required a separate mobile device to analyze movements, but now corrections are immediate. You can still integrate your phone for a side-angle, which improves the coaching cues.

Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane

In my experience, Smart View caught subtle but critical posture mistakes—like hunching my shoulders or letting my chest drop. But it wasn’t flawless. For example, it didn’t flag when I performed an entirely different exercise, like a narrow hamstring curl instead of a wide bicep curl. Certain exercises also make it hard to glance at the screen mid-set, so I relied on the post-workout videos and feedback for review more than in real time.

Connectivity has also improved, with stronger Wi-Fi and Bluetooth stability. Your internet still matters—if your connection is spotty, expect occasional lag—but I didn’t experience any streaming disruptions during testing.

Perhaps the most meaningful upgrade is its durability. Tonal 2’s new cables are 75 percent stronger, pushing the digital resistance cap from 200 to 250 pounds—a huge plus for advanced lifters. Tonal also introduced a new workout modality, Aero HIIT, a cardio and strength training hybrid, that adds five new moves to the list: Aero Pull, Aero Mini Pull, Aero Twist, Aero Chop, and Aero Lunge. Drop sets are also now built-in, making pushing through fatigue possible without manual weight adjustments.

Not Just Weights

Tonal 2 requires professional installation, adding another $295 (or more, depending on your location). It mounts flush to the wall, keeping your space clutter-free, but it demands at least 7'x7' of floor space and a 7'10" ceiling height for a full range of motion. If you live in a smaller space, be prepared to shuffle furniture around before workouts. The actual installation took about 45 minutes and went smoothly. Though fair warning, the drilling is loud. If you have neighbors, maybe give them a heads-up.

Lifting with digital resistance feels different from free weights. According to Tonal, the pin-loaded machine can feel 23 percent heavier than barbell dumbbells. There’s no momentum, so your muscles stay engaged throughout the motion. It’s a more controlled (and limiting) way to train. The touchscreen is responsive, making it easy to adjust weights, follow programs, and track progress.

Photograph: Tonal

Tonal pairs with most Bluetooth headphones and speakers, great for early morning or late night workouts. I will say Tonal’s built-in playlists are underwhelming, with a limited number of skips. Apple Music and Amazon Music are supported, but Spotify users are out of luck. As a Spotify loyalist, I often turned off Tonal’s station, cranked up the coaching volume, and played my music. You can also sync your Tonal with Apple Health and your Apple Watch to control workouts and track progress. It even reads running, swimming, and cycling data from Apple Health and syncs with Strava.

I’m personally drawn to high-energy workouts, and no at-home setup has matched that energy for me like the Peloton bike. What keeps me coming back to Peloton is the frequently updated classes, curated music, and charismatic instructors; I know exactly who I want to take classes with, and I can filter by genre to match my mood. Tonal—while packed with over 3,000 workouts, about 280 exercises, and 15 training modalities—takes a more serious approach. Its strength-focused programming is excellent but it lacks the same sense of playfulness. If you prefer free weights or high-intensity group workouts, you might struggle to embrace Tonal’s method.

Tonal 2 is as premium as home gyms get, both in design and cost. The machine itself is $4,295, but the real kicker is the membership—which is required for the first year—at $60 per month. Technically, you can use it without a subscription, but that strips away predictive weight adjustments, real-time coaching, dynamic weight modes, and most of what makes Tonal compelling. You can't get around not having the subscription.

Photograph: Tonal

The hidden costs don’t stop there. Tonal’s smart accessories—which include smart handles, a smart bar, a rope, a bar control module, a foam roller, a mat, and a bench—are an additional $495 as a bundle. While not essential, the accessories shelf was a useful add-on for keeping everything organized. The Tonal’s arms, smart handles, and Bar Control Module require AA and AAA batteries, which are included initially but will need replacement over time.

Like many fitness companies' policies, Tonal's privacy policy raises more questions than it answers. Tonal logs the basics (demographic info, workout preferences, fitness goals) alongside more granular input, like video and audio recordings, physical attributes, and health-related information from connected apps like Apple Health or Strava depending on your privacy settings. That level of data collection isn't unusual for a fitness device, but the policy doesn't specify how long Tonal retains user data and exactly who gets access to it. The deletion protocols are also pretty vague, but according to the privacy terms, you can contact the support team to delete “certain information.”

Photograph: Tonal

Finally, Tonal is heavily reliant on software updates, which raises some concerns about long-term usability. When I first set mine up, it wouldn’t enter sleep mode. After two weeks of troubleshooting (with Tonal’s responsive customer service), the issue resolved itself—likely via a silent update. The hardware feels solid, but the experience is only as good as Tonal’s ability to maintain its software.

Like its predecessor, Tonal 2 has a bunch of additional costs that aren't factored into the initial price. At over $5000 for the full setup, it’s a splurge that only makes sense if you’re all-in on digital weight training, and if you prefer free weights, group classes, or a one-time equipment purchase, there are far more affordable ways to get swole. Still if you want a piece of beautiful gym equipment and don't mind the additional upsell, the Tonal 2 has made meaningful improvements. If it's 2 degrees where you live and you can't get outside, it's nice to have a Tonal 2 readily available.