How to row with a Concept2 PM5 or smart rower on Apple Vision Pro
If you have a Concept2 rower or another Bluetooth rowing machine, you can use it with Apple Vision Pro. Your stroke rate, split, power and distance come straight from the machine, and the water moves around you as you row. This guide uses Rowdy, our rowing app for Vision Pro, which we plan to release on 24 October 2026.
Which rowers work
- Concept2 rowers with a PM5 monitor. The PM5 has Bluetooth built in.
- Smart rowers that use FTMS. FTMS is the standard Bluetooth fitness machine protocol, used by many connected rowers.
Older Concept2 monitors such as the PM3 and PM4 do not have Bluetooth.
Connecting your rower
- Wake the monitor by pressing a button or taking a stroke.
- Make sure the rower is not already connected to another app or your phone. A rower can only talk to one device at a time.
- In Rowdy, pick a journey or a Free Row space.
- Tap the rower button next to ROW. Rowdy finds the rower and connects.
If it does not connect, close any other rowing app on your phone, wake the monitor again, and tap the rower button once more.
Get comfortable before you press ROW
Vision Pro places the scene around where you are when it starts, so where you sit matters.
- Sit on your rower, upright at mid-slide, and then press ROW. The water will be centered on you.
- If you see your room when you lean forward, press and hold the Digital Crown while seated to recenter.
- Keep the space around your rower clear, and start with shorter sessions while you get used to rowing in a headset.
Logging your rows in Apple Health
Rowdy does not write workouts to Apple Health, so a row is never counted twice. To record heart rate and calories in Health, start an Indoor Rowing workout on your Apple Watch before you press ROW, and end it when you finish.
No rower? You can still try it
Without a connected machine, Rowdy estimates your rowing from hand tracking, so you can row with a rowing motion of your hands. It is a good way to try the journeys, but a real rower gives you exact numbers.
Questions
Does the Concept2 PM5 work with Apple Vision Pro?
Yes. Rowdy connects to the PM5 over Bluetooth and reads your rowing data directly.
Can I use a rowing machine that isn't a Concept2?
Yes, if it supports the Bluetooth FTMS fitness machine standard.
Why won't my rower connect?
Usually the monitor is asleep or still connected to another app or phone. Wake it, disconnect the other device, and try again.
Rowdy: Row on WaterRowing workouts on real rivers, for Apple Vision Pro.Apple Vision Pro · Coming 24 October 2026