Unfortunately, it is Apple that does not want a better connectivity.
This is simply not true in this case. There are like 3 bikes in the world with ant+ (obviously an exaggeration, but also obviously not very prevalent in the industry. giant and specialized? yes?). It is not widely adopted. You know what every "connected" bike has? Bluetooth. All of them. Every. Single. One. (maybe also an exaggeration but not by much)
Why would apple put hardware into their devices that only supports a very small subset of cyclists in a subset of fitness activities that apple supports? The only reason is a very specific partnership between Apple and Specialized (or one or more of the other brands that do use ant+). Or apple actually deciding to build BikePlay and take over the cycling computer market (not worth the effort from an industry size standpoint in apple's eyes I would think). And, the argument can/should be made that apple would be better off "strong arming" manufacturers to use bluetooth so any bike features they build will work on any recent iphone or apple watch. Ant+ is not a technology that is prevalent enough to draw customers to a product simply to increase sales outside of the primary industry.
And, remember, it's not just Apple. Android can support all of this as well. It's bike manufacturers not opening up their data and using the connectivity that is already present. Keep in mind, phones that used to support ant+ *no longer do* in their current models. Example samsung galaxy s20 had it (and many earlier models). s21/s22 do not. Ant+ appears to be going the way of the headphone jack.
That leaves the question: What do I have to do to get all the data output that I can already gather? The answer appears to be: replace apple watch heart rate with something else. replace the phone with something else. Accept a substandard navigation/routing/control experience. Neither npe cable, or viiiiva hrm are readily available as far as I can see (at least not from reputable sellers). So, now I am limited to an ant+ bike computer (or watch!).
I am *not* opposed to a watch that can act as an ant+ bridge to the phone while gathering heart rate data (like viiiiva). That would work, and I could wear it as a second watch if I don't want to replace the apple watch (not sure if any of the garmin watches will do that). But, a GPS computer on the bike really should completely replace the phone. And that will be tough because, wait for it, mission control locking and tuning. I use the mission control app every day.
The technology situation on e-bikes is stupid. The sooner bike manufacturers and suppliers realize that promoting open standards will drive more people toward biking, the better it will be for everyone. They aren't Apple. They can't pull off a walled garden successfully (quite obviously. specialized doesn't even sell compatible bike computers to solve this problem). And if they could (and bosch may be trying to be a walled garden), they would need to include all the hardware to have at least all the functionality these apps and bike computers do. How is that going for bosch? Is it a good system?
Anywho, bike manufacturers need to wake up. Their industry isn't the data or technology around navigation or analysis. Their product is the bike. Open up the data. The writing is on the wall. There are fewer ways today to get the data off the bikes than there was a year or two ago. That is a very bad sign for the future of *any* technology.
"The ant+ is dead. Long live the ant+!"
Ok, done now.
Suffice to say I have all the ride data I need since May 2022 when my Vado was equipped in TCD-w. I use the same equipment and software for my both Specialized e-bikes and miss no data.
