A cable crossover has two uprights facing each other with a user standing in the middle — the crossed cable path enables chest flies, crossovers, and exercises requiring cables to meet at center. A functional trainer typically has two columns side by side with adjustable arms; it handles most of the same movements but the cable paths don't truly cross unless the unit is wide enough. Most home gym users won't notice a practical difference for 90% of exercises, but chest fly purists prefer true crossovers for the path geometry.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://pickly.blog/en/articles/best-cable-machine-2026/