Wearables: Nike Develops Fuelband Further with Apple

While another device with only one function now exists with Amazon Dash, one will disappear from the market: the Nike FuelBand. For the time being it will still be sold, but it won’t be developed further. Nike see their future as being in the software branch. That is why 55 of the 70 strong hardware team was let go. That it came to this is not surprising, after all, pressure from the competition in the area of wearables is growing dramatically. On the one hand, there are much more extensive complete solutions for the target group from the hardware and software products of runtastic. More sports and more devices, right up to intelligent weighing scales; Nike can’t keep up without a lot of effort.

Smartwatches pose even greater competition. They could become dangerous for simple devices with just one function, analogous to the way tablets are cannibalising e-readers. Apart from niche providers (Pebble), larger names in the market, Google (Android Wear), Samsung (Gear Fit) and Apple (iWatch) don’t want to be taken lying down.

It is logical that Nike, as sports article manufactures, are pulling out here. After all, they aren’t closing the door to the hardware branch – good connections with Apple make cooperation likely. However, in-house devices are no longer necessary for this.

Update: There are rumours that Nike will develop the next generation of FuelBands with Apple. That should mean a functions upgrade.