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Nike CEO 'Excited' About Future of Fitness Partnership with Apple

Friday April 25, 2014 11:10 am PDT by Eric Slivka
nike_fuelband_seLate last week, it was revealed that Nike is scaling back its FuelBand hardware effort to focus on the software side of its fitness tracking ecosystem, sparking speculation of a potential partnership with Apple focused around the iWatch or other Apple hardware.

Nike CEO Mark Parker appeared on CNBC earlier today, and while he would not directly address specific plans with respect to Apple, he did note that Apple is a longtime partner and that he is "excited about where that relationship will go forward."
Parker: [Y]ou're going to continue to see us commit to this area, to focus on expanding the reach. Today, we have about 30 million FuelBand users. We're hoping to push that to over 100 million. We have partners that we work with...obviously the most visible partner we have is Apple. We've been working with them for a long time. And we're excited about where that relationship will go forward.

CNBC's Sara Eisen: Well, can you give us a hint? Are we going to expect some sort of collaborative device coming out? Nike and Apple?

Parker: I can't really say that. There's been a lot of speculation, which I understand. I will just say the relationship between Nike and Apple will continue. And I am personally, as we all are at Nike, very excited about what's to come.

Parker went on to discuss how Nike is going to focus on the software side of the wearable fitness device market going forward, integrating it into some of of Nike's products as well as those of partners. With those partnerships, Nike is seeking to further its primary goal of expanding the overall Fuel ecosystem to as many people as possible.

Speculation of a Nike-Apple partnership is natural given the long history between the two companies, highlighted by the Nike+iPod initiative to bring pedometer and other fitness tracking to Apple devices. Apple CEO Tim Cook has served on Nike's board of directors for nearly a decade, and he is frequently seen wearing a Nike FuelBand.

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nepalisherpa
65 months ago
After firing so many poor employees, sure you are excited about the future!
Rating: 9 Votes
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filmantopia
65 months ago

How come we haven't seen any iWatch-related (hardware or software) leaks yet?


Apple's probably laser focused on keeping this one a secret. We might even get an iWatch announcement months ahead of the release (like the first iPhone) as to avoid leaks from the manufacturing end.
Rating: 9 Votes
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IJ Reilly
65 months ago

Maybe Apple is about to buy Nike.


Because above all, Apple really wants to be in the shoe business.
Rating: 6 Votes
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TallManNY
65 months ago
It is iBand and it is coming. Probably not nearly as hard to manufacture as an iPhone, so less ramp up for manufacturing plants and less likely to have leaks. Also we are probably a good chunk of time away from launch.

As for Nike, I have no idea why Nike would be focused on the software side. I think they should stay focused on the shoe side of fitness. Maybe do the T-Shirt and Shorts side. Outside of that and I don't think they make sense being involved.
Rating: 4 Votes
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Tankmaze
65 months ago
Scaling back on fuelband hardware to focus more on the software,
Well that's a huge hint, nike is giving away their fuelband hardware to apple.
Rating: 3 Votes
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Renzatic
65 months ago

How come we haven't seen any iWatch-related (hardware or software) leaks yet?

I think Apple still has a very tight secrecy on new products, like it did with the original iPhone.


Probably because it's not out for mass production yet. Most of the shots we get of future Apple hardware are from pieces off the assembly line.
Rating: 3 Votes
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gugy
65 months ago
It's great that both Nike and Apple are working together. I hope the new device is waterproof. I am a avid swimmer and I would love to have it when in the pool.
Also all the water sports will benefit of such device.
Rating: 2 Votes
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Waxhead138
65 months ago
Variety of Description

Don't CEOs know any other feeling / descriptor besides "Exciting" when they speak of upcoming products?

It's a nit-picky thing I know, but its as predictable and boring as "Have a Nice Day."
Rating: 2 Votes
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Patriot24
65 months ago

i think they will show/demo the iwatch in wwdc it makes sense since IOS 8 has the heath book app. :rolleyes:


Not necessarily. The 5s has the motion co-processor, as will the next iPhone. Presumably, Healthbook can stand on its own without the watch product.

With that said, I also buy into the theory that they show the watch at WWDC, give devs time to build software for it, and release it sometime later in the year (September/October).
Rating: 2 Votes
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richman555
65 months ago
Samsung is phoning Reebok as we speak.
Rating: 2 Votes

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