Tag: wearable tech

Nike’s CEO says the company still has future plans for wearables even though it discontinued its FuelBand.

While Nike has abandoned its fitness tracking bracelet, Mark Parker, the company’s chief executive, hinted that it may be collaborating with Apple on future wearable tech and indicated that the device would likely be more integrated and less obvious than current wearables on the market.

The future wearable product could be more practical and more “stealth”.

“You can go from the very geeky kind of wearables today – we’ve all seen some of those – to what I think you’ll see in the future, things that are more stealth, more integrated, more stylish and more functional, yes,” said Parker in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

Although Parker was not clear on what type of technology the company may be developing, it does seem that he could be hinting that they are not sticking to the typical wristband idea that is common among the majority of fitness trackers. Instead, their wearable idea may lead to the creation of a product that is equipped with smarter and smaller sensors that could be integrated into fashion accessories or clothing, for example.

A future wearable tech product collaboration may be new for Nike and Apple but the companies have previously worked together.

Back in 2006, the companies partnered for the Nike+running sensor range, which wirelessly connected to Apple’s iPod. In fact, Parker personally worked with Steve Jobs, Apple’s founder. Meanwhile, Tim Cook, Apple’s current CEO, serves on Nike’s board of directors. Furthermore, after Nike shut down its Fuelband division, many people who were part of this division, moved to Apple to work on the Apple Watch.

Parker states that “Technologically we can do things together that we couldn’t do independently.” He added that part of the company’s plan is to expand the entire “digital frontier” in regard to wearables and grow from tens of millions of Nike users to hundreds of millions.

It is unknown what type of wearable tech will be produced from the hinted Nike and Apple partnership. That being said, beyond potential future wearable projects, it is probable that a Nike+ app will be made available for the Apple Watch and that it will likely integrate with the electronic giant’s new Health app.

The company will be taking its first steps into the wearable technology category within upcoming weeks.

Microsoft is now preparing for an important new product launch as it will make its way into the wearable technology device category through its upcoming smartwatch device, according to a recent report from Forbes.

This wearable device will provide a range of features such as tracking the heart rate of the wearer.

One aspect that is quite interesting about the upcoming Microsoft smartwatch is that it is meant to be compatible with a range of different mobile platforms. Moreover, it will also have a considerable battery life that will last over two days when the device is used regularly, said the Forbes report.

This will place Microsoft in direct competition with the smartwatch rivals from Samsung, Motorola, and others.

Galaxy Gear wearable technology from Samsung has already been released in several versions and generations. Equally, the Moto 360 has represented the first option in the category from Motorola. This also brings Microsoft into the wearables arena just as the lucrative holiday season will be getting going. That will bring it onto the store shelves ahead of the competition from Apple, which is not set to be released until sometime in early 2015.

The first reports of wearables from Microsoft began appearing earlier this year in May, when it was working on a gadget that would employ the Kinect division’s optical engineering tech and that would be able to sync not only with Windows Phones but also smartphones that are based on Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS.

At the time that this article was written, the company had not released any details with regards to what it intends to actually name its smartwatch. It also has not given any indication as to the type of price tag that should be expected on the device. This is not only a major step into a new product category for Microsoft, but it is also a large step being taken by the CEO of the company, Satya Nadella, as this territory is considered to be primarily an uncharted one.