Apple’s new Activity and Fitness apps for Apple Watch might signal the end of the company’s long partnership with Nike.
So what does this mean for the millions of us who were introduced to Nike+ by Apple in 2006 and have been logging our runs this way ever since? Are we about to get caught in a Kramer vs. Kramer-style tug of love?
The beginning of a beautiful friendship
Nike and Apple first hit it off with the launch of the Nike+iPod Sport Kit in 2006. Apple made the iPod and sensor that tracked your runs, while Nike provided the running shoes and the website to log them on.
Nike+iPod was one of Apple’s classic “whole widget” solutions. It integrated hardware and software seamlessly. Each time you synced your iPod with iTunes, your run data was uploaded and the Nike+ website opened automatically.
When the honeymoon ended
The honeymoon period came to an abrupt end in 2008 when Nike launched its SportBand, which eliminated the need for an iPod or iPhone to track your runs. Oddly, they also introduced a new app called “Nike+ GPS,” which competed with the iPhone’s built-in Nike+ app.
But throughout this period, both sides remained loyal. Nike kept its apps exclusive to iOS, while Apple continued to encourage its customers to log their runs with Nike+.
An open relationship
Things got more complicated in 2012 with the launch of Nike’s first Android app.
Where Nike+iPod had slickly combined a device, an app and a website, users now had to choose these three components separately.
GPS watches from the likes of Garmin and TomTom work with Nike+ and with competitor websites such as Runkeeper and Strava. These websites in turn offer their own apps for smartphones and smartwatches.
Which means more freedom or more hassle, depending on your point of view.
Just good friends
Nike+ used to enjoy special status an integral part of Apple’s fitness offerings. But now it is featured alongside all the other third-party apps on the Apple Watch website.
So where does this leave the special relationship?
I doubt there has been any falling out. After all, Apple CEO Tim Cook continues to sit on Nike’s board. But clearly things have cooled somewhat.
This is probably just a result of developments in technology leading the two companies in different directions.
Apple’s sensor used to fit into a proprietary slot in Nike’s running shoes. GPS has made this redundant. And without the shoe sensor, there is no longer anything that ties the Nike+ service with their shoes to drive sales.
This may have diminished Nike’s interest in digital. (Strangely, it hasn’t deterred Under Armour, which has been investing heavily in this area with the acquisition of MapMyRun, Endomondo and MyFitnessPal.)
At the same time, wearables have evolved from fitness-only devices to multifunctional software platforms, leading Apple to muscle in on Nike’s territory with the upcoming launch of Apple Watch.
It is possible we’ll see more collaboration between Apple and Nike in the future, but right now, there just doesn’t seem to be the fit that their once was.
Tug of love
Having decided to replace my Nike+ SportWatch with an Apple Watch, I’m now torn between my love for Nike and my love for Apple.
I could continue to use Nike+, which has added Apple Watch support, enabling you to use your watch as a remote control so you don’t need to take your iPhone out of your pocket during a run.
But Apple Watch comes with two built-in fitness apps that offer similar functionality:
The Activity app closely resembles NikeFuel, with “rings” that you complete as you reach your movement goals for the day. It’s designed for people who want to live a healthier life by being more active. But with goals like “standing up more,” it is clearly not intended for obsessive runners.
The Fitness app looks more promising, offering GPS tracking for runs. But with no website for viewing your maps, stats and charts, the only way to access your history is via the fairly basic built-in Activity and Health apps on the iPhone.
Apple continually evolves its products, and this is just a 1.0 release. Hopefully they will add a Fitness companion app for iPhone, iPad and maybe even the Mac. Following your runs in Flyover could be a killer feature.
Until then at least, I’ll be sticking with Nike+. I’ve now logged almost 20,000 kilometers, and I have to admit, I’m kind of proud of my Volt Level status. I’m not keen on the idea of starting from scratch on a new platform.
Graham Bower is a designer, writer, fitness geek, and long-time Apple user. He is the co-host of Apple Core a podcast about the history of Apple. In his spare time, Graham writes fantasy and sci-fi novels. Connect with Graham on Bluesky or at www.grahambower.com.
8 responses to “Is Nike and Apple’s relationship on the rocks?”
i hate how my iPhone 6 Plus no longer supports the Nike+ dongle. In the winter I do a lot of running on a treadmill and I hate having to hold my phone while I run.
That is exactly the situation I’m in. Using my iPhone and Nike+ shoe sensor, not only would my treadmill runs be ‘automatically’ tracked on Nike’s website, but the details would be recorded (especially running pace at intervals).
I called Nike about the app, and they said that Apple removed the Nike+ app from the iPhone 6/Plus. They suggested I used the Nike + Running app, and enter my treadmill runs manually, but the details aren’t recorded.
This article is written from the point of view of a typical Apple fan, where in an “ideal world” Apple would enjoy a monopoly (with just enough token, nonthreatening competition to evade a lawsuit) for its products, and everyone else would be relegated to providing components for Apple hardware and software and services for Apple products. When another company comes out and competes with Apple, including by actually innovating or simply by covering bases that Apple neglects, Apple fans denigrate those companies, often accusing them of illegal and unethical tactics, and their consumers. Yet when Apple enters a category to compete with somebody else, even to drive down their profits or out of the business entirely (as Apple did to Sony’s veneralbe Walkman with the iPod and to Nokia with the iPhone) it is supposed to be this good thing that everyone should celebrate and get on board with.
And Apple’s “partnerships” are one-sided, to Apple’s benefit. When Apple decides that they can make more money or get more control by going in another direction, they drop their “partners” without a second thought, and then badmouth them when their former partners are forced to go to Apple’s competition to stay in business. They’ve done this to Intel, IBM, Corning, TSMC, Nvidia … you name it. Even during the partnership, they’re quick to scapegoat their partners for flaws and defects in Apple products.
As soon as Apple bought Beats, they dumped a lot of their previous “partners” hardware from Apple Stores and stopped featuring them on their websites. And when Apple decided to get into the fitness tracking game, they did the same in clearing out all of their former partner’s devices that they had previously used in their slick advertising campaigns to create their cool, hip image. If this is how Apple treats their friends and partners, it really is better to be one of their competitors. Honestly, it really is better to be Google, Microsoft and Samsung – who compete with Apple on one hand while making money off them on the other – than it is to try to stay on their good side while hoping they won’t enter your product category and crush you, or simply dump you when someone else comes along offering a better deal.
And finally, you made such a big deal over Nike offering an Android version of their app without mentioning that long before then, Apple accommodated PLENTY of Nike’s competitors. So Nike was supposed to remain faithful while Apple played the field? Since Nike’s relationship with Apple was no longer exclusive, what choice did Nike have other than go after the 1 billion Android users in order to try to recoup some of the revenue that they lost via Apple’s enabling their competitors?
You guys are going to have to accept the fact that companies and consumers are going to continue to do what is best for them and not what is best for Apple.
I do agree about the choice that Apple is someone forcing on the watch and the fitness section. That said I just got a couple of points to consider. First Nike+ running has a ready been retrofitted for the watch so you’ll have all of the capabilities that you’ve experienced with the Nike plus app built right in. Additionally, from the looks of it the fitness app is going to track you no matter what… So there is a strong possibility that you can do your runs with Nike+ running leveraging the connectivity to the watch and it’ll all so fill out the fitness pieces without issue. I think that may make the transition easier… That said, I typically run multiple apps when I’m actually running personally I use Nike+ running to track my runs as well as zombies run to keep me entertained while on the run. That may get more interesting depending how the systems and all that.
My second point is that over the last year and a half I’ve watched Nike move from a leadership position in this field to one sorely lacking against the competition. Whether it’s Nike plus fuel the fuel band Nike plus running or even the entire Nike platform, other competitors have surpassed them and Nike’s been sitting still. Personally, I found this extremely sad and you’ve been moving someone away from their platform for better than six months now. Most of my tracking is been done with the Whthings Pulse O2 since last December and while it was hard to give up the fuel band because I really loved it, now it seems silly to put it back on when I have another device that does so much more. Additionally, with the modifications to the Nike fuel app it becomes a irrelevant when I’m caring my phone…
So I’m looking forward to next week Friday in the rival of my Apple Watch to see some of the options that it will provide also and how that falls into the multiple ecosystems that I typically use.
Win^
Honestly, why not just use both? Have Nike+ running on your iPhone & start an ‘Apple workout’ sessions on your watch?
Agreed. I can update when I receive the watch next week to see how this works out overall. It will also be interesting to see if the Nike+ Running app can pull HR from the watch heart rate sensor… From what I understand, the watch also learns your walking and running strides and after a period of time you can run without needing the iPhone for GPS and it will still log distance accurately.
That said, for me I wouldn’t want to run without the iPhone if for nothing else but safety reasons.
One last note: I apologize for some of the broken language in my previous post. It was dictated via voice to text and I was not in a position to review that well.
Their relationship IS NOT ON THE ROCKS. You guys are looking too deep into this. Nike got rid of almost everyone in the fuelband department at HQ. They NO longer sell nike Fuelbands in all Nike FLAGSHIP stores. It was mainly because of their relationship with Apple, when they announced the iWatch. It was also because NIKE decided to focus more on other things. They would NOT take the fuelband down, if they we’re about to breakaway from Apple. They would have kept the fuelband and left Apple