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Today in Apple history: Nike+iPod Sport Kit puts fitness tracking in your pocket

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The Nike+iPod Sports Kit was a nifty innovation.
The Nike+iPod Sport Kit was a nifty innovation.
Photo: Apple

July 13: Today in Apple history: Nike+iPod Sport Kit brings fitness tracking to your pocket July 13, 2006: Apple releases its first activity tracker, the Nike+iPod Sport Kit, which combines Cupertino’s popular music player with a smart pedometer.

The product marks Apple’s first step toward the kind of mobile health-tracking initiatives it will pursue in the following decade — most notably through its iOS Health app and the Apple Watch.

Enjoy a rare $50 discount on Apple Watch Series 6 Nike+

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Apple Watch 6 Nike+
Get yours from just $349.
Photo: Apple

Bag Apple Watch Series 6 Nike+ at one of its best prices to date, thanks to a rare $50 discount from Best Buy. New models start at just $349 with six months of Apple Fitness+ free of charge.

Order yours before the discount disappears.

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Nike offers $75 of freebies to new Apple Card users

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Become
Open an Apple Card account in the next month and you can get $75 back from Nike.
Screenshot: Apple

Nike offers a bonus for new users of Apple’s credit card. Sign up for an Apple Card, buy $75 or more from Nike in the first 30 days, and get $75 in Daily Cash.

Plus, Nike offers unlimited 3% back at Nike when Apple Card with Apple Pay is used.

Apple Watch’s colorful new Pride bands show support for LGBTQ community

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Two new Apple Watch Pride bands show Cupertino's support of LGBTQ community.
Two new Apple Watch bands show Cupertino's support of Pride.
Photo: Apple

Apple unveiled two new Apple Watch bands and matching faces Monday, celebrating Apple and Nike’s commitment to Pride and LGBTQ representation.

The new Apple Watch Pride Edition Sport Band boasts a distinctive vertical-stripe rainbow design. Meanwhile, a second new band — the Apple Watch Nike Sport Band — has also been reimagined for Pride.

Apple’s shares just rose by more than market cap of Nike and Spotify combined

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money
Apple stock is up a few percentage points just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It’s easy to forget just what a crazily big and successful company Apple actually is. Even a slight dip or swell in the company’s share price equates to tens of billions of dollars in real terms.

Case in point: As AAPL recovered slightly from the battering of coronavirus over the past two trading days, its market cap increased by $180 billion. As Above Avalon analyst Neil Cybart helpfully points out, that’s the equivalent of the entirety of Netflix. Or Nike and Spotify put together.

Magnetic bands could mess with Apple Watch Series 5 compass

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Compass
Compasses and magnets don’t mix.
Photo: Apple

One of the best new features on Apple Watch Series 5 may not work well — or at all — depending on what type of band wear with your watch.

Like all compasses, the Apple Watch Series 5 compass is sensitive to magnetic interference. Cupertino warns customers on its website that some of its bands with magnetic clasps could adversely affect compass readings.

Stay away from these bands if you want your Apple Watch compass to work.

You can tie Nike’s self-lacing shoes with Siri or Apple Watch

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Nike Adapt Huarache
The Nike Adapt Huarache now has an iPhone and an Apple Watch FitAdapt app.
Photo: Nike

Nike continues to add to the technology of its self-lacing shoe line. The FitAdapt system, which includes a built-in motor to adjust the lacing, pressure and fit of two shoe models, can now be controlled by Siri commands, and there’s a new Apple Watch app too.

Why sports apparel brands are giving up on fitness apps [Opinion]

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Whatever happened to Nike+?
What ever happened to Nike+?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Remember when every sports apparel brand needed an app to be cool? Ten years ago, the Nike+Apple partnership was in its ascendency, while Under Armour and Adidas were splurging millions acquiring fitness apps like MyFitnessPal and Runtastic.

Back then, brand owners hoped that by mining our workout data from these apps, they could target us with personalized offers. The big idea was that if you knew how often someone went running, you could tell when they needed new running shoes.

Today, things look very different. Nike removed workout tracking from its website. And Under Armour still can’t figure out how to unlock the potential of its apps. So what went wrong? What happened to the digital fitness revolution?