Photograph: Apple
July 13, 2006: Apple releases its first exercise tracker, the Nike+iPod Sport Equipment, which mixes Cupertino’s common music participant with a wise pedometer.
The product marks Apple’s first step towards the sort of cellular health-tracking initiatives it’ll pursue within the following decade — most notably by means of its iOS Well being app and the Apple Watch.
Nike+iPod Sport Equipment: The rise of well being monitoring
The launch of Nike+iPod Sport Equipment coincided with a broad push towards health-oriented gadgets throughout the tech business. Later that yr, the Nintendo Wii would be a part of the development with motion-tracking video games like Wii Sports activities.
Whereas the Nike+iPod Sport Equipment didn’t promote near these numbers, it was truly a fairly sensible machine in its personal proper. It boasted a miniature sensor that match underneath the insole of a Nike+ shoe. A equally sized receiver plugged into an iPod nano to trace exercises.
Nike+iPod Sport Equipment: Greater than only a health tracker
Photograph: Hamish2k/Wikipedia CC
The software program went past monitoring steps. It additionally allowed customers to verify statistics from previous exercises and set health objectives. Plus, they may hear (through a computerized voice that preceded Siri by 5 years) how far that they had run, how briskly their tempo was and the way far they had been from their vacation spot.
“We’re working with Nike to take music and sport to a brand new degree,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs mentioned in an announcement on the time. “The result’s like having a private coach or coaching companion motivating you each step of your exercise.”
A lot of what the corporate mentioned again in 2006 now applies to Apple Watch — merely a greater resolution than sticking a sensor in your shoe. The wearable has turn out to be the centerpiece of Apple’s fitness-tracking tech, and watchOS 26 even consists of a brand new AI-powered Exercise Buddy.
Privateness downside
The Nike+iPod Sport Equipment prefigured one other shift in Apple insurance policies, too. Within the aftermath of the product’s launch, a report by College of Washington researchers highlighted a safety flaw within the RFID-powered machine that opened up the potential of letting undesirable third events observe customers with out their information.
Right this moment, person privateness stands as certainly one of Apple’s core considerations. Whereas the Nike+iPod didn’t result in this shift, the pre-iPhone cellular machine highlighted one of many massive safety points that may outline the following decade.
Did you personal a Nike+iPod Sport Equipment? Depart your feedback and recollections beneath.