The Nike+iPod Sport Package was a nifty innovation.
Photograph: Apple
July 13, 2006: Apple releases its first exercise tracker, the Nike+iPod Sport Package, which mixes Cupertino’s well-liked music participant with a sensible pedometer.
The product marks Apple’s first step towards the type of cellular health-tracking initiatives it’ll pursue within the following decade — most notably by way of its iOS Well being app and the Apple Watch.
Nike+iPod Sport Package: The rise of well being monitoring
The launch of Nike+iPod Sport Package coincided with a broad push towards health-oriented gadgets throughout the tech trade. Later that 12 months, the Nintendo Wii would be a part of the pattern with motion-tracking video games like Wii Sports activities.
Whereas the Nike+iPod Sport Package didn’t promote near these numbers, it was truly a fairly good machine in its personal proper. It boasted a miniature sensor that match beneath the insole of a Nike+ shoe. A equally sized receiver plugged into an iPod nano to trace exercises.
Nike+iPod Sport Package: Greater than only a health tracker
Photograph: Hamish2k/Wikipedia CC
The software program went past monitoring steps. It additionally allowed customers to test statistics from previous exercises and set health targets. Plus, they might hear (through a computerized voice that preceded Siri by 5 years) how far they’d 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 accomplice 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 answer than sticking a sensor in your shoe. The wearable has develop into the centerpiece of Apple’s fitness-tracking tech, and watchOS 26 even features a new AI-powered Exercise Buddy.
Privateness downside
The Nike+iPod Sport Package 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 monitor customers with out their data.
At this time, consumer privateness stands as one in all 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 Package? Go away your feedback and recollections under.
