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Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

cnet.com

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Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#21

Post by seivan »

changdizzle wrote: post #8

Even more amazing is that it was first reported on Secret a week ago: https://www.secret.ly/p/uxaztevdcicghcabkkczuzkpkz

This is what happens when a bunch of MBAs and Non Engienering Produxt/UX snake oils salesmen play around too much time and money.

They were one of the firsts on the field, and had every chance to make something amazing, but all I saw was mediocrity.

Useless features, half-done stuff. I still use Nike+... it has the the potential to be awesome. Give me their engineering staff and 1/3 of the budget.

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#22

Post by nicholassmith »

Interesting timing isn't it, Apple is rumoured to be making a wearables push and Nike has a cosy relationship there. Maybe they've realised they don't need to make the hardware to further their aims.

Or, maybe Nike want to refine their product base and the Fuelband isn't a big enough seller to justify the ongoing cost. I think the wearables market is some what saturated at the moment and to stand out from the crowd Nike would need to make a large push. Shame as I liked their purposefully chunky aesthetics.

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#23

Post by ben1040 »

napoleoncomplex wrote: post #10

It's surprising to see it so early, but they probably see the writing on the wall. Once Android Wear and Apple wearables start rolling out, it's going to be a slaughter out there. Apple and Nike teaming up for the iWatch launch is probably a safe bet now too.

Worth mentioning too that Nike has several job openings in PDX for Android engineers to work on Nike+, so clearly they're looking to shed their Apple exclusivity thus far.

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#24

Post by e28eta »

I'm surprised by this. To me, it makes a lot of sense that Nike, as a fitness company, produces a wearable device for exercising.

It must be a failure of my imagination, but I don't see a smart watch (in the next couple years) being both attractive to the general consumer and solving the same problems as the FuelBand does. That's partly because I can't imagine what features would make me want to buy an iWatch. So I expect that Nike's going to be forced to compromise functionality to fit the limited capabilities of general-purpose devices.

For example, Craig's proposed iRing doesn't even mention tracking motion activity: http://furbo.org/2014/03/13/wearing-apple/

Also, maybe it's the specific app I use, but using the M7 kills battery life on my 5S.

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#25

Post by dragonwriter »

napoleoncomplex wrote: post #10

It's surprising to see it so early, but they probably see the writing on the wall. Once Android Wear and Apple wearables start rolling out, it's going to be a slaughter out there. Apple and Nike teaming up for the iWatch launch is probably a safe bet now too.

> Once Android Wear and Apple wearables start rolling out, it's going to be a slaughter out there.

For Nike, its already a slaughter -- FitBit has the lion's share of the market for activity trackers, Nike was in third well behind Jawbone UP. [1]

[1] http://mobihealthnews.com/28825/fitbit-jawbone-nike-had-97-p...

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#26

Post by dragonwriter »

e28eta wrote: post #24

I'm surprised by this. To me, it makes a lot of sense that Nike, as a fitness company, produces a wearable device for exercising. It must be a failure of my imagination, but I don't see a smart watch (in the next couple years) being both attractive to the general consumer and solving the same problems as the FuelBand does. That's partly because I can't imagine what features would make me want to buy an iWatch. So I e…

> I'm surprised by this. To me, it makes a lot of sense that Nike, as a fitness company, produces a wearable device for exercising.

I'm not surprised -- they've been pouring money into marketing, and yet not coming within a mile of the leader (FitBit) in the activity tracker market.

> It must be a failure of my imagination, but I don't see a smart watch (in the next couple years) being both attractive to the general consumer and solving the same problems as the FuelBand does.

They aren't getting out because of the possibility of future smartwatches, they are getting out because they are getting killed by what's on the market and popular now.

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#27

Post by jbuzbee »

Is it just me, or does anyone else think the term "fired" is improper in cases like this? I think the more appropriate term for when a company is changing direction, leaving a market, etc. is "laid-off". To me, "fired" denotes wrongdoing on the part of the employee. Of course, when you're trying to get page-views, Fired is likely to get more readers at the expense of the terminated employees.

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#28

Post by w1ntermute »

lnanek2 wrote: post #17
nanowatcher wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're reasoning is completely off. Google's Android wearables ensures nobody makes money on wearable OS i.e. software . Google has actually opened the door for companies to now make money on the wearables hardware since the software is standard. While Google launched wearable by focusing on the Now integration, there are still hints that fitness apps will be there at launch of the smartwatches. This is the first tim…

Honestly, Google does prevent almost anyone from making money off the hardware as well. I was at an Android OEM when Google first started sourcing their own Nexus line at cut throat prices and Android hardware projects were definitely canceled because we just couldn't compete with Google. Samsung is about the only one that can since they have massive economic advantages due to making most of their own parts. Other An…

Hardly any consumers know about the Nexus line. I'd say that's the last thing an Android OEM should be worried about. The biggest problem is consumer awareness (the same problem the Nexus line faces), especially when the carriers are in control, like in the US.'

Unfortunately, using Samsung's approach of overwhelming the public conscious with advertising isn't feasible for a lot of smaller OEMs, who don't have the sort of capital necessary to do that. However, signs of hope are developing, if you take an ultra-lean approach to producing and selling the phone[0].

0: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/apr/01/moto-g-boo...

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#29

Post by TillE »

e28eta wrote: post #24

I'm surprised by this. To me, it makes a lot of sense that Nike, as a fitness company, produces a wearable device for exercising. It must be a failure of my imagination, but I don't see a smart watch (in the next couple years) being both attractive to the general consumer and solving the same problems as the FuelBand does. That's partly because I can't imagine what features would make me want to buy an iWatch. So I e…

I imagine the iWatch will primarily be a Fitbit/Fuelband competitor, with some extra features. Like a pulse sensor.

If anyone can make what is essentially a pedometer sexy and mass-market, it's Apple. I'll be very surprised if they come out with anything that resembles a "smart watch", save for perhaps Pebble-style notifications.

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#30

Post by Bahamut »

dragonwriter wrote: post #25
napoleoncomplex wrote: post #10

It's surprising to see it so early, but they probably see the writing on the wall. Once Android Wear and Apple wearables start rolling out, it's going to be a slaughter out there. Apple and Nike teaming up for the iWatch launch is probably a safe bet now too.

> Once Android Wear and Apple wearables start rolling out, it's going to be a slaughter out there. For Nike, its already a slaughter -- FitBit has the lion's share of the market for activity trackers, Nike was in third well behind Jawbone UP. [1] [1] http://mobihealthnews.com/28825/fitbit-jawbone-nike-had-97-p...

Those are some interesting stats, since amongst runner circles (at least here in DC), Garmins are the most popular by far.

Could they be classifying these devices differently?

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