Nike CEO 'Excited' About Future of Fitness Partnership with Apple

[The Mercurian]

Yup that is exactly how the hiring process works in large corps.

Right so you tell me how it works.

 

[Millah]

The volume of the iphone sales means that the next phone needs to head out for production much earlier to have enough volume by the time it is available (They sold 50 million in the first quarter with the 5s/5c (well a little under 50 million given that 4s was also for sale), 6 will likely sell a lot more)..Everything else also is pushed forward..

The iWatch or a wearable device on the other hand is a new product launch, and due to that apple wont be producing 50 million of those for launch quarter..It will probably enter production at a later date much closer to its availability..

I like the idea of launching the wearable a few months early, it maximises your PR given that any leak before a launch event is not beneficial. I don't think apple is worried about competition having a month or so extra to size it up, for them its the execution and implementation that is important not the features themselves..I want apple to announce the iwatch and apple TV at WWDC, and also open both platforms up for developers..Launch the iPhone in september and launch the updated iPads and the iPhab in November..

Apple typically announces new product lines months before release, due to needing FCC approval and all that stuff. They'll announce it, then get the necessary approvals while waiting to launch. It took iPhone 6 months to come to market after Macworld 2007, and then the iPad took 3 months after the keynote.

 

[MH01]

Right so you tell me how it works.

Apply for a Job at Apple and see how easy it is

 

[powers74]

Think the iOS Weather and Stocks apps which are powered by Yahoo or the pre-iOS6 Maps app before Google pissed Apple off.

So more like just using the data? I could see that being the case.

I think Nike software will be an App that comes pre-installed or at least is prominent in the iTunes. Like with the iPod Nano, Nike+ comes pre-installed as the fitness App. It is a pretty close partnership.

I doubt Nike will support their Fuel Band wearers past the end of this year. That doesn't mean the Fuel Band won't work. But there won't be new software or updates in 2015. And I say good riddance. The whole "fuel" concept was silly. We have a universal concept called the "calorie". The band should have just tracked that instead of some made up number that was supposed to be more fun or something.

Yeah, I never used one, but that does seem a little silly. I guess marketing thought it sounded too "health-y"

 

[winston1236]

Don't CEOs know any other feeling / descriptor besides "Exciting" when they speak of upcoming products?

It's a nit-picky thing I know, but its as predictable and boring as "Have a Nice Day."

No, its all from the corporate speak textbook.

 

[The Mercurian]

Apply for a Job at Apple and see how easy it is

Well I have worked in that industry so I do have some clue what goes on

 

[MH01]

Well I have worked in that industry so I do have some clue what goes on

Same, I have recruited

Unless your recruiting contractors, the process can take quite sometime.

 

[The Mercurian]

Same, I have recruited

Unless your recruiting contractors, the process can take quite sometime.

Well I'm thinking if Apple and Nike worked together on a new watch/band - they don't want to compete with each other - and so makes sense for Nike to discontinue their product. But they no doubt would want to hold on to the talent within the new project. You can't just pass over employees from one company to another even if you are passing a certain product - not unless you buy out the other company and that is not happening. So you give them a sweet deal by "firing" them, perhaps with severance (hence the sweet bit), with an agreement that Apple would rehire them more or less straight away.

Whats the alternative scenario ? Fire all your loyal workers (thus pissing them off) and let all those talented folks with knowledge on your new cool product onto the jobs market for your competitors to snap them up ?

 

[iphone X]

Not necessarily. The 5s has the motion co-processor, as will the next iPhone. Presumably, Healthbook can stand on its own without the watch product.

With that said, I also buy into the theory that they show the watch at WWDC, give devs time to build software for it, and release it sometime later in the year (September/October).

apple might do the same thing they did with mac pro, preview the iwatch at WWDC and then give it a release date when they do the iPad event.

 

[thekev]

Pure conjecture on my part, but I wonder if the Nike employees working on the Fuelband had to be "fired" from Nike in order to be hired by Apple? Seems to me if Apple would want anything from Nike's expertise, it would be primarily on the hardware side so why not just hire the Nike employees that were working on the Fuelband?

Both companies obviously wouldn't want to publicize that the Fuelband team now works for Apple because that would make the iWatch even more obvious than it already is. I'm sure Apple would rather acquire the talent themselves as opposed to having a hardware partnership with Nike so that Apple can maintain laser-focused control over the hardware.

Start checking Linkedin profiles of people who were formerly on the Fuelband team at Nike, folks.

Your conjecture is highly unlikely given that companies frequently sell off teams. It's unlikely that they would disband if the intention was for them to go to Apple. There have been cases where companies have hired all or most of a recently laid off team, but I doubt that is the case here. There are easier methods of carrying that out.