Nike discontinues Fuelband

Nike is getting out of the wearable tech business – at least as a hardware manufacturer.

The sportswear giant is moving away from developing wearable hardware, reports CNet. The Oregon-based brand will be cutting the 70-employee hardware team. Roughly 55 will be laid off and the remaining employees will be absorbed into other divisions of the company. Nike says that it will refocus its efforts on the software end of the increasingly competitive wearable-tech, fitness tracking market.

Nike had been planning a significant update on the Fuelband, which was said to be slimmer. The company has said that it will continue to support the current Fuelband ecosystem, but will not be launching the proposed upgrade on the Fuelband SE. The current model will continue to be sold and supported by Nike.

Only a week ago, Nike announced the opening of its Fuel Lab, with a mandate of further developing the companies’ propriety method of measuring energy output. In the press release it was also indicated that Nike was planning on bringing its Nike Fuel measurement to major fitness tracking communities such as Strava and MapMyRun.

Nike’s GPS running watch may also be in peril, as it was a part of the now gutted wearable hardware division, but it is unclear if that device will be affected by the cuts.

The trailblazing brand is getting out of a subdivision of the industry just as the competition is about to become very intense. Last month, Samsung launched the Gear Fit, its first foray into the sports accessory market. Apple is said to be getting into the crowded marketplace in the near future. Some have speculated that Nike’s exit may be a sign that the shoemaker could partner with Apple, providing access to its already well developed Nike+ community. Apple and Nike have had a successful partnership with that initiative since 2006.