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Nike announced that new auto-lacing sneakers (known as Adapt) won’t be made and that the Adapt App will be retired this fall.
We’ve had a long and successful run with our Adapt shoes and ushering in auto-lacing footwear tech. However, we are no longer creating new versions of Adapt shoes.
Statement via Nike
The Adapt technology, known as Adaptive Lacing, was years in the making as Back to the Future and the Nike Mag created a futuristic sneaker with self-lacing technology that finally came to fruition decades later. Adapt was a final product by Nike’s most innovative minds in Tinker Hatfield, Tiffany Beers, and Mark Parker.
The first Adapt sneaker was the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0, released in 2016 for $720 — a price tag that even Tinker admitted was unrealistic for the everyday consumer.
“It’s not realistic to think everybody can go out and spend £600 on a pair of sneakers,” said designer Tinker Hatfield in an interview with HYPEBEAST. “But our costs of development are so high, that’s just where it headed out. Over time, those costs will keep diminishing and we’ll be able to pass those savings over to the consumer.”
In the ensuing years, the price of the Adapt sneakers lowered. The final Adapt releases retailed for $500 with the Air Jordan 11 Adapt “Dark Powder Blue”; $400 with the Nike Adapt Auto Max “Infrared”; and $350 with the Nike Adapt BB 2.0.
The Adapt line was ambitious in building what the future of sneakers could’ve been. From retro Air Jordans to lifestyle in the Huarache Adapt and performance with the Nike Adadpt BB line, Nike Adapt was promising but never reached the pinnacle that the Swoosh had in mind.
Was the cost and price too high for both the brand and the consumer? Was the demand too limited for a sustained cadence in models and colorways? Or is this a strategic move by CEO John Donahoe as Nike recovers from another fiscal quarter that hasn’t performed as expected?
One can only speculate as the exact reason(s) for the dissolution of Nike Adapt is unclear.
Nike stated that the Adapt App will be discontinued starting on August 6, 2024. The following manual features will still be available after the app is retired:
- Power On: Press and hold any button on the side of the shoe for one to two seconds.
- Check Battery Status: Press both buttons together.
- Adjust Your Fit: Press the plus or minus button on your shoes to tighten or loosen the laces.
- Save Your Fit: Press and hold both buttons at the same time to save your shoe’s current fit. If you’d like to adjust the fit and save a new one, repeat steps 3 and 4.
- Unlace Shoes: Press and hold the minus button to completely unlace the shoe.
- Power Off: Press and hold any button on the side of the shoe for 3-5 seconds.
However, Adapt owners will lose access to lighting and the ability to lace the shoes using their phones.
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