Nike's Self-Lacing Dreams Come Undone: The Rise and Fall of Adapt BB
The future is all tied up
Remember when Nike dropped those self-lacing Adapt BB sneakers back in 2019?
It was like we were finally living in the future Marty McFly promised us. Well, folks, it looks like the future just got a little less fly.
Nike's pulling the plug on their Adapt app, effectively cutting the digital lifeline to these high-tech kicks. Come August 6, 2024, the app's vanishing from app stores. Sure, your Adapt BBs won't turn into pumpkins at midnight – they'll still lace up and light up – but let's be real, they're losing some of their magic.
Nike warns users that they “won’t be able to move the app to a new device, and future iOS updates may limit or end functionality, or may completely remove the app from your device.”
As seen in Back to the Future II. Nike would go on to release Air Mags, similar to the above design. These were a prototype of sorts for the Adapt BB. Source: Universal Pictures
This digital ditch leaves us wondering: are we witnessing the first shoelace apocalypse? Or is this just another reminder that sometimes, the old ways are the best ways?
Let's face it, regular laces have been holding it down since, well, forever. They don't need charging, they don't care what phone you have, and they definitely won't ghost you when the latest iOS drops.
Plus, you can replace them for a couple of bucks.
But here's the real kicker (pun absolutely intended): what about the folks who bought these shoes for accessibility reasons? Nike marketed these bad boys as a game-changer for people with limited mobility. Now they're left high and dry – or should we say, loose and untied?
This whole fiasco is a textbook case of "tech gone too far."
So, what's the takeaway here?
Maybe it's time we pump the brakes on teching-up every aspect of our lives. Or maybe Nike needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with Adapt 2.0: Now with 100% less app dependency!
In the meantime, if you've got a pair of Adapts, enjoy them while they last.
And for the rest of us? Well, there's something oddly comforting about the idea that in 2024, we're still rocking the same lace technology as our cave-dwelling ancestors. If it ain't broke, don't fix it – or at least, don't add an app to it.
Comments ()