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Unboxing Nike's self-lacing Adapt BB sneakers is like opening a smartphone
It was exactly a month ago that Nike took the wraps off of Adapt BB, its latest pair of shoes with power laces, and now the company is finally ready to bring them to the masses. The Adapt BB will launch globally on February 17th, although some lucky people have already been able to get them through Nike's SNKRS app. Unlike the HyperAdapt 1.0 from 2017, which were more of a concept project, the Adapt BBs are intended to be performance shoes for basketball players. They're also smarter than the HyperAdapts, thanks to a mobile app that pairs with the shoes via Bluetooth and lets users adjust how the laces fit. You can also use the Adapt application, available for iOS and Android, to change the two LED colors on the shoes.
A closer look at Nike's Adapt BB auto-lacing basketball shoes
Back in December of last year, Nike revealed during its quarterly earnings call that it was getting ready to introduce a $350 self-lacing basketball shoe. Ever since, sneakerheads have been highly anticipating the successor to the 2016 HyperAdapt 1.0, Nike's first consumer-grade sneaker with power laces. And now it's finally here. Enter the Adapt BB, an auto-lacing, app-controlled basketball shoe that's packing a ton of technology inside it. The highlight here, as you might expect, is a smart motor that automatically adjusts the lacing system to fit perfectly around your foot as soon as you put the shoe on.
Nike's Adapt BB is an app-controlled, self-lacing basketball shoe
We knew they were coming, but Nike has officially introduced its first self-lacing basketball shoes, the Adapt BB. These new sneakers are designed to provide a "truly customized fit for every basketball player," according to the company, thanks to a power-lacing system called FitAdapt that can be adjusted manually or with a smartphone app. The sportswear giant says that over the course of a basketball game, a player's foot can expand almost a half-size, which can affect their comfort level and ultimately have an impact on their movement and performance on the court. That's the problem Nike is looking to solve with Adapt BB.
Nike teases self-lacing shoes you can control from your phone
Ahead of the launch of its first self-lacing basketball shoes this week, Nike just posted a major tease to get people hyped. And while we can't see what the sneakers actually look like, it does appear you'll be able to adjust their power laces using your smartphone, based on a video featuring various NBA athletes trying them out. This would be a notable change compared to the HyperAdapt 1.0 from 2016, which had no wireless connectivity and, instead, came with physical power buttons that let you lace up the shoes. Another big difference is that the upcoming self-lacing sneakers are only expected to cost $350, much less than the $720 of the original HyperAdapts. That's all we know so far, but we'll find out everything about "the future of the game" of basketball tomorrow, so stay tuned to our site for more coverage from Nike's event.
Nike’s ‘self-lacing’ engineer now works at Tesla
Tiffany Beers, the designer known for exploring the boundaries of athletic shoe technology with Nike, is headed to Tesla, according to a report at HypeBeast. As the Nike Senior Innovator, Beers had a hand in some of the coolest new sneaker designs, like the Marty McFly-styled Nike Mag and the self-lacing HyperAdapt. Now Beers will ply her trade at the automotive and power company as a Staff Technical Program Manager.
Fashion and technology will inevitably become one
There's no denying that the technology world is obsessed with fashion. Amazon, Apple and Google, three of the biggest names in tech, are all trying to carve their own path into the fashion space. Apple's doing so with fancy smartwatches; Amazon with a shopping platform and voice-controlled cameras; and Google with conductive fabrics embedded in a smart jacket made by Levi's. And the interest is mutual. Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel's creative director, has expressed his love for tech by experimenting with partially 3D-printed pieces and runway shows that simulate a rocket launch. He's not the only one either. Zac Posen, with help from fashion house Marchesa, worked with IBM's Watson supercomputer to create a cognitive dress that lights up and changes colors based on activity on social media.
Nike designers on self-lacing shoes and the future of footwear
Tinker Hatfield and Tiffany Beers, the designers behind Nike's Mag and HyperAdapt 1.0, joined us on stage at CES 2017 to talk about how these self-lacing sneakers came to life. They also discussed how 3D-printed materials could shape the future of footwear, since we're seeing more of the technology being used for prototypes and models that end up making it to retail. As for what's next for HyperAdapt, Hatfield and Beers wouldn't give any details away, but they did say the 2.0 and 3.0 versions are already in the works.
Nike's senior innovator on the challenge of designing a self-lacing shoe
With the 2016 Mag and HyperAdapt 1.0, Nike turned its idea of self-lacing shoes into a reality in 2016. And who better to talk about this than two of the masterminds behind the project, Nike Senior Innovator Tiffany Beers and Vice President of Design & Creative Concepts Tinker Hatfield. In case you're not familiar with Hatfield's work, he designed some of the most popular Air Jordans, as well as the sneakers from Back to the Future Part II. Beers, for her part, led the team that built Nike's Electro Adaptive Reactive Lacing technology. Tune in to watch our conversation with them tomorrow at 10:30AM PT/1:30PM ET, live from Engadget's CES Stage.
A first look at Nike's self-lacing HyperAdapt sneakers
More than eight months after introducing the HyperAdapt 1.0, Nike is finally making its highly anticipated self-lacing shoes available to the public. The sneaker costs a whopping $720 and is pitched as the consumer version of Nike's 2016 Mag, the model inspired by the film Back to the Future Part II. Obviously, what makes them both stand out are their power laces, because who can resist not having to tie their own shoes? I tried on the HyperAdapts at a private event in New York City, and despite wearing the limited-edition Mags before, I couldn't help but feel tickled when I first put on the new pair.
Nike's self-lacing Mags are hot, won't catch fire
For Nike, yesterday was the culmination of a passion project which began in 2007. It was then that iconic designer Tinker Hatfield, who is behind the most popular Air Jordan models, took on the task of creating an innovative shoe based on the one worn by Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) in Back to the Future Part II. Now, as demoed by Fox himself last year, the Nike Mag is finally more than a film prop, thanks to a self-lacing technology the sportswear giant calls "Adaptive Fit."
Nike's 'Back to the Future' shoes can be yours in a raffle
The Nike Mag, aka Back to the Future sneakers, have been a work in progress since 2011. However, it wasn't until 2015 that they featured the self-lacing technology which made them a pop culture hit. Now, after a brief tease by Michael J. Fox last year, Nike today announced its plans for a general (albeit very limited) release of its second-gen Mags, this time with the "Adaptive Fit" laces that tighten themselves. Here's how it works: Nike has opened an online raffle for people to have a chance at winning a pair, where they can buy an unlimited amount of tickets for $10 each.
