Rumor: Nike will stop making fitness trackers

Nike will reportedly stop making fitness tracker hardware. Although the company continues to focus on the software for such devices, most of the current development team is being laid off.

According to Cnet, citing an undisclosed source, Nike will stop making fitness hardware like the FuelBand. Although Nike itself neither confirmed nor denied this, the company did say that 55 of the 70 people who worked on FuelBand have been laid off. According to Nike, the necessary software for the fitness tracker is being further developed.

Earlier it appeared that Nike had put a new version of its FuelBand fitness tracker on hold. According to Cnet, the same goes for all the other fitness hardware Nike has worked on. There were also earlier rumors that discussions were taking place within Nike about the discontinuation of the fitness hardware division.

The company is probably experiencing too much competition from devices such as smartphones, which can also be used as fitness trackers via apps. For now, however, the FuelBand will remain for sale, although Nike may do so to get rid of its stocks.