Ahead of the long-anticipated Apple Watch release in April, Apple have reportedly stopped selling Nike and Jawbone fitness bands in their retail stores.
After pulling FitBit’s activity trackers from its shelves last September – coinciding with the original Apple Watch announcement – products like the Nike FuelBand and Jawbone Up are mysteriously missing in action on the online Apple Store. AppleInsider have confirmed with various retail stores around the US that these devices are being retired from Apple Store shelves.
Apple likely see these products as competition for its first wearable device, which itself includes many health and fitness-tracking capabilities. Not offering direct alternatives in store is an obvious business move and a clear sign of intent from Apple that they are looking to dominate the health-based wearables market.
Nike themselves seem to be rolling over rather easily and shifting focus to developing fitness apps for other devices, rather than continuing to compete directly on the hardware front. It would not come as a great surprise to see Nike become one of the more successful Apple Watch app developers.
So if you were planning to drop into an Apple Store in the near future to grab some health-tracking technology, you can expect to be upsold an Apple Watch rather than offered a competing dedicated device. Watch prices range from $349 to a whopping $17,000.
For those who are tempted by the Apple Watch, read more about it here.