Fitness

Nike’s iPhone 5s M7-optimized Move app landing on November 6

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 16, 2013

Cody told you about Nike's second-generation FuelBand fitness bracelet that was announced at yesterday's media event in New York City. The $149 Nike+ FuelBand SE accessory is coming November 6, bringing with it Bluetooth 4.0 support for low-power performance, in addition to hourly reminders, a clock mode and support for the iPhone 5s’s new M7 chip.

As a sidenote, the accompanying media release mentions that the Nike+ Move app which Apple's marketing boss Phil Schiller showed off briefly during the iPhone 5s/5c keynote is coming to the App Store the same day, on Wednesday, November 6, 2013...

Nike+ Running iOS app gets photo sharing and auto-pause

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 15, 2013

Nike's popular fitness and running app for the iPhone, named Nike+ Running, has received an interesting little update bringing with it the ability to take and share photos before, during or after your workouts so your friends can keep you going with likes and cheers. For those wondering what's the big deal with photo sharing, let me just spell it out: seamless implementation.

Having been a user for quite some time, I've always hated having to pause my run manually in order to, say, catch a quick break or answer an important phone call. Not anymore - the new Nike+ Running version 4.4 is clever enough to automatically pause and resume when it detects I stopped running or resumed my workout. More tidbits follow...

Nike unveils more colorful, durable FuelBand SE

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Nike held a big, athlete-filled media event in New York City this morning to announce its long-awaited second generation FuelBand fitness device: the Nike+ FuelBand SE.

The new Band looks virtually identical to its predecessor, except for the addition of some new color accents, but on the inside there has been a number of improvements...

Fitbit launches Force fitness tracker with Bluetooth 4.0 and call notifications

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Fitbit's health and fitness trackers are well regarded by fans of wearables. The San Francisco startup has managed to win over the active types with its Flex wristband, Zip and Fitbit One activity trackers and today they're adding another gadget to its lineup: the Force fitness tracker.

Slap it on your wrist and the Force will dutifully record the steps taken, distance traveled, stairs climbed, calories burned and active minutes. It also measures the quality of your sleep (how many times you wake up) and has a nice built-in OLED display to show time and, soon, incoming call notifications...

Strava Run app becomes first to utilize iPhone 5s’ M7 [update: NOT]

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

UPDATE: Strava Run is not the first app to take advantage of the M7. Read our post about Argus for the details.

Strava, maker of fitness tracking software, has been referred to as one of the top 10 most innovative companies in fitness right now. And tonight, it proves that again with a new update to its Strava Run app.

Version 3.5.3 of the app, which uses GPS to track your runs and bike rides, features a handful of notable improvements. But the most significant, though, is the addition of support for the new M7 coprocessor...

New in iOS 7: Motion Activity

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Apple's iOS 7 software includes a new privacy section nested inside the Settings application. It exists to explicitly cater to next-gen fitness apps specifically designed with Apple's new M7 chip in mind. As you know, the M7 motion coprocessor is iPhone 5s-exclusive (actually a rebranded NXP LPC18A1 chip - that's the power of marketing to you)...

Nike+ Running update brings new Nike+ Challenges feature

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Nike has posted a significant update to its popular Running app today, bringing it to version 4.3. While the update only includes a handful of improvements, and one new feature, that new feature is a pretty big deal.

It's called Nike+ Challenges, and just as you'd expect, it allows you to challenge your friends to a race. You simply set the distance, send an invite to another Nike+ user, and the app will track each of your progresses...

Withings enters fitness tracking space with new Pulse wearable

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

If there's one market that's really exploded over the last year or two, I'd say it's wearable computers—more specifically fitness trackers. There's already a number of companies in the space, including Nike and Jawbone, and giants like Apple and Samsung are rumored to be joining soon.

And this weekend, veteran iOS accessory-maker Withings officially joined the fray by putting its wearable Pulse tracker up for pre-order. The device, which it showed off at CES earlier this year, can be pocketed, clipped or worn on your wrist and tracked and by a mobile app...

The next Nike+ FuelBand has Bluetooth 4.0, sports in-built heart rate monitor

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Just like accessories maker Jawbone had to release a re-tooled version of its Up fitness band following not-so-flattering reviews, Nike is now reportedly testing a next-generation Nike+ FuelBand in the wild. The device should address some of the annoying shortcomings of the original clip-on product and bring out new features.

For starters, the FuelBand successor will incorporate Bluetooth Smart wireless technology. Also known as Bluetooth 4.0, it allows for a considerably reduced power consumption whilst maintaining a similar communication range compared to Bluetooth 3.0.

As Bluetooth Smart is featured on Apple mobile devices from the iPhone 4S onward, the next Nike+ FuelBand will instantly support these low energy features on newer Apple devices right out of the box.

Nike plans to make it easier for developers to create software that connects to the fitness band. The second-generation FuelBand has additional new features, detailed after the break. The timing of the report is pretty interesting as rival FitBit earlier today started shipping its Bluetooth Smart-enabled $99 activity tracking wristband, the Flex...

Jawbone releases a re-tooled Up fitness band

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3xk48GsPIg

Accessory maker Jawbone debuted its iPhone health bracelet called the Jawbone Up in September of last year. Despite strong initial sales, the promising gadget quickly proved a PR disaster amid a flood of complaints about poor build quality, imperfect water resistance and a number of other issues.

A year later, and just in time for the holidays, Jawbone is back at it with an improved version of the fitness band that the company says is free of teething problems which plagued early adopters. In fact, Jawbone is so confident in nailing quality control that it dedicated a significant portion of the above promo clip to highlighting detailed testing, design and manufacturing that went into creating the band...

Apple Working On Major Interactive Fitness Center App

Cody Lee ∙ December 27, 2011

In the recently-released Steve Jobs biography, Walter Isaacson notes that the late CEO wanted Apple to re-invent three markets: TV, photography, and text books. Now it looks like the company has added another industry to the list: health.

PatentlyApple is reporting that Apple has just won a patent for a major fitness center app. Judging by the filing, the software is being built for the iPhone, and will allow users to virtually interact with their local gyms and fitness centers...

Apple Working on Fitness Center App for iPhone

Guest Author ∙ April 28, 2011

Apple is taking fitness to a whole new level. The folks over at Patently Apple have come across a new patent Apple filed back in October of 2009.

The patent for a Fitness Center app that Apple seems to have been working on for a while now was published today by the U.S Patent & Trademark Office. The Fitness Center app includes various capabilities such as social networking features, giving users the ability to find a workout buddy. The app also seems to include Nike integration, illustrating a list with "The Nike Club Training Club Class."