Nike (NKE 0.19%) has killed its Fuelband, a product that was high on wish lists last holiday season but may soon be obsolete.
The announcement of layoffs at Nike's FuelBand business caught many by surprise -- and it's a bold move considering the product's success -- but this is part of a bigger move for Nike. The company will continue to make software in an effort to increase the prevalence of its Nike Fuel metric, and is launching an API for use on other hardware.
Google (GOOG 9.96%) (GOOGL 10.22%) is modifying Android for wearable devices, and Apple (AAPL -0.35%) has long been rumored to be interested in wearables. What's notable here is that Apple's CEO Tim Cook also sits on Nike's board of directors, so there may already be collaboration between the companies that isn't public yet.
The bottom line is that Nike getting out of devices isn't as big a deal as it initially appears. Many of the capabilities currently available on the FuelBand will just be transferred to new devices. Travis Hoium gives his opinion on the move in the video below.
