Is Nike about to launch self-lacing trainers controllable via your smartphone?
The game will never be the same.
Tune in tomorrow at 8AM EST. @nikebasketball pic.twitter.com/4LrJGpPDY6
— Nike (@Nike) January 14, 2019
Sportswear giant Nike looks set to launch its first self-lacing basketball trainers, which the company has suggested will be controllable from a smartphone.
The US firm posted a video to Twitter (see above) showing a number of high-profile basketball players trying on the shoes and appearing to interact with them via a phone.
The video is accompanied by the message: “The game will never be the same.”
However, the trainers themselves are not shown and no details on how they work is disclosed, but the company has confirmed it will announce more details later on Tuesday.
Nike has previously experimented with the technology, having launched a range of automatically lacing shoes in its HyperAdapt range in 2016.
The firm has also previously launched a limited edition pair of self-lacing shoes inspired by those worn by Michael J Fox’s character Marty McFly in the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II.
Nike confirmed at the end of 2018 it was planning on releasing more self-lacing trainers.
The latest shoes would be the first from the company that pair with a smartphone to control the laces, though the mechanics of the connection remains unknown.
The video shows Sacramento Kings player De’Aaron Fox using an iPhone and at one point asking “so, I can connect this to my phone?” before appearing to tie one of the shoes via the device.
