--- title: "Nike Is Killing the App That Controls Its App-Controlled Self-Lacing Sneakers" description: "Nike is sunsetting the app that allows owners of its to-be-discontinued Adapt sneakers to control their self-lacing, light-up shoes." date: "2024-07-09" modified: "2024-07-09" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nike-killing-app-self-lacing-sneakers" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "nike" - "smart clothes" - "sneakers" - "the digest" --- # Nike Is Killing the App That Controls Its App-Controlled Self-Lacing Sneakers ![Nike is sunsetting the app that allows owners of its to-be-discontinued Adapt sneakers to control their self-lacing, light-up shoes.]() *\Image: Nike / Futurism\* ## Saving Lace Nike is officially discontinuing its line of Adapt shoes, its [futuristic sneakers]() designed to emulate the self-lacing ones made famous by 1989's "Back to the Future Part II." What's more, [according to *The Verge*](), Nike also plans to sunset the app — titled Adapt BB — that allows current owners of Adapt sneakers to remotely control their high-tech kicks. Per the *Verge*, owners of the shoes can still use manual buttons on the sneakers to control laces, check shoe battery, and control a single preset function (previously, with the app, wearers could control multiple presets.) Another big loss is that wearers will no longer be able to control the light-up shoes' color — [according to Nike](), they'll be stuck on whichever color setting the app user picks last. Choose wisely, kids! Maintaining an app costs money, so if Nike's not making new Adapt shoes, it's not exactly wild to see it do away with the accompanying software. Still, it does suck for anyone who already cashed out for the pricey shoes — they sold for $350 before tax — who will now have to be much more hands-on with their previously remote-operated sneakers. "We've had a long and successful run with our Adapt shoes and ushering in auto-lacing footwear tech," reads Nike's FAQ about the retirement. "However, we are no longer creating new versions of Adapt shoes." ## Monocolor Dream Haute As [*Engadget* notes](), the sneakers were not only marketed as a high-tech gadget, but as a more accessible sneaker option as well. Lacing up shoes isn't easy for everyone, and the auto-lacing offered a new way for those who struggle to tighten and loosen their shoes. (Again, you can still do so with a physical button, but that requires that you're physically able to reach it.) More broadly, the decision on Nike's part to phase out the Adapt BB app along with the physical shoes speaks to the long-term challenges that "smart" products — clothing, home goods, hygiene products, and more — present. Adapt shoe owners bought this product with the expectation that they'd have the full functionality that the app component provided. Without the app, the quality of the product doesn't nearly measure up to what buyers were promised. Which sucks! Rest assured, Adapt fans are none too pleased. "I'm really not happy as an owner of Adapt products," one disgruntled shoe owner [wrote]() in an X-formerly-Twitter thread. "I got so upset about this I emailed John Donahoe of NIKE!" they [added](), referring to Nike's CEO. "Nike bunch of bums," [wrote]() another aggrieved X user. "No wonder your stock keeps tanking, CROOKS!" **More on (actually) smart technology:** *[Scientists Invent Smartphone Chip That Peers Through Barriers With Electromagnetic Waves]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()