Nike is running in place, sticking with Apple

Even though the Nike FuelBand SE is at the end of its hardware run, the sneaker maker's CEO has confirmed that it'll continue its partnership with long-time running buddy Apple.

"I will say the relationship between Nike and Apple will continue," said Nike head Mark Parker in a CNBC interview today.

"I am personally, as we all are at Nike, very excited about what's to come."

He stopped short of confirming Nike's involvement in the rumored Apple iWatch or what could be called the iBand, a fitness-focused wearable that may be be powered by Nike's software.

"We've been working with [Apple] for a long time," he pointed out. "We're excited about where that relationship will go forward."

Nike's 100 million goal points to iWatch

Nike's activity tracking FuelBand and FuelBand SE were once teased for Android, but only sync with iOS devices, and that's likely to remain the case.

Interestingly, Parker mentioned that there are "about 30 million FuelBand users" right now and the company "wants to push that over 100 million."

There's really no way to reach that ambitious number without either branching out to Android phones or, more likely, being deeply integrated into Apple's iWatch plans.

Nike may be rewarded for its loyalty to iOS, Tim Cook's presence on its board of directors and the fact that the FuelBand has only sold within the Nike and Apple Stores.
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