Apple has removed Jawbone and Nike fitness bands from its retail stores, Re/code reports. The report notes that major stores in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Angeles and New York are no longer carrying devices such as the Jawbone Up and Nike+ FuelBand, activity tracking wristbands that notably duplicate functionality found in Apple’s upcoming Watch.
The move follows Apple’s removal of Fitbit products last fall, allegedly due to issues with that company holding out on HealthKit integration, and a number of other fitness trackers have been phased out of Apple Retail in a gradual revamp. With the Apple Watch being touted as a personal fitness trainer, it seems likely that Apple is looking to remove competing products from its stores to both make room for and promote its new premium wearable device.
Notably, however, Nike seems to have been making a departure from the hardware business, particularly following the loss of some its engineering talent to Apple. The company has been focusing instead on software such as its Nike+ Fuel iOS app, which is now being more heavily promoted than FuelBand, even on the company’s own site.
