On Friday morning in Toronto, Nike held a joint event with Apple to showcase the new Apple Watch Nike+. With Olympians Melissa Bishop and Damian Warner in attendance, and a video featuring Kevin Hart to start things up, runners in the downtown core got a first chance to preview the stylish new tech piece that Bishop said she was excited to rock.
“Pace is a big thing for me as a runner — this watch is going to do a lot to help me train,” she said.
The Apple Watch Nike+ has a built-in GPS and is water resistant and also has the brightest display in the history of Apple products. That built-in GPS feature is important, as not everyone likes to run with their phone. Lighter than the last Nike watch (of which I can vouch for), this new one keeps all your most important features (pace, distance, time) on one screen.
“It does seem like it’s moving the pendulum forward,” said Warner. “I know I have a lot of lofty goals set for myself this year and I plan intently to use the Apple Watch Nike+ to help me achieve each one.”
The goal-setting feature is tied into the Nike+ Run Club app, which has motivational screeds and your friends’ shared activity. You can give people a virtual fist bump and also follow along on a leaderboard, in which stats of your latest runs can be shared. You can schedule your runs and then the Apple Watch Nike+ will remind you when it’s time to lace up and pretty much the thing does just about everything except make the coffee, put on your toque and drop the kids off at school.
There must of been 100 people at the event this morning—which rallied runners at 7 a.m.—and the enthusiasm and youthful exuberance on display was a sight to behold. Clearly, the running community that Nike fosters in Toronto and throughout the country is nothing to be taken lightly. And with the combined technological know how of Apple to add shine to the already gleaming Nike brand, it quickly became apparent that this watch was the coveted item for runners this season.
At $489, the Apple Watch Nike+ won’t be for every runner. But for the lucky ones, you’ll soon have a watch you will love.
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