We’ve been waiting for years for shoemakers to develop the kind of self-lacing footwear that once only seemed possible in movies, but it turns out that making smart shoes isn’t all that easy.
Nike is one of the companies that has created such models in the past, including one for Marty McFly. But, at $720, the regular pair of self-lacing Nike sneakers cost as much as a high-end smartphone. However, Nike has figured out a way to make them a lot more affordable, and next year you might finally find a pair you can afford in stores.
Per shoe blog Sole Collector, Nike confirmed during its quarterly earnings call for the second quarter of fiscal year 2019 that smart shoes are coming to the performance basketball market next year.
“I’m excited to announce that in the new year we’ll launch a new adaptive performance platform in basketball at the $350 price point,” Parker said. “We have a smart shoe designed for the perfect fit, and it’s a major step in advancing and connecting our digital transformation to product.”
Nike Executive Vice President Andy Campion then said that HyperAdapt 2.0 would arrive in spring 2019, without offering a firm release date. While the shoes are designed to be worn on the basketball court, nobody will blame you for showing them off in public. And if the tech catches on, expect Nike to equip more shoes with self-lacing tech.
If you’ve been dying to wear shoes as cool as Marty McFly’s — well, almost as cool — then all you have to do is wait a few more months. The downside is that you’ll have one more thing to worry about when it comes to battery charging. Self-lacing shoe tech will consume energy, which means those babies will require batteries.
