Adidas will stop making its own wearable tech, says it will close its standalone digital sports organization and instead focus on Runtastic and the Adidas app
Brian Heater / TechCrunch :
Context & Ripple Effects
Adidas paid $239M for Runtastic back in 2015, betting that fitness software would anchor its digital strategy alongside its own hardware ambitions. Two years later, the hardware half of that bet is being abandoned: the standalone digital sports organization closes, and Runtastic plus the main Adidas app become the entire play.
The exit lands mid-retreat across consumer wearables. Fitbit has been pivoting toward medical devices through its Health Solutions arm as Apple Watch pressure builds, and Intel went further, shutting down its New Devices Group entirely after earlier layoffs in the division. Adidas is the first major apparel brand to make the same call publicly.
First-order effects
- Adidas' in-house wearable hardware teams are wound down, with engineering and product resources redirected to Runtastic and the flagship Adidas app.
Second-order effects
- Fitbit and other single-purpose tracker makers lose one fewer branded competitor at retail, while Apple's watch platform absorbs share from every hardware entrant that exits.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — Intel out, Fitbit retreating to health, Adidas back to software — consumer wearables consolidate around platform owners like Apple and software-first players, leaving lifestyle brands to compete on apps and services rather than devices.
The trend: General-purpose smartwatch platforms are squeezing dedicated wearable hardware makers out of the market, pushing consumer brands back toward software and services.