An effort to make more personalized experiences
Ever since Adidas purchased Runtastic in 2015, the German giant has been working on making the running app/fitness band maker a larger part of its wearable identity. This week at SXSW, Adidas’ VP of wearable sports electronics announced that it would be opening up the Runtastic platform to third-party hardware manufacturers.
In an interview with Engadget, Burr said Adidas isn’t only about making hardware for a “standalone Adidas ecosystem”. Instead, it wants to create an “open platform scenario” that allows Runtastic to extend to third-party devices. Burr said the ultimate goal is to create personalized fitness experiences, and because everyone trains or works out differently, an open platform scenario allows for more customized experiences.
Essential reading: The best fitness apps for your wearables
Last month, Adidas announced it was shutting down its miCoach fitness platform in favor of Runtastic, merging the two services instead of running both of them at the same time.
This doesn’t mean that Adidas and Runtastic will stop making new hardware. While Burr didn’t provide a timeline for either new apps or devices, she did say that they’ll arrive “down the road.” We’ve previously heard that the company is working on a new fitness tracker called Chameleon and a new health app called All Day for launch in 2017.
