Nike’s New $350 “Smart” Shoe Is Its Most Unusual Sneaker Yet

All around you could hear the motors going, a slight mechanical wheeze announcing the tightening or loosening of sneakers. It was constantly in the background at Nike’s unveiling of its newest innovation, the Nike Adapt BB, at its offices in New York today (Jan. 15). “No shoe yet has been iconic audibly,” said Ross Klein, a senior design director in Nike’s innovation department. ”As we were working out the torque and the amount of force that the system has, we really enjoyed the sound.” That a basketball sneaker even has a recognizable sound is one of several things that makes the Adapt BB unusual. The shoes, which cost a hefty $350 and release in mid-February, contain smartphone-grade electronics, including the CPU and memory, according to Nike. They need to be charged, which users do with a specially adapted Qi wireless charger. The process takes a few hours, and the battery life lasts about two weeks. Read more at Quartz.