July 13, 2006: Apple releases its first activity tracker, the Nike+iPod Sport Kit, which combines Cupertino’s popular music player with a smart pedometer.
The product marks Apple’s first step toward the kind of mobile health-tracking initiatives it will investigate in the following decade — most notably through its iOS Health app and the Apple Watch.
The launch of Nike+iPod Sport Kit coincided with a broad push toward health-oriented devices across the tech industry. Later that year, the Nintendo Wii would join the trend with motion-tracking games like Wii Sports.
While the Nike+iPod Sport Kit didn’t sell close to those numbers, it was actually a pretty smart device in its own right. It boasted a miniature sensor that fit under the insole of a Nike+ shoe. A similarly sized receiver plugged into an iPod nano to track workouts.
I still have mine around somewhere. I'm sure the battery died years ago. I had a pair of Air Pegasus with the hole cut out of the sole to place the tracker and also had a pouch attached to my shoelaces to hold it for other shoes.