The Apple Watch 2 Nike+ Leak that Wasn’t

“Welcome to Nike+ Run Club. The Nike+ Running app is now the Nike+ Run Club app with a fresh, new & improved look…

• Coaching plans now adapt to your schedule and progress.
• More fun and personal post-run sharing than ever.
• Compare and compete with your friends by hash-tagging runs.
• Leave your phone at home and run free with Apple Watch.”

These are the words you’ll find on the Nike+ Run Club app page on the App Store. Now, the hype claims this means Nike just leaked something we didn’t already know about the Apple Watch 2, but I really don’t see it like that.

That’s because nowhere in this does Nike say you need a new Apple Watch — it doesn’t even claim you’ll need watchOS 3. It simply claims you can “leave your phone at home and run free with Apple Watch”.

In other words, Nike’s figured out how to count your run even when you run without your iPhone and are wearing an existing Apple Watch without installing the next iOS upgrade. You’ll even see the same claims made on the Apple Watch app page you get to using your iPhone.

Did no one check?

Sure, we all know Apple Watch 2 is going to be a little more independent of the iPhone with built-in GPS for accurate mapping and more. We also hear it may or may not include an embedded SIM (this was never highly likely given the embedded SIM specification was only recently published).

In other words, this Nike+ leak brouhaha is absolute balderdash.

Here are some rumours that may make sense.