AirTags On the Run? Skechers Adds New Way to Keep Track of Your Kids
Credit: Skechers
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If you’ve been in the Apple world long enough to remember the 2006 Nike + iPod Sport Kit, Skechers has a new trick that may bring back a few memories.
Back in the halcyon days when Apple’s mobile ecosystem was all about the iPod, the company teamed up with Nike to create an accelerometer-based sensor to track your runs on an iPod.
Initially released for the first-generation iPod nano, it paired up with a small dongle that plugged into the 30-pin Dock Connector, which acted as a receiver for wireless telemetry from a sensor that would be placed in your shoe. It remained compatible with most subsequent iPod nano models, and even the iPod touch and iPhone 3GS and later models, although it never came to the hard-drive-based iPod classic.
Apple built the hardware, although the sensor was Nike-branded, and the sportswear company designed a range of shoes made specifically to fit the sensor in a compartment under the sole. Now it looks like Skechers has taken a page out of that 20-year-old playbook.
The footwear company has just announced the Find My Skechers collection, although in this case, rather than athletes, the target market is kids (or, more accurately, the parents who pay for their shoes).
As the name implies, these sneakers are designed to be tracked as part of the “Find My” network, but unlike many of the other Find My-compatible devices we’ve seen, you’ll have to supply your own Apple AirTag; like Nike’s iPod nano-enabled shoes, the Skechers merely provide a spot for you to stow the tag where you know it won’t get lost.
Interestingly, Skechers is also shying away from suggesting this should be used to track your kids. That’s not too surprising, considering that Apple executives have always discouraged that as an AirTags use case. Instead, the marketing focuses on letting you find your kids’ favorite shoes:
More playing, less searching! The Find My Skechers collection is here to make life easier for everyone. Each pair is designed with a secure, hidden pocket under the insole that perfectly fits an Apple AirTag, so you can always know where their favorite shoes are.
Presumably, the fact that the shoes you’re looking for may also happen to be on your kids’ feet at the same time is just an unintentional side bonus.
The initiative is also clearly aimed at younger children, as the shoes, which are just special versions of the company’s “Go Run” range, are only available in size ranges from toddlers to 10-year-olds. There’s also no “Find My” branding on the shoes that sets them apart from the rest of the “Go Run” series; they look just like any other Skechers shoe, so nobody will know there’s an AirTag hidden inside — even your digitally-tethered offspring (unless you choose to tell them about it).
Unlike their Nike-built spiritual ancestors, the Skechers include a screw-tight cover for the compartment that hides the AirTag, which is in turn covered by the company’s high-rebound “Air-Cooled Goga Mat.” The shoes are also machine-washable, although we’d recommend removing the AirTag before doing so.
