TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Apple and Nike are working on new item of wearable technology that will have greater integration into existing gadgets, and is less obvious and more “stealth”, according to the Nike chief executive, Mark Parker, as reported by The Guardian.

Nike has long been making wearable technology, originally partnering with Apple for its Nike+ running sensor range in 2006, which connected wirelessly to the iPod.

Nike discontinued its FuelBand fitness-tracking bracelet in April, shutting down the team that made it, which saw two of its key engineers move to Apple to work on the Apple Watch. But Parker is still bullish on wearable technology as a key part of Nike’s future.

“I think it’s going to be a big part of the future, absolutely,” said Parker in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “I think the form it takes is critical. You can go from the very geeky kind of wearables today – we’ve all seen some of those – to what I think you’ll see in the future, things that are more stealth, more integrated, more stylish and more functional, yes.”

Parker reiterated that Nike had worked at length with Apple in the past, with Parker personally working with Apple founder Steve Jobs, and that having Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, on the board of Nike was a big advantage.

“Technologically we can do things together that we couldn’t do independently,” Parker said. “So yeah, that’s part of our plan, to expand the whole digital frontier in terms of wearables, and go from what we say is tens of millions of users – right now there’s 25 million Nike+ users – to hundreds of millions.”

THE GUARDIAN | SAMUEL G