“Hey, Google” Can Now Tighten Your Nike Laces: Have We Reached Peak Ridiculous?

Google Assistant can control Android apps and now, it seems, it can tie your shoelaces. This is not some brilliant helper that can magically teach a lace-tying technique to children faster than you can sing “A Spoonful of Sugar” so that, like Mary Poppins, you’re practically perfect in every way.

No, no, if you have a pair of Nike Adapt sneakers, which have a lacing system which adjusts to the shape of your foot electronically, you can, as pointed out by the excellent Stephen Hall at 9to5Google, tie your shoelaces using Google.

I mean, not only do these sneakers adjust the lacing, they are rechargeable – wirelessly – on a dedicated charging mat. Nike is keen to point out that when the batteries in your shoes runs down, which may itself be a new concept for most of us, your shoes will still unlace. Well, that’s a relief.

It works through the Google Assistant Shortcuts page, which lets you see what shortcuts are associated with the apps you have installed.

So, if you say, “Hey, Google, open Nike Adapt and unlace,” your shoes will release your laces so you can step out of them.

Hurrah! That’s so much better than just reaching all the way down to your feet and pulling on a lace, right?

Okay, so it’s a gimmick, but it’s pretty darn cool and very specific. You can command your phone to loosen the laces in 5% increments. If, like me, you’ve never thought about loosening your laces in percentage terms, then you have a learning curve ahead of you.

But improvements in the system mean you can now say, “Hey, Google, lace it”, which is still ridiculous but at least you’ve said it quicker.

If you want to see it in action, there’s even a video from Stephen over at 9to5Google, though it’s also right here.

Other apps, you’ll be hugely relieved to learn, can also take advantage of these shortcuts, which are designed so you can do things with your voice when your hands are full. So you don’t have to buy Nike Adapts to make the most of it. Though they are pretty neat.

Other apps include Nike run Club, MyFitnessPal, Etsy, Spotify and Walmart – though there are no tightening or loosening options with any of those, sadly.

I’ve been writing about technology for two decades and am regularly struck by how the sector swings from startling innovation to persistent repetitiveness. My areas of

I’ve been writing about technology for two decades and am regularly struck by how the sector swings from startling innovation to persistent repetitiveness. My areas of specialty are wearable tech, cameras, home entertainment and mobile technology.

Over the years I’ve written about gadgets for the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Times, the Daily Mail, the Sun, Metro, Stuff, T3, Pocket-lint, Wareable.com and Wired. Right now most of my work away from Forbes appears in the Independent, the Evening Standard and Monocle Magazine. Parenthetically, I also work as an actor, enjoying equally the first Mission Impossible movie, a season at Shakespeare’s Globe and a stint on Hollyoaks. Follow me on Instagram: davidphelantech, or Twitter: @davidphelan2009.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2020/10/08/hey-google-can-tighten-your-nike-laces-have-we-reached-peak-ridiculous/

Google Assistant, Android