Apple Store Pulls Fitness Bands From Shelves Ahead Of Apple Watch Launch

In preparation for the launch of the Apple Watch in April, Apple has pulled many competing fitness bands off its store shelves. Among them are popular bands such as the Nike FuelBand and the Jawbone Up, according to Re/Code.

While its physical stores have pulled the bands, some heart rate trackers remain available at the company’s online store, including the Jawbone Up Move, a clip-style tracker, and Polar’s heart rate monitor. It’s one of the latest moves by Apple as it gears up for sales of the Apple Watch, which contains a number of fitness-tracking features of its own.

Apple has previously pulled other fitness bands from its shelves. After the company launched iOS 8 in September, Fitbit told its users that it had no plans of integrating with HealthKit, Apple’s health interface. Shortly thereafter, Apple pulled Fitbit’s products from its retail and online stores.

In the case of Nike, the company began winding down its FuelBand hardware as early as last April, cutting jobs in its Digital Sport division, according to CNET. And since then, it has shifted its attention to software with the Nike+ app on iOS and soon, Apple Watch.

Apple had also pulled Bose products from its store shelves in October, months after Bose filed a lawsuit against Beats Electronics for allegedly infringing on its noise-cancelling headphone patents. But after settling the matter out of court, some of its products returned to Apple Store shelves in December.

Apple will begin accepting preorders for the Apple Watch on April 10, with shipments starting on April 24.