NEW YORK—I just got to try on new Nikes that I never have to lace up, the futuristic sneaks Nike has been talking about for years. Unveiled to much hoopla at a New York event Wednesday, Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 has power-operated laces. As soon as you step into a pair — as if they were slip ons —and press a "+" button, the laces tighten. The shoe even lights up. The new shoe was unveiled by Nike CEO Mark Parker, along with a raft of other technologies. They're expected out by the holiday season, but Nike hasn't announced pricing yet. Nike says the new shoe is "powered by an underfoot-lacing mechanism" — think tiny motor — and it "proposes a groundbreaking solution to individual idiosyncrasies in lacing." In other words, if your shoe laces frequently come untied, these have you covered. Nike has been talking about its self-tying shoes for over two years (and actually working on this technology for ten years). Movie-goers have been anticipating them for even longer: Marty McFly, the time-warped teenager played by Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future Part II, famously had self-tying shoes.

Nike expects the shoe to come in various sizes and for multi-purposes. The size 10 shoes I got to wear briefly at the event indeed felt snug once I pushed the + button. When I was ready to pull them off, I pressed a "--" (minus) button and the fit relaxed making them easy to pull off. .@edbaig tries on the new @Nike HyperAdapt Trainer 1.0. — Hadley Malcolm (@hadleypdxdc) March 16, 2016 The shoes are battery operated and use an inductive charge system and magnetic cup. running shoes hurt bottom of feetIt takes about three hours for a full charge. nike shoes tennis ukNike says with average use you'll have to charge the battery every couple of weeks. best running shoe to support kneeA lighting system lets you know when you'll need to charge it.running shoes purpose

Which raised the question, what if the battery dies when you are ready to pull them off?  Nike says you can easily pull them off as a low top shoe. At the event, Nike also unveiled a new version of the Nike + app, slated to launch in June, aimed at combining its Nike Training Club, Nike Running Club and retail apps into one, more personalized experience. Users will be able to shop, be notified of local Nike events and have access to personalized training programs and "on-demand coaching." best road cycling shoes under 150The app experience differs based on a user's location, clothing and shoe sizes, and sport and lifestyle preferences, which they are prompted to enter when first setting up the app.best nike football shoes 2014 "Athletes want more than a dashboard," Parker said at the event.

"They want a relationship." Contributing: AP and Hadley Malcolm Nike to unveil 'Back to the Future' self-tying power laces in 2015Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 Manifests the Unimaginable “Innovation at Nike is not about dreaming of tomorrow. It’s about accelerating toward it,” says Tinker Hatfield. “We’re able to anticipate the needs of athletes because we know them better than anybody. Sometimes, we deliver a reality before others have even begun to imagine it.” Welcome the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0, the first performance vehicle for Nike’s latest platform breakthrough, adaptive lacing. The shoe translates deep research in digital, electrical and mechanical engineering into a product designed for movement. It challenges traditional understanding of fit, proposing an ultimate solution to individual idiosyncrasies in lacing and tension preference. Functional simplicity reduces a typical athlete concern, distraction. “When you step in, your heel will hit a sensor and the system will automatically tighten,” explains Tiffany Beers, Senior Innovator, NIKE, Inc., and the project’s technical lead.

“Then there are two buttons on the side to tighten and loosen. You can adjust it until it’s perfect.” For Hatfield, the innovation solves another enduring athlete-equipment quandary: the ability to make swift micro-adjustments. Undue pressure caused by tight tying and slippage resulting from loose laces are now relics of the past. Precise, consistent, personalized lockdown can now be manually adjusted on the fly. “That’s an important step, because feet undergo an incredible amount of stress during competition,” he says. Beers began pondering the mechanics shortly after meeting Hatfield, who dreamed of making adaptive lacing a reality. He asked if she wanted to figure it out — not a replication of a preexisting idea but as “the first baby step to get to a more sophisticated place.” The project caught the attention of a third collaborator, NIKE, Inc. President & CEO Mark Parker, who helped guide the design. The process saw Beers brainstorming with a group of engineers intent on testing her theories.

They first came up with a snowboard boot featuring an external generator. While far from the ideal, it was the first of a series of strides toward Beers and Hatfield’s original goal: to embed the technical components into such a small space that the design moves with the body and absorbs the same force the athlete is facing. Through 2013, Hatfield and Beers spearheaded a number of new systems, a pool of prototypes and several trials, arriving at an underfoot-lacing mechanism. In April 2015, Beers was tasked with making a self-lacing Nike Mag to celebrate the icon’s true fictional release date of October 21. The final product quietly debuted Nike’s new adaptive technology. Shortly after, the completion of the more technical, sport version they’d originally conceived, the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0, confirmed the strength of the apparatus. “It’s a platform,” Beers says, “something that helps envision a world in which product changes as the athlete changes.” The potential of adaptive lacing for the athlete is huge, Hatfield adds, as it would provide tailored-to-the-moment custom fit.