Even the best players in the world need good support to win (just ask LeBron James). Under Armour, a leader in the fitness market, realizes this and announced at CES 2015 that it would be partnering with mobile manufacturer HTC to create a line of connected fitness products.
Under Armour has been dipping its toes in the smart fitness waters for awhile now, releasing its own (underwhelming) wearable fitness band the Armour39. In late 2013, the company acquired app maker MapMyFitness for $150 million. Under Armour also has its own fitness-focused app and website, UA Record, which encompasses the MapMyFitness suite into it.
Still, Under Armour knows the fitness side better than the tech and mobile side, so bringing in HTC is a perfect pairing.
Robin Thurston, the Senior Vice President of Connected Fitness at Under Armour, said, “HTC is renowned for its fearless commitment to innovation, coupled with an attention to detail and premium design that makes it the ideal partner for Under Armour and UA Record. By applying these shared values to our collaboration, we will allow athletes everywhere to take their performance to the next level in a more connected and intuitive way than ever before.”
There are no details yet on what will be produced out of the partnership between the two companies. The collaboration will have its first products later this year according to the press release, with an HTC product that integrates the UA Record network.
Peter Chou, CEO of HTC, said in a statement: “We want our products to meet the needs of every individual – whether you’re training for a personal best in your next half marathon, or a professional athlete honing your performance with a full training staff behind you. So far, no company has been able to deliver this level of support and we feel we have a tremendous opportunity to disrupt and accelerate the development of this market.”
