Wearables redefined – the Speaker Sneaker by Jabra
Back in April 2018, we celebrated the Speaker Sneaker by Jabra: a shoe with a built-in speaker, dance assistant, and wireless charging mat. The truth came later: it was an April Fools’ joke. What remains of it now that Jabra has exited the consumer audio business?
Let’s get the truth out of the way first, my friend: you could never actually buy the Jabra Speaker Sneaker. We introduced it on April 1, 2018, complete with a spec sheet and price, and fell for a perfectly executed April Fools’ prank. Eight years later, it’s worth a second look: what this fake sneaker promised says more about our relationship with technology than many real products.
- The Jabra Speaker Sneaker was an April Fools’ joke from 2018, not a real product. It was never available for purchase.
- The spec sheet was intentionally too good to be true: detachable stereo speakers, 15-hour battery, dance assistant, IP56 rating, and a wireless “Foot Mat.”
- The gag worked because, in 2018, wearables were genuinely pushing into every aspect of life. The shoe was just the punchline.
- The irony: Jabra announced in 2024 that it would withdraw from the consumer audio market and discontinue its Elite headphones.
- The serious wearable concept behind the joke lives on, just elsewhere: on the wrist, not on the foot.
What we took at face value in 2018
The press release was a small masterpiece. Jabra, actually known for headsets and hands-free solutions, supposedly presented the world’s first sneaker with an integrated premium speaker. On both outer sides of the shoes sat speakers that you could pop out via “Push & Pop” and distribute around the room for true stereo sound while jogging. Added to this was an app called “Dance Assist,” which set the beat via vibration in the left or right shoe. Charging was done via a mat that, in the original text, also doubled as a cozy seat cushion.
Exactly this detail should have made us suspicious. A charging mat that is also a picnic blanket is not a feature; it is an invitation to chuckle. But the mix of a reputable brand name, a plausible data sheet, and a price of 159,99 Euro was enough for us to take the announcement seriously. The tell-tale sign was in the date, not the text.
Why the joke landed so well
An April Fool’s joke only works if it is close enough to reality. And in 2018, the reality of wearables was indeed on its way into every pocket, onto every wrist, and into every ear. Smartwatches counted steps, headphones were becoming wireless, and voice assistants were moving into more and more devices. A shoe that listens and talks back was, in that logic, the next almost expected level of escalation.
The gag wasn’t the shoe. The gag was that we could immediately imagine it.
That is exactly what makes the Speaker Sneaker interesting to this day. It asked an honest question without meaning to: Where does useful technology on the body end and where does self-serving gimmickry begin? A speaker on your foot is acoustically at the wrong end of the body, bothers everyone nearby, and solves no problem you actually have. The joke was precise because it marked the boundary where gadget enthusiasm tips over.
Eight years later: the punchline has shifted
The greatest irony is provided by Jabra itself. The company belongs to the Danish GN Group (GN Audio) and was for years a serious name in wireless earbuds with its Elite series. Then, in 2024, came the turnaround: GN announced it would phase out the Elite and Talk product lines and withdraw from the consumer audio business to focus on Hearing, Enterprise, and Gaming.
In other words: The brand that made us laugh in 2018 with a fun wearable for the mass market has said goodbye to the mass market. The made-up Speaker Sneaker provided more conversation fodder than many a real product from that time. An April Fool’s joke as the longest-lasting piece of brand communication-that is a punchline the copywriter back then could hardly have imagined.
What remains of the idea
The serious vision behind the gag-namely technology that runs along with you without you actively operating it-has long since become everyday life. Just not on the foot. It sits on the wrist and in the ear, where it belongs. Modern wearables measure heart rate variability, sleep, and strain, and analyze the data with AI instead of vibrating a beat into your sole. The Speaker Sneaker asked the right question and gave the wrong answer. That’s okay; it was just a joke, after all.
For you as a reader, a small, useful lesson remains: If a new gadget wants to solve every problem at once and sounds particularly cool doing it, it’s worth checking the calendar. Sometimes it’s April 1st. And sometimes it’s simply a product that feels better than it functions.
You can read more about sound on the body that actually delivers in our article on the Master & Dynamic headphones for Automobili Lamborghini. And why not every connected device is a good device is shown in our look at the Wi-Fi kettle and co. Anyone who wants to know where wearables bring real added value today will find a clear overview of sleep, recovery, and AI in training from our colleagues at InspiredBySports.
Quick Answers
▸Was the Jabra Speaker Sneaker ever available for purchase?
No. The Speaker Sneaker was an April Fools’ joke released by Jabra on April 1, 2018. There was never a real product, no launch date, and no actual price, even though the press release mentioned 159,99 Euro at the time.
▸How could one have spotted the prank?
By the date and the details. A charging mat advertised as a picnic blanket, along with stereo speakers that you pop out of the shoe to distribute around the room, is more comedy than product design. The reputable brand name simply made the gag believable.
▸Does Jabra still make headphones for consumers today?
Only to a limited extent. In 2024, the parent company GN announced it would phase out the Elite and Talk consumer lines to focus on Hearing, Enterprise, and Gaming. Existing devices will continue to be supported, but no new consumer earbuds will be released.
▸Are there any real wearables today that implement such an idea?
The concept of technology that runs unnoticed in the background is now commonplace, just worn on different parts of the body. Smartwatches and fitness trackers measure sleep, heart rate variability, and strain, analyzing them with AI. Sound is still delivered via headphones on the ears, not speakers on the feet.
