New Balance Could Be Close to Bringing Back Steve Jobs’s Favorite Sneaker

You could say the Steve Jobs knew a thing or two about good design. Few people, past or present, have made such a profound and lasting impact on the fields of aesthetics and technology as the late Apple founder.

Just a handful of products on Jobs’s CV: the iPod, iPhone, MacBook and, if the rumors are true, New Balance‘s infamous 992 sneaker. According to Mr Porter, Jobs once shared a sketch of his ideal sneaker with New Balance Jim Davis, paving the way for the 992 model, first released in 2006.

New Balance

True or not, Jobs’s affinity for the 992, as well as the greater 99X line — is well-known and well-documented. In fact, he famously wore a pair during his iconic 2007 keynote introducing the iPhone.

David Paul Morris/Getty Images

All to say, Jobs would likely approve of the news now swirling around the shoe-release rumor mill.

Leakers in Taiwan and Japan have reported that New Balance plans to bring back the 992 as part of its Made in USA collection, possibly as soon as February.

New Balance

There’s more than an off chance they’re right. Last year, Teddy Santis, the creative director of New Balance Made in USA, took to social media to tease a return of the 992. Though initially assumed to be part of the brand’s FW24 drop, it’s continued hiatus suggests the model is on borrowed time coming into 2025.

To date, Santis and New Balance Made in USA have focused their efforts on other models in the 99X series, including the 998, 990 and 993 — the 992’s successor, introduced in 2008.

Should the 992 join them, it will mark the model’s first release in over three years. Mum’s the word on which colors Santis is possibly cooking up, but were Jobs still around, he’d be hoping for classic grey. He wouldn’t be the only one …

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