Nike AlphaFly 4 Prototypes Have Surfaced

Coming later this season?

Matt Varga April 27, 2026

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We’ll admit, with so many new silhouettes and products hitting the market, anyone covering or pushing the latest and greatest can get caught up in a bit of exaggeration. But we’re not stretching the truth in the slightest when we say that the Nike VaporFly 4% was a genuine revolution in footwear, kicking off a super shoe arms race that continues to chart new territory almost a full decade later.

With the record-breaking headlines out of London, that’s never been more relevant, pushing just up to the limit of race-legal sneakers while packing in as much cushioning and energy return as a brand can deliver in as light a package as is materially possible. Yet before contenders lined up in Greenwich, Nike stealthily teased the next step in their super shoe series: the Nike AlphaFly 4.

: Charles Hicks Wears A Nike AlphaFly 4 Prototype @_charleshicks

: Charles Hicks Wears A Nike AlphaFly 4 Prototype @_charleshicks

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Charles Hicks could be spotted in the beta design in Boston, en route to the second-fastest finish in history by an American man, a menacing all-black that’s only interrupted by an oversized Swoosh on the lateral that dips into the sole unit before returning to a more traditional branding setup on the medial. Of course, any performance gear of this caliber offers far more intrigue under the hood than in its aesthetics.

In a social media tease, running shoe insider William Hague (aka @the_secret_shoe) alluded to some of what’s expected on the tech sheet for the AlphaFly 4. By their reporting, dual Air Zoom units are here hidden by tape. Additionally, there are seeds that this design could be in use or fully let loose to the public by the time the Chicago Marathon rolls around in November.

While we sort out everything related to Nike’s latest and greatest super shoe, you can catch detailed images of this Nike AlphaFly 4 prototype below.

: Nike AlphaFly 4 Prototype @the_secret_shoe

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Written by

Matt Varga, Junior Editor

Matt Varga is an Editor at SneakerNews. Initially earning a degree in Video Arts and Technology, he got his start in video editing and writing in the music world — primarily on hip-hop and electronic. A long-standing interest in sneakers led him to switching over to footwear. An avid collector, his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to either the Air Jordan 1 “Black Toe” and Air Jordan 5 “Laney,” his first ever pick-ups. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, attending concerts and when weather permits, on the handball court.