Microsoft’s smartwatch has long been rumored as a device that competes with Android Wear, Samsung’s Gear watches, and any future hardware from Apple, but it might not take the form of a watch. Windows watcher Paul Thurrott reports that Microsoft’s smartwatch will actually be a fitness wristband with multiple sensors designed to track steps, calories burned, and heart rate. Thurrott’s report matches similar recent rumors of a Microsoft smartwatch that continuously measures heart rate through the day and night. Images in a recent patent filing from Microsoft could offer an early glimpse at where the company is heading with its fitness band. The patent filing from May includes hardware that resembles a fitness band with icons for running and heart rate. Thurrott suggests Microsoft will price its fitness band at a similar price to the Samsung Gear Fit, which debuted earlier this year for $199.
Read the full story at The Verge, and the original report at Paul Thurrott’s Supersite for Windows.