A Microsoft Xbox branded smartwatch was in the works and these pics prove it

The Xbox watch was going to monitor your heart
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Way back in 2013, pre-Apple Watch, there was talk of a Microsoft smartwatch that could monitor heart rate and deliver two days of battery life. It never turned up, but we did get the Microsoft Band instead, a fitness-focused wearable that has since been canned by the Redmond company.

It seems though that while that smartwatch never saw the light of day, it was clearly in the works based on images that have surfaced showing off a prototype of an Xbox-branded timepiece.

Read this: The best smartwatches on the planet right now

What the images suggest is that Microsoft felt that a rectangular design was the way forward and it appears to also confirm that some form of optical sensor would have been included as well. Microsoft was rumoured to be requesting 1.5-inch displays from supply chains and this may well have been the reason why. There's also evidence that it would have used the same magnetic power connector found on Microsoft's Surface tablets.

Quite what the Xbox branding meant as far as integration with the games console, is anyone's guess. When those initial rumours began swirling a few years ago, it was reported that the teams behind Xbox accessories and building its Kinect motion sensor were working on the device. So maybe that heart rate sensor could have been some form of fitness gaming experience tie-up.

Microsoft did of course launch the SPOT smartwatch way back in 2004, but it was clearly ahead of its time and flopped. While the company spends more time these days talking up its VR and AR ambitions, speculation that it could one day venture back into the world of smartwatches still lingers. For now though, it looks like the focus remains on building wearables that lie away from the wrist.

Source: MS Power User via Suomi Mobiili

A Microsoft Xbox branded smartwatch was in the works and these pics prove it



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Michael Sawh

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Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.

He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.

Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech. 

Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.


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