Microsoft is launching a fitness wearable later this year, according to Paul Thurrott of Supersite For Windows.
The tech industry is closely watching Microsoft, perhaps the only major player that has yet to join the smartwatch craze. Apple is already expected to debut its iWatch in the coming months, and Google recently made headlines with its Android Wear platform.
Sources told Thurrott that Microsoft’s own wearable will be similar to Samsung’s Gear Fit.
It will be a wristband, Thurrott says, capable of displaying phone notifications and health data such as the number calories burned, heart rate, number of steps taken, and more.
“My sources tell me instead that Microsoft will this fall release a Samsung Gear Fit-like fitness band that will display smart phone-based notifications, just like the current and rumored watches and other wearables,” he said.
However, unlike Samsung’s wearables and Android Wear devices, Microsoft’s wristband will work across all platforms – iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.
If true, cross-platform compatibility will be the major selling point of the said wearable. Thurrott adds that the device will also work with third-party applications.
I’m already thinking about MyFitnessPal, Runtastic, and Endomondo.
Source: WinSuperSite