Update: Microsoft has now announced the Microsoft Band, a $199 fitness band that does everything described below. It goes on sale Thursday.
Microsoft hasn’t officially announced its wearable device, but it seems the company has accidentally published its desktop syncing client to the Mac App Store early. Whoops. The device is called the Microsoft Band (possibly Lumia Band, according to some currently non-functional support URLs) and sports a 310 x 102 resolution display.
The Microsoft privacy policy for the app lists some of the Band’s features: “Microsoft Band sensors help you keep track of things like your heart rate, steps, calories burned, and sleep.” Links in the document claiming to lead to a page with additional data, such as a list of sensors, currently lead to a 404 page.
Other key feature include the ability to get phone notifications on the Band, create reminders using Cortana, and more:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEvjulEJH9w&channel=Microsoft]
The free app allows you to “Sync faster than with your phone while your device is charging over USB” and update or restore the operating system on the fitness-focused Band. The Band will apparently feature over 132 different backgrounds to choose from, according to users who tracked them down:
[tweet https://twitter.com/samsabri/status/527629339513208833 align=’center’]
There also appears to be some sort of Starbucks integration:
[tweet https://twitter.com/exiva/status/527630047830499328 align=’center’]
Mobile Apps
Similar iPhone and Android apps have also been released, presumably by accident. The Microsoft Health app description, as it’s called, can track health and fitness data like steps taken, heart rate, and sleep quality, likely by leveraging the Band hardware.
Microsoft declined to comment on the release, but did tweet that the company is planning some sort of fitness events in its stores tomorrow…
[tweet https://twitter.com/microsoftstore/status/527495453051736066 align=’center’]
