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Microsoft Likely Discontinuing Microsoft Band Wearable Device
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Their biggest problem was that they increased the price of the second-generation hardware by $50 when they really needed to cut it by $50. At $150, it would have probably found a decent following given the quality of the sensor. It was substantially better than anything Fitbit had going on at the time.
After the initial Apple Watch furor wore off and they starting being regularly available in stock, they were often discounted to $300 (usually an included $50 gift card). The Band could not compete with the prices so close.
It's not terribly surprising they threw in the towel, though, with Windows Phone circling the toilet.
Poor Microsoft. Despite the UX improvements it made, and the innovations that followed post-Gates and post-Monkey Boy, it can't shake its legacy of unreliable, complicated, ugly software. Microsoft could have won people back if it avoided using the Microsoft name with its new products—much like they do with their app, Paper.
When in workout mode, maybe, but so does the AW. But otherwise its only every other minute or so. AW checks about 5 minutes.
It looks like Microsoft tried to outdo Apple before they ever knew what Apple was going to do with their own product. Some companies focused on making a better watch, some like Microsoft, a better fitness tracker.
Maybe if they focused on just making a product that solves a problem really well they may have had better word of mouth.
Maybe if they focused on just making a product that solves a problem really well they may have had better word of mouth.
spazzcat, AW See https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204666
Found on another site: supposedly from MS.
Microsoft Band heart rate sampling frequency
- Exercise modes (Run and Workout): Heart rate records every second
- Sleep tracking : 2 minutes on, 8 minutes off. Repeats throughout duration
- All other times : 1 minute on, 9 minutes off, and repeating the cycle
- Manual: You can force-check your heart rate at any time by tapping the Me Tile
Band and AW are NOT the same when it comes to HR. When I am asleep, the Band is also tracking my heart rate, including when the Band detects sleep with no input on my part.
Also, I have found the heart rate on the Band to be fairly accurate when measured against medical devices (like when I was in the ER last month). To be fair, I was at rest and not running on a treadmill.
The AW tries to do everything, the Band is much more focused. The Band works with IOS and Android, while the AW is IOS bound.
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No. I have a Band, and it monitors HR all day and among other things does VO2 max, which AW doesn't. The problem with AW, at least series 1, is that HR monitor destroys the battery. The AW is not really a fitness tracker, it's more of a fashion accessory and I think they designed it more with apps in mind which never really took off. Now, Apple is attempting to pivot back to fitness with series 2, but it definitely falls short of fitbit. I bought Band 2 because it had more accurate and more sensors than anything else, and Microsoft positioned it as more an experiment with data than an aggressively launched consumer product.
I bought a Band 2 back around February. On paper it seemed like it did everything I'd want. GPS, HRM, etc. However, when I went to take it cross-country skiing, I found it only had two GPS modes: run and bike. Well, I run, and bike, and ski, and I didn't want my skiing data polluting my running or cycling data. So that was a pretty strong blow against it. Good on paper, not really designed for my use case at least. Then when I went on a not-particularly long day of skiing, it couldn't make it through the day without running out of battery. That was the end of the road for me, and I returned it.
I now have a Garmin Vivoactive HR on my wrist. It actually does everything the Band was supposed to do, and much more. The screen isn't as bright, but on the other hand it's waterproof and has 5-day battery life. Plus Garmin's app and web site are much better and deeper than Microsoft's.
I wanted to give Microsoft a chance to succeed, but while they had all the buzzwords, for meat least it didn't gel into an actually usable product.
I now have a Garmin Vivoactive HR on my wrist. It actually does everything the Band was supposed to do, and much more. The screen isn't as bright, but on the other hand it's waterproof and has 5-day battery life. Plus Garmin's app and web site are much better and deeper than Microsoft's.
I wanted to give Microsoft a chance to succeed, but while they had all the buzzwords, for meat least it didn't gel into an actually usable product.
Interesting assumption. Can you back this up? Why would the Xbox had failed if it were not for apple?
I see plenty of Surface devices out in the wild. Those will probably do just fine as well.
This really sucks. The Microsoft Band 2 was by far the best and most accurate fitness tracker. If they could have made it thinner with waterproofing, it could have really made a difference.
Sad to see the best and most accurate fitness tracker being pulled.
Sad to see the best and most accurate fitness tracker being pulled.
For all the criticisms levelled at Apple, no one seems to give them any credit for their perseverance and execution.
Apple rarely backtracks on their decisions once made and slowly but surely rolls out a steady stream of updates which seem inevitable once you think about it. Bit by bit, the Apple ecosystem grows that much stronger with each passing day.
The Apple Watch is still going strong, and Apple is working hard to break into new industries with it. Apple is clearly serious about it, and I can confidently buy one now knowing it will go the way of the Microsoft band anytime soon.
It's realisations like this which make me appreciate the people at Apple more. Credit where it's due, people.
Apple rarely backtracks on their decisions once made and slowly but surely rolls out a steady stream of updates which seem inevitable once you think about it. Bit by bit, the Apple ecosystem grows that much stronger with each passing day.
The Apple Watch is still going strong, and Apple is working hard to break into new industries with it. Apple is clearly serious about it, and I can confidently buy one now knowing it will go the way of the Microsoft band anytime soon.
It's realisations like this which make me appreciate the people at Apple more. Credit where it's due, people.
A genuine shame! I was close to buying one of these instead of the Apple Watch I settled on. I was put off by the lack of integration with iOS and, for this exact reason too. I feel the only ones to buy into are Android Gear and Apple Watch right now.
Apple Watch really needs a UV sensor too.
Apple Watch really needs a UV sensor too.
My Band 2 is ok. At the time it was half the price of the cheapest Apple Watch, and the battery lasts me 2.5 days, a bit better than the Apple Watch was then (and now?). Only issue I've had is the weather doesn't sync with the iPhone properly, unless you run the health app, which I forget to do. Anyway, I only wanted it to monitor my heart rate while sleeping (which is usually around 32), and to tell the time. Both which it does and at the time, an Apple Watch wouldn't do as it would need charging overnight!
Oh surprise. All those wearables suck anyway (with very few exceptions). Almost none of them offers offline support. Everything needs another cloud account. This includes all the major brands. All it would need is a local app on your smartphone, but Garmin & Co are selling you premium-priced products AND want the big data. Even if you have no issue with sharing your data - I don't want to rely on some remote server to display some basic statistics, especially when abroad and data roaming costs a fortune.
This. This. This. Can't rely on MS these days anymore when it comes to non-server stuff. Apple however isn't much better if we look beyond iOS... just look at their "pro" products. The only thing left that deserves "pro" is the Macbook Pro, yet they want to cripple that as well. Let alone the current MacPro which may be High-End but far from "Professional".
I was watching a podcast with Paul Thurrott and he was very dismayed at the prospect that MS is killing it off. What's odd, is they positioned the band as a health product, and Apple is transitioning the apple watch from a fashion statement to a health product. MS already had their foot in the door to compete with apple.
They missed the boat with the phones, and now they're purposely leaving a market that they got in on the ground floor.
The only Band I ever saw was in Best Buy. I've never seen anyone wearing one.
Functionally it seemed fine, but aesthetics was a big problem. Particularly the huge, clunky HR monitor on the back that faced outward so everyone could see it! Seriously, what on earth were they thinking?
Functionally it seemed fine, but aesthetics was a big problem. Particularly the huge, clunky HR monitor on the back that faced outward so everyone could see it! Seriously, what on earth were they thinking?