#Microsoft band 2 sleep tracker skin#
#Microsoft band 2 sleep tracker upgrade#
#Microsoft band 2 sleep tracker full#
#Microsoft band 2 sleep tracker windows 10#

Even Apple had to scale back its Apple Watch plans and prices. How about a 'Microsoft Watch'? But I wouldn't hold your breath - the wearables space is already congested and profit margins aren't huge. In view of these reasons, it's clear that Microsoft needed to go back to the drawing board - and it's not impossible that they in fact do this. I don't mind the look, but I haven't managed to convince anyone else! In today's style-conscious world, something that looks like it belongs on the set of Blade Runner doesn't cut it. Every time I wear the Band 2 in public, I get comments about me wearing it wrong (the display's on the 'inside' of the wrist) and about how it looks 'like a prison bracelet'. Yes, the latter had to be slightly smaller, thicker, and heavier, but the massive, overwhelming upside was that if the strap goes with wear and tear then you just attach a new strap, you don't have to replace the entire wearable. While Microsoft was trying this approach, every other maker of wearables was taking a more traditional approach to design, with all the electronics in the main watch/display. Following on from the first point, the idea of having the battery and sensors in the clasp and then running lots of wires through the strap portions has go down as an ambitious experiment. Six months is just not good enough, and Microsoft never really got to the bottom of the material problems. Maybe I don't sweat enough, maybe I'm more careful with my tech, maybe this will all come to bite me in another 100 or so sessions? Regardless, a fitness-centric wearable certainly shouldn't degrade and break when a user is doing exactly what the gadget is designed for, at least not in the first (say) two years. My own Band 2 has only had about 100 exercise sessions over three years because I chop and change hardware a lot, and my hardware is still perfect.

#Microsoft band 2 sleep tracker skin#

So about 180 workouts, typically with sweaty skin and probably a fair amount of rain and physical abuse. Time before this happens seems to be about six months of daily use. Here's a typical sample, with the strap tearing at the boundary of the under-strap arced support and the more flexible section. The original Band (with the batteries in the strap) and the Band 2 (with lots of wires in the strap, so thinner, but still needing to be more substantial than your typical watch strap) suffered from reliability issues. Other than internal politics, which I won't go into here, three reasons:

#Microsoft band 2 sleep tracker windows 10#

It was and is a tightly integrated Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile accessory with class-leading sensors at the time (GPS/heart rate/UV/barometer/skin temperature/galvanics) and which still look competitive today. It was IP67 for water and dust resistance and I've taken it swimming (by accident) with no ill effects, though there's no real benefit since there's no detection of swimming strokes/lengths (as the Versa did).

#Microsoft band 2 sleep tracker full#

The Band 2 also had a full crop of sensors, including UV detection, something which is more important this year than in any other, I think. In contrast, you have to jump through a dozen hoops to enable the same on the Versa (so much so that I missed it completely in my otherwise full review!)

As an example of this, it's trivial to control your playing music on Windows 10 Mobile from your Band 2 - a double press on the action button and there are the controls you need. Yet it remains the only official wearable/smartwatch from Microsoft for its own mobile platform and, as a result, the integration and reliability is significantly higher than for third party wearables, even the Fitbits. The Band saga only lasted two years in terms of ambitions and sales, then, and quite a while ago. The Band 2 is dropped from sale and all plans for a Band 3 dropped later in October 2016.The Band 2 gets heart rate zone support in October 2016.

#Microsoft band 2 sleep tracker upgrade#

The Band 2 gets an Explore upgrade in May 2016.

The Band 2 gets music controls in December 2015.

Microsoft launches the Band 2 in October 2015.

Microsoft launches the Band and a companion Microsoft Health service in October 2014.