14 DAY TRIAL // Redmond launched Microsoft Band last week as part of its attempt to expand into the wearables market, and even though the full technical specifications list has recently been released to everyone, there’s been one big enigma for all of us: what exactly is powering the wristband?
While some people expected Microsoft to launch a smartwatch powered by Windows and maybe even featuring some of the options available in the desktop operating system, that didn’t happen.
In fact, if you are curious what the name of the software solution powering the Microsoft Brand actually is, the answer is pretty simple: “Microsoft’s wearable architecture (firmware), optimized for low-power micro-devices.”
In other words, no, Windows is not powering the Microsoft brand as everyone expected, so in case you buy one, you don’t actually get a “Windows device.”
As Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet reports after speaking with some Microsoft representatives, “there is no kind of Windows 10 variant inside.”
Luckily, Microsoft is planning to launch a dedicated SDK for the Microsoft Band, with current information pointing to a possible early 2015 release. No other details have been provided, but this could actually be an indication that there’s still room on the market for a Windows-powered smartwatch, so Microsoft still has some work to do in this regard.