Wearable Technology

UPDATED: According to ZDNet, Microsoft has sold through their remaining Band 2 inventory and has removed it from their online store. Also, the company has taken down the development kit for the Microsoft Band. We would expect the info page about the wearable to follow suit and soon be removed from the Microsoft website. While we knew Microsoft didn’t have a lot of faith left towards their activity tracker, it is surprising that the company planned to completely discontinue selling the Band when they just rebranded their health app from the generic “Microsoft Health” to the very product specific “Microsoft Band.”

Microsoft has reportedly ceased development of a third generation of its Microsoft Band. According to ZDNet, a few weeks ago the company disbanded a team working to port the Windows 10 platform to the wearable. Currently, versions 1 and 2 of the Microsoft Band run custom firmware. The move isn’t entirely surprising as Microsoft struggles to find an audience for Windows Mobile devices. In fact, MSPoweruser.com is reporting that Microsoft is pulling Windows Phones from company stores and WinBeta cites an anonymous employee as stating that the Lumia line of phones will be killed off by the end of the year. Since the Microsoft Band is designed primarily to interact with a Windows Mobile phone (non-Windows platforms are limited to a restricted feature set), with its ecosystem dwindling there is little logic in continuing to invest in Microsoft Band development. The software giant will continue to sell the Microsoft Band 2 at a discounted price of $175. Microsoft Health, the cross-platform cloud based health and fitness hub that the Band was designed to interact with, will continue to exist and, in fact, Microsoft is continuing to emphasize the service. But in a bizarre move the app has been renamed “Microsoft Band.”