14 DAY TRIAL // Rumor has it that Microsoft has already discontinued the third-generation Band after its experiment to bring Windows 10 IoT on the device failed, and now pictures allegedly showing the device have reached the web.
While it’s hard to tell for sure if this is the Band 3 or not, information that’s available right now seems to point in this direction, while also providing us with a glimpse into the new features that Microsoft planned for the device.
First and foremost, it turns out that the design of the Band 3 is similar to the Band 2, and no, this isn’t at all a good thing. Although the previous generation looked just like it was supposed to look - as a regular band, it was quite uncomfortable to wear it all the time and didn’t match all outfits, such as office clothes.
There were some rumors that the Band 3 could come with interchangeable bands, but judging from these photos, this doesn’t seem to be the case.
Swimming support
On the other hand, there’s a swimming tile in the pics, which means that the Band 3 was supposed to offer support for swimming. This, in turn, is an indication that the Band 3 was waterproof, and this is possibly one of the reasons the device couldn’t come with interchangeable bands, although there are ways to offer both features.
Additionally, there seems to be an EKG feature designed for the Band 3, which works like a more advanced version of the heart rate tracker and provides you with information on the electrical activity of your heart.
For the moment, it’s not yet clear if Microsoft still wants to remain part of the wearables market, but given that the Band 3 was supposed to come with so great upgrades, it would be a shame for the software giant to give up on all these ideas. More information will probably land in the coming months, as the next-generation Band, if it still has a chance to survive, could see daylight in the spring of 2017.
