New Images Allegedly Reveales Microsoft's Abandoned Xbox Smartwatch

By Nathaniel Artosilla, Christian Post Contributor Wednesday, September 27, 2017

New images have surfaced revealing what appears to be Microsoft's aborted plans to enter the smartwatch market. Showing what appears to be a never-produced Xbox brand smartwatch, the two images raise some questions as to why the company has abandoned the idea.

First reported by SuomiMobiili, the images shown never released Xbox wearable that Microsoft was allegedly developing back in 2013. The device was rumored to have been slated for a 2015 release but instead abandoned, possibly in favor of the Microsoft Band which hit the shelves in late 2014.

The device is a square-faced watch with a 1.5-inch display complete with a heart rate monitor on the back. The device was apparently designed to sync when connected with Surface devices and has magnetic charging as one of its key features. The lack of any wristband also suggests that it was designed to sport replaceable watch bands.

There are no details as to why Microsoft abandoned the product although there are those who suggest that it was supposed to compliment the now-discontinued Xbox Fitness app. It is also possible that Microsoft chose to focus its efforts and resources on developing more powerful consoles such as the Xbox One X instead of investing in wearables.

This is not the first time the company has ditched a product without even letting it see the light of day. During its stint with producing Nokia-branded smartphones, countless images of unreleased Lumia devices were shared online. Even more recently, images of a Surface Mini was also revealed to have been produced but did not make it to the consumer.

Still, there might have been a very good reason why Microsoft chose to abandon a project. Factors such as the operating system, competition on the market, even lack of resources could have contributed to the project's fate. Still, it appears that the device wasn't missed at any rate and Microsoft seems to be all too content with letting one of its products get shelved.