New information from sources familiar with the project have informed us that we will have to wait a little longer for a Microsoft smartwatch, but it is definitely coming.
We have asked our sources that had previously confirmed that the smartwatch will be made of Oxynitride Aluminium and will be available in multiple colors among those Blue, Red, Yellow, Black, White and Gray. He tells us that not all of this information we previously gave is true anymore after some mayor changes have been made in and around the smartwatch team. As of now only the colors black, blue, red and yellow stand, there won’t be a white or gray smartwatch. Our source also confirms to us that the primary material Microsoft will be using isn’t Oxynitride Aluminium due to its high cost and it is looking for a cheaper alternative, after asking a little more he ensures us “don’t worry it WONT be plastic!”
Our source tells us that the original team working on the smartwatch has gone through some changes, there are now many new employees set on the team and the team has been divided into 2 mayor parts 1 hardware and 1 software but informs us that they are “working very close together.” something they previously weren’t, due to the small sizes of the teams. Zdnet just informed us that the leader of the Software team will be “father of Kinect” Alex Kipman this is something we can confirm and says that the idea of ditching Oxynitride Aluminium came from “a new member higher up in the company”. Not much from the original project still stands, but something we couldn’t confirm previously but can confirm now is that the Microsoft smartwatch won’t be much of a “companion” device like the Galaxy Gear but is meant more to be used as an independent gadget.
“No NFC” the alternative is Bluetooth 4.0
When we heard this we thought it sounded familiar to how Apple’s iBeacon. Instead of adding an additional processor and use NFC technology to interact with devices it will use Bluetooth 4.0. The reason why is because NFC was creating mayor problems in maintaining a long battery life.
Being a big part of the “All in one home experience”
The Smartwatch will be a mayor factor in Microsoft’s goal to become the center of your living room and creating a “all in one home experience” for example, the kinect 2.0 Microsoft’s movement sensor for the Xbox One will recognize your smartwatch and will load your default profile on the Xbox One, it will work similar to how face recognition is currently used and will allow you to control the interface.
It will also add mayor support for software like Microsoft Powerpoint which will allow you to switch from slide to slide with a touch on your smartwatch, which will be conected through bluetooth to your Microsoft Surface tablet or laptop. Something we can’t confirm is if the smartwatch will get support for Android devices or iOS devices, as of now it doesn’t look like its the teams primary focus but the decision will heavily influence the future of the device.
Windows Metro might have “the perfect type of interface for a Smartwatch”
When we asked our source about the Windows OS (all though he works for the hardware department) he told us “We think that the metro style interface is the perfect type of interface for a smartwatch” it couldn’t tell us all too much about it since he has little information, but what he could confirm is that there will be a few primary style you can choose from, these different “themes” have a primary color combination and is chosen depending on the smartwatch color, this will affect the background color of the theme and app icon colors.
The Delay until 2015
All though we don’t have an official release date, we do know that it won’t come in 2014 “the changes that have been made are so significant that what we have accomplished in 2 years is probably not something we will be able to redo in a matter of months” our source thinks that a date we could definitely hear and even see more about the smartwatch is Q2 2015.
Editors Note: While writing this article Zdnet released an article regarding some other Microsoft smartwatch information, we suggest you also check out their article here.
