From Xbox to Health, A Brief History of the Microsoft Band (Premium)

On October 29th, late into the evening, the Giants and Royals were in a heated game seven of the World Series. As many baseball fans around the globe were watching this closely fought battle for the title of the best baseball team in the world, Microsoft awkwardly released a new fitness product called the Microsoft Band.

The announcement of Microsoft’s first wearable that was designed to help you become a healthier person is a tragic tale of what could have been an excellent product but was undermined by its build quality. While the product, much like Windows Phone, was loved by nearly everyone who used it, the company did just about everything it could to make the release of the device, go poorly.

But before the Band was released, the product started life in the Xbox-org, where it was going to initially be a fitness tracker that paired with the Xbox. The idea was that the device could be a peripheral to the console that would help link the physical and digital worlds. As the product matured in the development cycle, the company realized it had a future as a stand-alone piece of hardware, and should not be tied to a gaming console.

Back in 2014, while still getting my feet wet about how to run an online publication, I convinced Microsoft to let me interview Matt Barlow and Zulfi Alam, who were the public faces behind the development of the Band. Based on the conversation, the Band 1 was just the start of a new Microsoft health push that the company dreamed would dramatically change how each person tracks, monitors, and improves their own personal health.

When the Band 1 was released, the launch went better than expected. Despite being announced during game seven of the World Series, the product sold out quickly. But, that was primarily because the product was available in limited quantities and only in the US; it was nearly impossible to find during the 2014 holiday season.

And the device was packed with sensors, such as a heart rate monitor, accelerometer, GPS, galvanic skin responses sensor, UV sensor, and many more. For its time, the Band was ahead of the class when it came to included technology. And with battery life of about two days, on paper, the Band was a home run.

But that’s where things stopped being positive for Microsoft as not long after launch, build quality issues became apparent. For starters, with the Band 1, Microsoft was providing free screen protectors because they knew the display would scratch easily. And for anyone who would wear the device every day, as is expected with a fitness device, the rubber band would quickly breakdown and make it either uncomfortable to wear the device or impossible because the clasps would no longer snap together.

The ergonomics of the first device were always questionable. The flat screen and hard plastics made it uncomfortable for some users to wear while others had no issue with the device. But, despite the awkward announcement time, the limited availability, and the questionable build quality, Microsoft deemed the first generation device a success and pushed forward with building a second generation.

Microsoft announced the second generation Band in October of 2015 and would eventually release the product to a wider audience: US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Along with an updated design that featured a rounder face for better ergonomics, the device also included a barometer as well.

With a price of $250, Microsoft’s Band 2 was once again selling well and this time the company was better prepared for the release. Despite its early success, the Band 2 never reached the full-adoption that Microsoft hoped for as they envisioned this piece of hardware being critical in the health sector. About a year after its release, Microsoft discontinued the hardware.

The device was also starting to lay the groundwork for what we now see frequently, a smartwatch. The band 2 featured a number of useful alerts included SMS notifications, emails, missed calls and more. But once again, it was build quality that ultimately undermined the second generation of hardware.

Not long after release, the wristband quickly deteriorated and Microsoft found itself scrambling to replace devices after the hardware was falling apart.

Microsoft did build a Band 3, but the product was never shipped. With featured like RFID tag support, swim-tracking, and a few other software upgrades, the hardware was shelved as the Band 2 failed to create a sustainable product as it’s build quality had undermined the company’s ability to sell hardware.

All of the Bands that were supported by an app called Microsoft Health. The application, which was the hub of the Band and Band 2, is being retired. Microsoft announced this week that the Health app will shut down in the Spring of 2019 which means that if you have a Band or Band 2, its functionality is about to become severely restricted.

What this means is that the Band is dead. There will not be any future models, the software will not be updated, and Microsoft’s dive into the health-wearable space, is over, for now.

The Band joins Windows Phone, Surface Mini, Xbox Watch, and other hardware products from Microsoft that had great ambitions, but never materialized in a sustainable way. For those that used the Band, it had a loyal following, but Microsoft undercut its own success, primarily with poor build quality.

It’s not hard to see the vision that the Band team had back in 2014 as many of the features can be found in the Apple Watch or Fitbit devices. Once again, Microsoft had the idea and vision to make a great product, but timing, build quality, and other factors lead to the death of what the company hoped was going to be an essential health companion.