Smartwatches have proven to be big business for Apple in recent years, but Microsoft’s attempts to carve out a slice of the market haven’t been anywhere near as lucrative. The Band and its successor the Band 2 came and went, and few were too disappointed when the line was quietly retired. Now, new images of the company’s attempt to create an Xbox smartwatch have been leaked to the internet.
In September, we were given a glimpse of what could have been when a prototype version of an Xbox smartwatch was uncovered. Much like the Apple Watch, it consisted of a small digital watch face that would presumably be compatible with various different straps. This week, images demonstrating the device’s operating system have been released.
More details. pic.twitter.com/TNKcDeU6IZ
— Hikari Calyx (@Hikari_Calyx) January 22, 2018
A hands-on with the Xbox smartwatch reveals that it would have been an activity tracker along the lines of a Fitbit, according to Engadget. Tiles reminiscent of the video game system’s interface would have been used to switch between tabs for workouts, heart rate monitoring functionality, and GPS tracking.
It’s thought that Microsoft was working on the Xbox smartwatch in 2013, just as smartwatches were beginning to hit the public consciousness. This was around the time that the Pebble Kickstarter campaign vastly overperformed, accruing some $10 million in backer donations and demonstrating the massive audience for this kind of device.
Try to feel terrible resolution of Xbox Watch… If you find the Xbox Watch can't be recharged, you can disassemble the screen with an utility knife or a razor, then hit the positive pole on the battery with piezoelectric ceramic igniter from a lighter. pic.twitter.com/TcQwMcvJEQ
— Hikari Calyx (@Hikari_Calyx) January 22, 2018
Microsoft would later shift its attention to the Band project, which was officially unveiled in October 2014 and retired in October 2016. The Band was marketed as a fitness device but possessed other smartwatch functionality that doesn’t seem to have been present in the Xbox-branded prototype, which may suggest that the companies priorities shifted somewhat during the development process.
Since the Band was phased out, Microsoft seems to have cooled on the smartwatch market. Given that the company has seemed unwilling to expand its video game interests into portable hardware to compete with Nintendo and Sony’s devices, it is interesting to see that Xbox brand used in this way. While this particular project never saw the light of day, perhaps we will see the Xbox line expand into other categories in the future.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.