We"ve known for some time that Microsoft has been working on a new wearable device, although some reports have suggested that the company may distance itself from the whole smartwatch thing, focusing it as a health and fitness companion instead. Various concepts have surfaced in recent months, but Microsoft has still not announced, or even officially acknowledged, the device.
But today, the device was rather unceremoniously outed by the most unlikely of sources. A companion app for the device appeared in, of all places, Apple"s Mac App Store which has given us our first glimpse at the "Microsoft Band".
The app screenshots don"t reveal much about the device beyond its name and what it looks like from one angle, but the fact that the app has already made it into the App Store suggests that its launch is more or less imminent.
And while it"s certainly a surprise to see the device being outed on Apple"s store, the fact that it is there isn"t entirely shocking, since we"ve known for a while that Microsoft plans to make it compatible with multiple platforms - not just Windows.
Of course, there"s still no detail on when an official announcement might be made - much less when the Band will be released, or how much it will cost - but it does look like you won"t have to wait too long.
Source: Mac App Store via Windows Central
Update: Neowin"s Brad Sams had a quick chat with one of the online public sales support staff at Microsoft to ask about the Band, on the off chance that they might spill some beans. It worked!
According to the rep, "the band should be coming out in the next couple [of] days".