Spec-off: Microsoft Band vs Apple Watch vs Samsung Gear Fit vs Fitbit Surge

With yesterday's announcement of Microsoft's brand new fitness Band we thought it was time to see how it stacks up against its competition. We compared it to the Samsung Gear Fit, probably one of its closest competitors.

But we also took a look at the Fitbit Surge and the Apple Watch, both upcoming products that do some of the same things the Microsoft Band does. Check out the full spec sheet below.

	Microsoft Band	Apple Watch	Samsung Gear Fit	Fitbit Surge
Design	Band	Square Watch	Band	Square Watch
Removable Band	No	Yes	Yes	No
Screen	1.4" TFT	1.5/1.65"	1.84” Super AMOLED	1.25" Monochrome LCD
Resolution	320 x 106 px	?	432 x 128 px	?
Battery	2x 100 mAh Li-ion	?	210 mAh Li-ion	Li-ion
Battery Life	2 days		3-4 days, up to 5	up to 7 days
Charging	Charging dock	Charging dock	Charging dock	Proprietary cable
Charge time		?	?	1-2 hours
Connectivity	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 4.0
GPS	Yes	No	No	Yes
Water resistance	IP 54	?	IP 67	IP 68 ( 5 ATM)
Notifications	Calls, Text, Social, Rich*	Calls, Text, Social, Rich*	Calls, Text, Social, Rich*	Calls, Text
Actionable	No	Yes	Yes	Music controls
Voice	Cortana	Siri	No	No
Haptic feedback	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Heart tracker	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Accelerometer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gyro	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Skin temp	Yes	No	No	No
UV	Yes	No	No	No
Galvanic	Yes	No	No	No
Compatibility	Windows, iOS, Android	iOS	Galaxy Android**	Windows, iOS, Android
Price	$199	starts at $349	$149	$249

So what do you think? Does Microsoft's Band stack up against the competition based on these specs and its cross-platform support or is the device destined to be a failure?

*Rich notifications are defined as those not listed above, including but not limited to notifications from third party apps, email, calendars, etc.

** A limited number of Samsung Galaxy devices, all running Android.