Microsoft becomes the latest major player to exit the smartwatch industry

By Shawn Knight on October 3, 2016, 4:45 PM


Last month it was revealed that three of the largest Android Wear partners – LG, Huawei and Motorola – had no intentions of launching any new smartwatches or fitness trackers this fall. Now, it seems as though Microsoft has hopped off the wearables bandwagon as well.

As of today, Microsoft has scrubbed every mention of its Band line of wearables from its online store and pulled the Band SDK from its developer portal. Best Buy has followed suit as well and according to The Verge, Amazon will no longer carry the wearable once its current supply runs dry.

A Microsoft spokesperson told ZDNet that they have sold through their existing Band 2 inventory and have no plans to release another Band device this year. That said, the spokesperson did say that Microsoft will continue to support Band 2 customers through the Microsoft Store and their customer support channels. Microsoft will also continue to invest in the Microsoft Health platform, we’re told.

ZDNet also heard last month that Microsoft had disbanded (no pun intended) the small group that was working to get Windows 10 onto the wearable.

Microsoft entered the wearables industry in late 2014 with Band, its fitness-tracking smartband. A year later (last October), the Redmond-based company launched its second-generation Band 2.

With three major Android players and Microsoft now having pulled out of the market, one can only wonder how long smartwatches will persist without a killer, must-have app.