Ten years ago this week, we published one of the strangest and most fascinating stories from the Windows Phone era: Microsoft’s unreleased Moonraker smartwatch. It was a moment frozen in time when Microsoft was still experimenting with bold hardware ideas, still trying to carve out a future in mobile, and still convinced it could build an ecosystem that stretched from your PC to your wrist.
(We later got a prototype in our hands on an even earlier idea, the Xbox Joule, Microsoft's canceled fitness watch for gamers).
Looking back now, Moonraker feels like a glimpse into an alternate timeline. A smartwatch with personality, color, and a UI that leaned into the Metro design language instead of running from it. It never shipped, but it showed how close Microsoft was to having a wearable strategy years before the Apple Watch reshaped the category.
A decade later, Moonraker stands as one of those “what could have been” moments that defined the Windows Phone era as ambitious, stylish, and ultimately abandoned just before the industry took off. — Daniel Rubino, Editor-in-Chief
The original article, "Meet the Moonraker, Microsoft's unreleased smartwatch," was published on June 12th, 2016, by Rich Edmonds.
New images have been found on the Tumblr account owned by Microsoft design employee Pei-Chi Hsie, clearly showing off a smartwatch running Microsoft's Windows OS. Codenamed the Microsoft Moonraker (model LS-50), this smartwatch looks to sport a Modern UI resembling that from Windows Phone.
Unfortunately, you're not able to purchase this device, nor are we sure if it will ever see the light of day. According to information obtained by The Verge, this smartwatch was actually cancelled by Microsoft after taking over Nokia's devices and services division.
"Sources familiar with Nokia's plans tell The Verge that the Finnish company was developing a "Moonraker" smartwatch that leveraged many of the aesthetics of the modern Windows Phone design. Working prototype devices were shown to potential customers at Mobile World Congress last year, and the smartwatch came close to launching. Nokia was planning to reveal its smartwatch alongside the Lumia 930, and Microsoft canceled it around the time the company acquired Nokia's phone business."
The device was to be unveiled alongside the Lumia 930, offering support to read texts by lifting one's arm or lower the watch to turn off the display. The images were spotted by Evan Blass, who shared some details on Twitter: Behold, the Microsoft Moonraker (via http://t.co/f9wmwd8k8c) pic.twitter.com/k2cRZdS1md
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) June 12, 2015
As for Microsoft's own wearable that you can actually purchase today, the company is working on Band version 2, which is slated to be hitting sometime later this year.
It's currently unknown as to what Microsoft's plans are for the smartwatch. Would you have been interested in the Microsoft Moonraker? The images have since been removed from Tumblr.
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