Earlier this year we learned that Microsoft was working on a smartwatch of their own - pretty much a given considering the industry shift toward wearable technology. Previous reports noted that Microsoft had placed orders for 1.5-inch displays from component manufacturers and now we have some juicy details to back up that claim courtesy of the gang over at AmongTech.
According to the publication, trusted sources claim the smartwatch now has its own dedicated department (it started as a project for the Xbox team) and has reached the prototype stage. It is said to feature a removable wrist band that will be available in a variety of colors including black, blue, gray, white and yellow.
Furthermore, the watch housing is reportedly constructed of oxynitride aluminum, a material composed of aluminum, oxygen and nitrogen. It is up to 80 percent optically transparent and is four times harder than fused silica glass and 85 percent as hard as sapphire.
Another source said the watch will run a modified version of Windows 8 and should integrate well with other Windows-powered mobile devices. Prototypes are said to include 6GB of storage alongside cloud storage via LTE connectivity. Tasks like music control and notifications are probably a given but other capabilities are unknown at this hour.
What's more, it's unclear exactly how a smartwatch would complement Microsoft's Surface tablet. I suspect the device would be best suited for smartphones although sources say it can be used as a standalone product as well.