Up until the company's acquisition by Microsoft, Nokia was working on a smartwatch known as 'Moonraker', which featured a square display, a Windows Phone-like operating system, and colorful straps that matched the bold style used on the company's Lumia smartphones.
According to The Verge, Nokia had been working on the Moonraker for some time, and were planning to announce it alongside the Lumia 930. The company had shown off working prototypes behind closed doors at Mobile World Congress in 2014, and were close to launching the product, but Microsoft ultimately canceled it after their acquisition of Nokia cleared in April last year.
The Moonraker would have come with an OS closely modelled on Windows Phone, using a familiar 'Metro' style throughout apps for emails, messages, calendar events and fitness tracking. Nokia had also developed an app for remote camera execution, and were planning to integrate MixRadio and Facebook as well as basic functionality such as customizable watch faces.
Part of the reason why Microsoft killed the Moonraker is because the company was already working on their own wearable, the Band. Microsoft believed the Band had more functionality and more sensors, so the Moonraker was essentially a surplus device.
Images of the Moonraker have only surfaced now, thanks to the blog of a Microsoft design employee (which has since been taken down). The images, seen above and below, were reportedly going to be used as part of the Moonraker's marketing and showed a near-final version of the device.
While the Moonraker ultimately died at the hands of Microsoft, the company is committed to improving their wearable platform. Microsoft is expected to launch a second-generation Band later this year, and could eventually branch out into the smartwatch realm once demand for such a device increases.
