Microsoft planning Xbox wearable: report

Microsoft, which not so long ago was a software firm focused purely on desktop and notebook computer operating systems, has already tested the waters with one fitness- and activity-tracking wristband -- the Microsoft Band. And, if a report from PCR, which quotes an Xbox One supplier, is accurate, it's getting ready to roll out another one.

Unlike the Microsoft Band, which was launched in the US in October and works with iPhones and Android handsets, this next wearable is going to work solely with the Xbox One.

Microsoft's latest games console packs in a host of health and fitness monitoring features and, thanks to its optional Kinect remote control and motion tracker, can already ‘gamify' keeping fit. Linking the Kinect system to a wearable tracker could take this element to another level in terms of accuracy and, hopefully, fun.

According to Joe Officer, head of Xbox One component supplier Exertis, who is quoted in the PCR piece, Microsoft will be "rolling out a spate of devices next year in this space."

It's an open secret that Microsoft has been investing in and experimenting with wearable technology -- everything from smartwatches and Google Glass competitors to virtual reality headsets -- for some time now.

And consumers' interest in wearables and other devices that can put them in control of health-oriented goals is surging; fitness trackers and other health-focused wearables are expected to be high on consumers' holiday season shopping lists this year.

According to NPD Group, over the past 12 months, awareness of these devices now stands at 70% of the US population and 10% of consumers already sport one.

However, 40% of consumers who have invested in a fitness tracker have subsequently given up on the device. And as consumers start to ditch their wristbands, they're looking to their handset's built-in health capabilities or at standalone apps that work without a wearable -- one in four US consumers say they have used a fitness app on their smartphone at least once.

If Microsoft is considering a fitness wearable purely for the comparatively small global population of Xbox One owners -- estimated to stand at 10-11 million -- that suggests that it is planning to bring a new dimension to game play and entertainment too.