Almost everyone has heard of the upcoming Apple Watch and the Microsoft Band, the latter was released at the end of last year. While Microsoft Band is a fitness band only, the Apple Watch has several different functions. In this review we will compare the two devices. Firstly, we will review them one by one, then compare them to each other.
The Microsoft Band
Microsoft’s newest device came out in 29 October, 2014 in the US, however the company hasn’t made the band available and hasn’t confirmed any release dates for other countries other than the United States.
The Microsoft Band functions as a fitness band, which tracks the details of your body, how many steps you have taken, how many calories have you lost a day, etc. The device shows the current time too.
Some critics claim that the band looks rather bad and unfashionable, however, I think the device has a futuristic look, which can be pretty fashionable. The Microsoft Band has a 11 x 33 mm big screen, which seems quite small compared to other wearable gadgets or fitness trackers, however, it is more than enough for a fitness band.
The device has 2 buttons, the power button and the action button. Having a power button on a fitness tracker seems quite rare in the area, since most devices can be switched on by only tapping the screen. This is a quite old school method for powering a gadget, but it’s not a big deal. The action button works perfectly for its functions, which are starting and stopping time, tracking sleep and many other.
The Microsoft Band has 10 different sensors, which help tracking your body and sleep. The tracking works flawlessly, however, it would be great, if Microsoft would improve it by fixing the bugs and tweaking up the functions.
One of the worst attributes of the Microsoft Band is the applications. Since the Microsoft Store is pretty deserted, you can only use a few applications for the band, which is quite bad.
The Apple Watch
The upcoming Apple Watch is one of the most anticipated gadget releases this year. The device will release this year on the 24th of April. The gadget will have six different versions, the Apple Watch (standard version), the Apple Watch Sport and the Apple Watch Edition, featuring an 18 carat cold case. All editions come in two different sizes.
The Apple Watch looks quite neat and fashionable. I’m certain that people will buy it just for its look.
The interface of the device is quite interesting. The watch has a scrolling wheel, called Digital Crown, which lets users zoom in and out of the interface. There’s a new home button too, which looks nothing like the one on the iPhones or iPads. The interface of the device may seem to be exciting, but you have to spend quite a time to learn all the functions and to use it effectively.
The Apple Watch features the time tracking of the device, which makes the gadget one of the most precise watches in the world.
Apple has invented a new type of communication for the Apple Watch. Since the device’s screen is quite small compared to an iPhone, you have to communicate in other ways then messaging. If someone writes you a message or contacts you, you can either respond by writing him or her a message, drawing pictures or sending him or her your current heart rate. This could be a great function, since you don’t have to write down what you want to tell, you can either communicate in pictures or respond with your heartbeat to show your chatting partner how excited you are at the moment.
The Verdict
In the comparison of the two devices, the Apple Watch wins. Why? The gadget is fully functional with great app support, features and improvements, while the Microsoft Band has several great functions too, however, it lacks many great features that could be implemented in the device. The Microsoft Band is quite overpriced too, since as a fitness tracker, it costs 199 dollars, while the standard version of the Apple Watch releases at 349 dollars. However, some versions of the Apple Watch are overpriced too, since the Apple Watch Edition costs 10000$.
