Microsoft rumored to launch smartwatch this holiday season, beating Apple Watch to market

Microsoft smartwatch concept created by Nadir Aslam.

The rumored impending launch was first revealed by Forbes, which indicated that like the Apple Watch, Microsoft's device will track a wearer's heart rate. The report also said the smartwatch is believed to have cross-platform compatibility, and that it will provide more than two days' worth of use on a single charge.

Though the report didn't specifically mention compatibility with iOS devices, it's likely that a Microsoft smartwatch would offer some level of connectivity with Apple's ecosystem, which has a much larger market presence than Windows Phone. Forbes previously reporte in May that Microsoft's smart wrist device would offer compatibility with both iOS and Android.

Microsoft has adopted a more universal approach under Chief Executive Satya Nadella. Earlier this year, the company's lucrative Microsoft Office platform arrived on Apple's iPad, after reportedly being held up for years under previous CEO Steve Ballmer.

If the Microsoft smartwatch does in fact offer two days' worth of uptime before a recharge is necessary, it might perform the Apple Watch, which the company has said will need to be recharged nightly. But with the Apple Watch not becoming available until early 2015, engineers at Apple are said to be working on improving battery life before the device's launch.

But with sales set to begin next year, the Apple Watch will also miss the holiday shopping season entirely. Microsoft may be looking to capitalize on that delay, though pricing, product name and other details remain a mystery.

Rumors of a Microsoft smartwatch first surfaced in April of 2013 when it was said that the software giant was mulling an entrance into the wearable computing market with a touch-enabled wrist-worn device. At the time it was said that teams formerly involved in Xbox and Kinect hardware development were assigned to the project.

Yet another report from last year alleged that the Microsoft Surface team was also involved in the project, and had been working with Oxynitride Aluminum, or "transparent aluminum," that is three times harder than glass.

Microsoft previously attempted to market a smartwatch as part of the now defunct Smart Personal Object Technology (SPOT) platform that died in 2008. With SPOT, brand name watchmaker partners like Suunto, Fossil and Swatch incorporated Microsoft software into specially designed products. The program was based on a $59 per year subscription service that sent weather, traffic and other relevant data to SPOT devices over FM radio broadcasts.