Microsoft Moonraker Leaked, Is Beyond Concept Phase

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When we talk about smartwatches, we see most of the big names in the smartphone industry jumping on the bandwagon, trying to gain foothold in an industry that is at a very young stage compared to the rather saturated smartphone market. One noticeable name that has been missing from the party is Microsoft, but it seems, even Microsoft has its own plans.

Enter Microsoft Moonraker.

Dug up by notable leaker @evleaks with the original source being Microsoft design employee Pei-Chi Hsieh’s tumblr (which is now offline, but you can always view a cached copy), evleaks points that the Moonraker was an actual smartwatch, and not just a concept, that was being developed over at Nokia. However, with Nokia’s acquisition by Microsoft, the project was being dropped in favor of the Microsoft Band.

According to images obtained from the blog, the Microsoft Moonraker looks like a rather simplistic smartwatch, coming in 3 different colors with matching straps. The software on the watch is also rather unique, as it adapts the familiar Metro UI from Windows Phone devices and applies a more minimalistic version of it. The watch also featured a bunch of customization options for the watchface, but if we took wild guesses and said that it may not be at par with the artistic freedom Android Wear allows in this aspect, we wouldn’t be too far from the truth. Along with this, the UI gives hints to support for Facebook and email built in, along with features like a step counter and remote camera.

Evleaks also gave the Microsoft Moonraker a model number, LS-50, but the current status of the development and production of the device is unknown.

As far as renders and leaks go, Evleaks has been a decent source when you consider the fact that things keep changing from inception of a product to its actual sales.

Nevertheless, if the Microsoft Moonraker was indeed a real device which looked this, it would certainly face a lot of competition from the second generation of Android Wear devices. Microsoft would have to release a rather significant product if it wishes to make an impact in the smartwatch space. Releasing a me-too product might result in a déjà vu à la Zune.

What do you think of the Microsoft Moonraker? If this was indeed a real product, will you think of purchasing it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!