One of the reasons that the Apple Watch is one of the best smartwatches out there is that there simply isn’t very much competition because of how new the market is. According to some recently deleted Tumblr blog, Nokia was working on a potential Apple Watch competitor of its own before Microsoft acquired the company’s handset division and cancelled the smartwatch project, which went by the name “Moonraker.”
The Apple Watch has its flaws, but it’s definitely one of the best smartwatches out there. There aren’t many worthy rivals for it just yet, and a new discovery reveals that Microsoft may have killed an amazing smartwatch project after having inherited it from Nokia. Dubbed the “Moonraker,” the device was shown off in all its glory on a now-deleted Tumblr blog run by a Microsoft design employee, with @evleaks and The Verge confirming the smartwatch isn’t just a fan-made concept, but an actual product that was designed by Nokia. The device was apparently shown off to potential customers at Mobile World Congress last year, and the smartwatch was close to launching alongside the Lumia 930. But Microsoft canceled it right after buying Nokia’s phone business. The images below were made for marketing purposes rather than concept art. Nokia worked with the Metro UI interface when designing the watch, creating apps for email, phone and messages to run on it. Additionally, a camera remote app, as well as Facebook and MixRadio integration, were also built-in.
