Microsoft to launch smartwatch 'within weeks' - report

Microsoft's wearable timepiece will have two-day battery life, according to Forbes

Microsoft is set to steal Apple's thunder by launching a smartwatch in time for the lucrative holiday season, say reports.

According to Forbes, Microsoft will launch its wearable timepiece "within the next few weeks", meaning it will be available well ahead of the recently unveiled Apple Watch.

According to the article, Microsoft's smartwatch will passively track a wearer's heart rate and will work across different mobile platforms.

A rumoured battery life of more than two days of regular use would put it ahead of Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch and Moto 360.

It would also mean Microsoft gets its foot in the door ahead of Apple, which revealed this month that it will not launch its hotly anticipated Apple Watch until early next year.

According to Canalys the wearable band market boomed by 684 per cent, year on year, in the first half of 2014.