Band 2 costs $249 USD or £200. It's available to pre-order now, with an official release date of October 30.
The array of 10 sensors from Band v1 - GPS, heart rate monitor, accelerometer, external and skin temperature and so on - is now bolstered by the addition of a barometer for accurate tracking of height. This means that calorie burn estimates are more accurate when running, cycling or hiking up hills, or just when going up flights of stairs in preference to using the lift.
Cortana updates you on your calorie expenditure - broken down into carbs and fats - throughout the day, if you're on a Windows phone, or you can check into the Microsoft Health app. This also lets you know a suggested recovery time after each workout. Band 2 also functions as a low-level smartwatch, with notifications and a limited number of non-fitness apps - you can summon an Uber cab direct from the Band for instance.
VO2 Max is a useful measure of overall fitness that is usually calculated under lab conditions while breathing through a tube. Band 2 will estimate it via a testing workout, your heartrate and an alogrithm, as a number of rival fitness wearables from the likes of Polar and Garmin already do.
Microsoft really could have tried to make Band 2 look nicer, but it remains a powerful fitness tracker for people who are more serious about getting in shape than your average step-counter user, but maybe below the more 'elite amateur' level. The Guided Workouts feature is great, and overall functionality is impressive.
