Microsoft Band 2 grabs new Heart Rate Zones feature in latest update

Microsoft has pushed out a new firmware update for the Band 2 along with a software update for the Microsoft Health Companion app for Windows Phone users and the new Windows 10 app.

The big new feature is Heart Rate Zones, which many users have asked for since Band 2 was released. In the Announcement Tile it is described like this:

Track your heart rate zones on Band: Improve your workout health with notifications for heart rate zones. When you're at 80% maximum heart rate, the heart rate on Band turns orange. At 90%, it turns red.

Certainly that is a useful feature for those looking to maximize their workouts.

Microsoft Health is bumped to version 2.3.20602 while the firmware is now at 2.0.4737.0.

Additionally, at least according to Supersite for Windows the update does two other things:

1. Fixes a repeat SMS bug for Android users
2. Brings Cortana to Android for the first time

We sync our Band 2 to our Lumia 950 like the Microsoft fans we are so we cannot entirely vouch for the Android feature just yet, but sounds like it could be a big win for those who use the Band 2 with a Google-powered phone.

It's not entirely clear if there are other bug fixes or improvements for Windows Phone users, but we'll keep an eye out on their Update History page for any details. If you find anything, let us know in comments.

Updating the Microsoft Health app for Windows phone and now Windows 10 will trigger the firmware upgrade.

• Download Microsoft Health for Windows 10 PC
• Download Microsoft Health for Windows Phone