7 Exercise Tips How to Stream 'Rabbit Hole' Roblox's AI Efforts 9 Household Items You're Not Cleaning Enough Better Sound on FaceTime Calls 'X-Ray Vision' for AR 9 Signs You Need Glasses When Your Tax Refund Will Arrive
Want CNET to notify you of price drops and the latest stories?
No, thank you
Accept

​Microsoft Band 2 can now last longer on GPS-assisted runs

A new firmware update adds a power-saving mode, albeit with a catch.

microsoft-band-power-saver.jpg

The Microsoft Band 2 does a lot of things, but battery life hasn't been its strong suit. A new software update that hit today might help for those who use the Band 2 with GPS on for outdoor workouts.

According to Microsoft's blog, a new GPS Power Saver mode will extend battery life while GPS tracking is on, for up to 4 hours. But it does this by pinging GPS less frequently, a trick used by other fitness trackers. The problem could end up being less accurate location tracking, although we haven't yet used it.

Regardless, the firmware update and a Microsoft Health app update that adds weight and BMI tracking (provided you manually enter your weight) are available now.