Microsoft Band, the company’s first entry into wearable technology, is coming to the UK on 15 April and can be pre-ordered for £169.99.

Its retail partners in the UK include Amazon, Harrods, and O2.

The company is also partnering with Amazon, Best Buy and Target in the US to “expand its presence in the US retail channel,” while Microsoft stores in the US, where the Bands have been exclusively available until now, will “receive larger shipments than before, on a more regular basis”.

“The UK is a mature mobile market and we’ve seen research that suggests an estimated 7 million people are already using fitness-focused wearable devices in the UK, with that number expected to nearly double by the end of 2015,” wrote Matt Barlow, general manager of new devices, in a blog post.

“All of this makes the UK a natural next step for the introduction of Microsoft Health and Microsoft Band,” he added.

Barlow said that in February Microsoft added a web dashboard that features new health and fitness observations and more detailed charts for viewing data, in response to customer feedback.

It also added biking functionality and introduced the Microsoft Band SDK Developer Preview.

Microsoft launched the $199 Band as part of a wider healthcare push from the US giant back in October.