Microsoft announced its Kinect has ceased to be in existence. The demise, however, shouldn’t come as a surprise given that it had already fallen out of favor off late and the announcement can be seen as an official confirmation of what was already being speculated for some time.
That said, the Kinect too had its share of past glories, which even included a slot in the Guinness World Records as the fastest selling consumer device. That was in 2011 and within just a year of its launch in Nov. 2010.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Microsoft Xbox One Kinect Sensor Bar [Xbox One](Renewed) | $37.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Microsoft XBOX 360 Kinect Sensor (Renewed) | $25.88 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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XBOX 360 Microsoft Kinect Sensor Bar Only Black 1414 Wired Motion Sensor Camera (Renewed) | $31.42 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Xbox One Kinect Sensor | $25.17 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Microsoft XBOX 360 Kinect Sensor | $99.51 | Buy on Amazon |
As a whole, over 35 million Kinects has found buyers worldwide so far, which isn’t exactly a bad feat. The Kinect rose to stardom when it was clubbed with the Xbox 350. It easily was one of the first devices, and mighty successful at that too at depth sensing and voice recognition.
However, the same when offered alongside the Xbox One failed to kick off much of an excitement. Microsoft was even forced to offer a base Xbox One version sans the Kinect and at a lower starting price to boost sales of the console.
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- Requires power adapter for Xbox One S and X models (sold separately)
- Put down the controller and play Xbox One games using just your body, voice, and gestures. Command your TV and even make Skype calls in HD.
- Play games where you are the controller, Be recognized and signed-in automatically
- Be recognized and signed-in automatically you can also call friends and family with Skype in HD
- Broadcast gameplay live with picture-in-picture
Also, while the Kinect journey has come to an end, the technology that powered it continues to live and excel. The depth sensing technology has since found application in a myriad other Microsoft products or services.
The Kinect tech has since been used to power Windows Hello that scans the users face for user authentication. Similarly, HoloLens also relies on many of Kinect’s depth sensing tech for its functioning. The latest Windows Mixed Reality headsets too have benefitted from several of Kinect technologies.
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- Does not come with the power cable needed for the original Xbox 360
Meanwhile, the Face ID feature of the Apple iPhone X too can be considered to have been designed along the same line as that of Kinect. However, while Kinect had come to be considered as ungainly over the years, the same on the iPhone X has been reduced to just a small strip along the top that performs the tasks of face scanning before logging in an user.
Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa are now friends
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As such, it will be interesting to see in what other areas Microsoft plans to apply its Kinect technologies or how it plans to build on it further.
Quick Recap
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- Does not come with the power cable needed for the original Xbox 360
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- Command your Xbox and TV with your voice (examples include "Xbox On", "Xbox Watch TV", "Xbox Go to Amazon Instant Video", and more).
- Broadcast gameplay live with picture-in-picture using the Twitch Xbox One app.
- Make Skype calls in HD on your TV using the Kinect.
- Play games where you are the controller and work out smarter with Xbox Fitness.
- Compatible with Xbox One S with Adapter: Kinect for Xbox One is compatible with Xbox One S via the Xbox Kinect Adapter for USB.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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