RIP Kinect: Microsoft stops manufacturing the motion sensing gaming controller
Thursday, October 26, 2017 IST
Microsoft has officially pulled the plug on its motion sensing gaming controller Kinect. Microsoft’s decision to stop manufacturing the depth camera and microphone accessory comes at a time when tech giants are exploring technologies such as 3D depth sensing (on iPhone X).
Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360 became the fastest-selling consumer device back in 2011.
In the years since its debut on Xbox 360, Kinect started becoming popular among hackers looking to create experiences that tracked body movement and sensed depth, The Verge reported on Wednesday.
According to Fast Co Design, Microsoft sold 35 million units of the motion sensing gaming controller since its debut in 2010.
Microsoft even tried to bring Kinect even more mainstream with the Xbox One, but the pricing and features failed to live up to expectations, the report said.
However, despite its failure in the market, the research and hardware that went into building Kinect has helped Microsoft advance its products elsewhere.
“HoloLens uses many of the Kinect technologies for depth-sensing, and many laptops now ship with Windows Hello cameras that use the learnings of Kinect to recognise people’s faces,” the report said.
While Kinect has been discontinued, rival Apple has been working to incorporate Kinect-like technology on its devices. Apple’s latest iPhone X comes with depth-sensing cameras for biometric authentication.
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