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Microsoft's new Kinect will be coming to Windows

Microsoft's new Kinect will be coming to Windows

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Kinect Xbox One 560
Kinect Xbox One 560

Along with the Xbox One, Microsoft also announced a new Kinect today — and it appears the updated motion-tracking system will be coming to Windows PCs just like its predecessor. Shacknews reports that Scott Evans, Microsoft's Kinect program manager, confirmed that the device will be coming to PCs. While no date was provided, Evans did state that "We will have more information soon." The new Kinect features an array of improvements over the original, including the ability to detect a player's heart rate.

The trickle-down from the Xbox to PCs shouldn't come as a complete surprise. After first making its debut as an Xbox 360 peripheral, Kinect for Windows landed in early 2012. Kinect has been at the forefront of many Windows demos and projects ever since. Microsoft's Craig Mundie said this past March that the company even envisions a future when Kinect cameras are built directly into laptops and tablets themselves, opening up an array of interactive possibilities. Of course, that reality is likely still off in the distance — the new Xbox One and Kinect bundle isn't shipping until later this year, and if Microsoft follows its earlier pattern the Windows version would arrive months after that. Still, we can't help but get excited knowing that Redmond is continuing to push forward on this particular front — both with hardware and software.