Apple has confirmed that it has acquired PrimeSense, the company responsible for the technology behind the original Xbox Kinect system.
While Apple has not directly made such a claim, the manner of one of the company’s recent brush-offs has spoken volumes on the matter.
When confronted with rumours about the acquisition, which we reported on last week, Apple gave AllThingsD the following canned statement: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”
This is the standard comment that Apple provides when one of its acquisition deals has been rumbled, and is as good as a confirmation.
The deal itself is said to be worth $360 million, and apparently marks the end of months of deliberation between Apple and the Israeli company.
PrimeSense develops technology capable of sensing three dimensional scenes, and one of its products powered Microsoft’s first Xbox Kinect. The Xbox 360 peripheral tracked body movements, allowing you to navigate menus and control games without a controller.
For the Xbox One, however, Microsoft opted to build its own Kinect 2.0 device.
PrimeSense, for its part, has been working on miniaturising its technology for mobile devices, raising the possibility of a future motion-controlled (or at least motion-sensitive) iPhone.
A more grounded usage for the technology would be in Apple’s much-rumoured iTV, which is believed to be an extremely intuitive smart TV set. Motion controls would certainly help remove that complex remote control from the equation.
Next, read our Xbox One vs PS4 comparison.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
