iPhone 6 Release Date Update: Kinect-Like Killer Feature Confirmed as Apple Reportedly Acquires Technology from Israel?
A gaming-ready iPhone 6 on release date with gesture-detecting sensors similar to that of Xbox's Kinect controller? This has become a looming reality as Apple reportedly bought the company responsible for the technology.
Israeli chipmaker PrimeSense is now part of Apple's portfolio, according to a new report from Reuters. The firm specialises in manufacturing three-dimensional sensors that make their way to home appliances and mobile devices - leading to possibilities that gesture control will soon be seen on Apple TV, iPads and iPhones, specifically the next-generation makes.
The deal amounted to $345 million, said the same Reuters report, pointing to Hebrew financial publication Calcalist as its source.
PrimeSense made names as the creator of the 3D-sensing technology that Microsoft has deployed with the Xbox 360, CNET said in a report. Kinect-like capabilities are also used by other advanced devices like 3D scanners with imprints of PrimeSense written all over them, added the report.
And the likelihood is, the technology will migrate from Microsoft to Apple starting next year, although the tech giant has not confirmed anything. The same goes for PrimeSense.
"We do not comment on what any of our partners, customers or potential customers are doing and we do not relate to rumours or recycled rumours," Reuters reported the company's representative as saying.
It appears that for now, the PrimeSense purchase or the inclusion of gesture-control functions to future Apple devices are treated as mere speculations.
However, these cool features are for real as the company hinted that "we are focused on building a prosperous company while bringing 3D sensing and natural interaction to the mass market in a variety of markets such as interactive living room and mobile devices."
While the acquisition is probably more geared on planned enhancements for the Apple TV, per reports by Engadget, advancements in motion sensors are already part of the iOS devices as attested by the inclusion of the M7 processing chip via the iPhone 5S, analysts said.
But with PrimeSense joining Apple's growing family, the feature's configuration in the gaming environment is becoming more defined. It should be noted too that the recent reengineering works on iOS 7 involve gaming integration from within the platform codes to compatible accessories for iPhones and iPads.
And with the iPhone 6 supposedly gaining radical improvements - inside and out - its likely peripheral function as a gaming companion isn't too remote at all.
On its release date, rumoured for July 2014 at the earliest, the iPhone 6 is said to sport a screen size of 5.5-inch (or 4.7-inch) with the whole Liquidmetal body coated in sapphire and powered by an A8 CPU with 64-bit computing capabilities and working in tandem with up to 4GB of RAM.