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Original Kinect for Windows sensor sales to end in 2015

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In October, we shipped the public release of the Kinect for Windows v2 sensor and its software development kit (SDK 2.0). The availability of the v2 sensor and SDK 2.0 means that we will be phasing out the sale of the original Kinect for Windows sensor in 2015.

The move to v2 marks the next stage in our journey toward more natural human computing. The new sensor provides a host of new and improved features, including enhanced body tracking, greater depth fidelity, full 1080p high-definition video, new active infrared capabilities, and an expanded field of view. Likewise, SDK 2.0 offers scores of updates and enhancements, not the least of which is the ability to create and publish Kinect-enabled apps in the Windows Store. At the same time that we publicly released the v2 sensor and its SDK, we also announced the availability of the Kinect Adapter for Windows, which lets developers create Kinect for Windows applications by using a Kinect for Xbox One sensor. The response of the developer community to Kinect v2 has been tremendous: every day, we see amazing apps built on the capabilities of the new sensor and SDK, and since we released the public beta of SDK 2.0 in July, the community has been telling us that porting their original solutions over to v2 is smoother and faster than expected.

The original Kinect for Windows sensor was a milestone achievement in the world of natural human computing. It allowed developers to create solutions that broke through the old barriers of mouse and keyboard interactions, opening up entirely new commercial experiences in multiple industries, including retail, education, healthcare, education, and manufacturing. The original Kinect let preschoolers play educational games by simply moving their arms; it coached patients through physical rehabilitation; it gave shoppers new ways to engage with merchandise and even try on clothes. The list of innovative solutions powered by the original Kinect for Windows goes on and on.

We hope everyone will embrace the latest Kinect technology as soon as possible, but we understand that some business customers have commitments to the original sensor and SDK. If you’re one of them and need a significant number of original Kinect for Windows sensors, please contact us as soon as possible. We will do our best to fill your orders, but no more original sensors will be manufactured after the current stock sells out.

All of us on the Kinect for Windows team are grateful to all of you in the community who jumped on this technology and showed us what it could do. We know that your proven track record doing great things with the original technology will only get better with v2—the improvements in quality from the original Kinect for Windows sensor to the v2 device are truly immense. And so, we’re cheered by the prospect of seeing all the amazing solutions you’ll create with the new and improved Kinect for Windows.

The Kinect for Windows Team

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Comments

  • Anonymous
    December 30, 2014
    open source Microsoft.Kinect and Microsoft.Kinect.Input.

  • Anonymous
    December 30, 2014
    Please make the Kinect v2 adapter available in India. It is surprising that though India has lots of developers, Microsoft is not selling a simple product like adapter! How can you encourage more developers from India to develop something for Kinect? Strange!

  • Anonymous
    December 31, 2014
    Hello Ravi, We will continue to bring Kinect for Windows to as many markets as possible and appreciate your patience. To be informed when the Kinect Adapter for Windows becomes available in India, kindly email k4w@microsoft.com and ask to be added to the list. Thank you!