The mandatory purchase of the Kinect 2.0 has gained a lot of attention ever since Microsoft announced the Xbox One. For those of us not scared away by all of the rumors, it’s good to know some of the perks you will get from having the Kinect. Here are the facts about your new device that should answer your questions and squash all of the rumors.

Machinery:

The Kinect 2.0 uses a wide-angle time of flight camera. It processes up to 2 gigabits of data per second and has a new active IR sensor. It has a 60% wider vision field and can track a user when they’re as close as 3 feet away from the sensor.

Capabilities:

It can detect up to 6 skeletons at a time along with being able to detect a person’s heartbeat. The Kinect can sense up to 25 individual joints, the rotation of those joints, the weight on each limb and the speed of your movements. When the Kinect functions are enabled, the microphone on the device will stay active at all times (even when the Xbox One is in sleep mode) so it can wake up on command. By the way, YOU CAN DISABLE ALL KINECT FUNCTIONS WHENEVER YOU WANT AND IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PLUGGED IN FOR THE XBOX ONE TO WORK. clears throat Just wanted to clear that rumor up. Anyways, moving on.

It Sounds Creepy…Benefits?

One benefit is the ability to Skype call without being strapped in front of a computer screen. Skype is used for things like long distance calling with family, friends, etc. So it could be cool to show your dad who you haven’t seen in months your room. You can also do video party chat and headphone-free party chat. Voice commands can be pretty useful if you’ve thrown your controller at the TV out of frustration and you don’t feel like getting up to turn it off. It can also be used in the dark which is pretty cool as well.

From a completely different point of view, developers can now freely integrate the Kinect into games for the Xbox One because everyone will have a Kinect. Previously, the Kinect was only used with “Kinect Only” games. This could lead to cooler and more diverse gameplay involving the Kinect.

Conclusion:

If you’re hesitant to get the Xbox One because of the Kinect, hopefully you see that there are some definite advantages to it. If you’re basing your opinion of the Kinect off of the first Kinect, it has been tested and proven that the Kinect 2.0 is substantially better than the first one. Even if you still aren’t sure about the Kinect, I urge you to try it out for yourself. The Xbox One is a great console and the Kinect is a cool feature that comes along with it. Who knows? You might end up liking it.