Rumor: Apple Acquires PrimeSense, of Microsoft Kinect Fame - PC Magazine

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• November 17, 2013 03:09pm EST

If you've been paying attention to potential Apple acquisitions, then you might already have a clue about today's news. We've previously reported that Apple has allegedly been eyeing the creators of the tech behind of Microsoft's Kinect sensor, Israeli firm PrimeSense, for a potential acquisition. And as we previously noted, it's been expected that, should the deal go through, it would have cost Apple roughly $280 to $300 million for the move.
According to the latest tech gossip, Apple has allegedly gone ahead and finalized the acquisition, and it's expected that the two companies will announce the purchase within the next two weeks or so. The acquisition also allegedly comes with a larger price tag than what was previously expected – a final cost of around $345 million.
As one might expect, PrimeSense isn't discussing the rumored news.
"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," said a PrimeSense representative, as reported by Reuters. "We do not comment on what any of our partners, customers or potential customers are doing and we do not relate to rumors or recycled rumors."
So, what does this mean for Apple?
First up, it appears as if Apple has been trying to make this deal work for a bit of time now. Earlier rumors had Apple offering $280 million to acquire the company around July or so of this year.
Should today's rumors be true, than it's expected that Apple will work to somehow integrate PrimeSense's sensors in its devices somehow. As for how that integration might work, that's the big question mark at this point.
It's easy to dream up some kind of Kinect-Apple hybrid, where one's front-facing cameras in a laptop (or tablet? Or smartphone?) could be used to map hand motions to actions within the operating system. In other words, moving Apple's gestures out of the 2D space and into the 3D. Better still, perhaps one could ultimately navigate some kind of three-dimensional interface just by waving all frantically at one's device – a silly, but possible application of PrimeSense's technology.
It's also possible that 3D recognition could come to the oft-rumored Apple TV – as in, the physical television that everyone seems to suspect Apple has been working on – or perhaps a wearable device like the equally rumored iWatch.
If this sounds like a ton of idle speculation, it is. PrimeSense's technology is used in a wide range of devices, so it's a bit difficult to narrow down exactly what Apple might do with the 3D-scanning technology should the acquisition rumors ring true.