Microsoft Kinect Technology Almost Belonged to Apple

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Another close call? Apple could’ve clinched the deal with yet another breakthrough interface technology. But because of Apple legalese and perhaps a nuanced corporate culture, the designers of Kinect’s motion-sensing technology backed out. They went, instead, to Microsoft. The rest, as they say, is history.

At the heart of Kinect is a technology developed by PrimeSense, an Israeli company that had designed and developed an inexpensive chip that can do 3D “vision” for machines. When the company was shopping for companies to sell the technology to, Apple was the first one the developers tried to approach. It seemed the natural progression: Apple had focused on developing multi-touch technology (and even trademarked the term!), and a touch-free interface would even be cooler.

However, as many would be aware, Apple is fond of a lot of legalese, including NDAs, and an obsession to secrecy. These tend to stifle the freedom of developers, and so PrimeSense thought they’d rather talk to other companies.

And so PrimeSense shopped further, and ended up with Microsoft. And now, the Kinect is poised to sell like hotcakes.