“Several sources confirm that Apple is in talks to buy 3-D sensing company PrimeSense, following a report in the Israeli publication Calcalist,” Liz Gannes reports for AllThingsD. “However, those sources stressed that the deal is not yet done, and that its reported valuation would not represent a huge win for investors.”
“Calcalist put the value of the deal at $345 million,” Gannes reports. “Sources said that talks are ‘close’ to complete, but are hung up on end-game issues like liquidity preferences — in other words, who gets paid first. One also said the price could be slightly higher than reported, on the order of $20 million more.”
“PrimeSense was the original supplier for Microsoft’s breakthrough Kinect gaming device, which incorporated cameras and depth sensors so that players could control games with their gestures,” Gannes reports. “But Microsoft used homegrown technology for the new Kinect that is part of Xbox One. The original PrimeSense model was oriented around a large stationary sensor, but the company more recently released a smaller generation, dubbed Capri, better suited for mobile uses. Motion sensing could be valuable for any number of actual and hypothetical Apple products, including wearable devices and televisions.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Ah, it’s mid-July all over again – with a bigger price tag.
Related articles:
Apple in talks to buy Israel-based PrimeSense, company behind Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect, for $200 million – July 16, 2013
Apple’s latest patent is a game-changer for iPad – August 20, 2013
Apple partners with TV industry on ‘grand vision’ – July 18, 2013
Report: Apple could have obtained Kinect technology before Microsoft – November 5, 2010
I’m not sure if I like. The Kinect camera is rumored to send pictures and videos captured with the camera onto Microsoft’s own network. Since the NSA is known for hacking into different Internets and intranets, for national security of course, I just don’t see how this is a good investment for Apple.
Wow, PrimeSense, all right, way to go Apple, make up your own mind, do your own thing, empower yourselves. Gosh that’s such a great secondary benefit that I enjoy from Apple and that’s empowerment.
Way to show those majority of analysts and jouranalysts who make up all sorts of conjectures and directions from their armchair quarterback position to buy some “visible” company instead of doing real research. Heck there was even some loser jouranalyst wannabe a while back that even suggested Apple buy some bran flake, oh sorry, brand from Blackberry. Talk about someone needing to take a purge and figuring Apple needed one too.
Thing is Apple isn’t the one constipated, it’s empowered, the power to do it’s best and it will make up it’s own mind.
All your gramma police belong to us.
… ARE belong to us.
Know your memes!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_your_base_are_belong_to_us
Ah come on, gotta change them every now and then. I’m glad someone got it though. thanks for making me smile.
I meant to add a wink but forgot. 😉
It’s likely Apple is buying PrimeSense for its IP, not its tech. It Apple wants to get into 3D sense tech in the future, it’s good to have ownership of the key tech. Or they could be buying the expertise and engineers.
Apple have already established patents for 3D interaction so this is just like most of the other developments Apple have introduced by adding to their own work particular skills and properties to speed up and add flesh to those internal efforts. Makes sense as this is clearly going to be important in the future. Only fly is that this opportunity was offered to Apple even before the original Connect from MS so seems that this may have been a lost opportunity or even an indication that Apples own efforts haven’t developed as well as hoped and need to be backed up.
Sorry ‘Kinect’ spell check got me there
Anyone able to translate Klingon?
Pretty sure primsesense is supporting a great company called oculus rift vr. I would suggest checking it out, maybe apple is interested in this as well
Not a done deal. However if MS is using home brew for XB1, then it’s possible, the tech has an easy design around. It’s a relatively cheap acquisition. It’s possible Apple will use something from them, but in deed develop something else for themselves. Maybe a very small sensor for the car as indicated or even iPhone or iPad, so you could use it as a 3D remote for Macs, Apple TV whatever the imagination could desire. I say, the purchase is for something we haven’t seen yet.