All this time we thought, or rather we were told, the Xbox One’s Kinect sensor has its own onboard processor. Well we were wrong.
According to Engadget this morning, Microsoft has admitted to Eurogamer that the new, cheaper Kinectless Xbox One has “up to 10 percent additional GPU performance,” simply by virtue of system resources that no longer have to be reserved for the motion-sensing peripheral.
Does this mean that owners of the original Xbox One can get less screen-tearing in Titanfall simply by unplugging Kinect? Actually it probably could, because a future SDK will enable a boost for game developers who are happy to sacrifice access to the “natural interface” in favor of better performance.
In any case, Microsoft’s initial justification for regarding Kinect as an “essential and integrated” part of Xbox One is starting to wear pretty thin.
Source: Engadget