Kinect-like gestures coming to WP with Nokia McLaren
It all started with the rumors of Nokia Goldfinger, which was supposed to be the first device to introduce the Windows Phone 8.1. It was also said to become Nokia's first smartphone to introduce the 3D Touch gestures - technology Nokia has been working on for years.
Things didn't turn out this way though. Microsoft acquired Nokia Devices, then officially announced the Windows Phone 8.1. The first phones to run it out of the box are the budget Lumia 630 and the flagship Lumia 930, but neither of them features the rumored 3D Touch though.
We almost forgot about the 3D Touch, but apparently trust-worthy sources close to The Verge say the project is still in development under Microsoft supervision and it will be implemented in the company's next flagship.
3D Touch will introduce Kinect-like gestures for touchless control of your phone. The technology leverages on hardware sensors and clever software optimizations and algorithms. One of the key features of the so-called 3D Touch and also known as Real Motion is that you will be able to hover around the display with your finger and get additional information. For example a hover over the Facebook tile will pop up additional smaller floating tiles for quick messaging and phone access. This sounds similar of the Samsung's Air View feature, although we'll have to see the actual implementation to be sure.
The 3D Touch should allow your phone to do various smart transitions such as ending a call once you slip your phone in your pocket, know you face orientation for smart portrait/landscape orientation switching and activating the speakerphone when you place your phone on a table during a call. We are sure Microsoft would love to pushing a Kinect-like experience on its smartphones as it will certainly serve to boost the popularity of its conse.
It seems the rumored Goldfinger won't be happening though, it will remain just as a developer platform. Instead Microsoft will be bringing the codenamed McLaren flagship later this year to all major US carriers.
That should be the first device to show the new tricks Microsoft is prepping for us. There are speculations that (part of) those gestures might become available via the next Windows Phone update, but that's yet to be confirmed.
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