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Exciting new feature may come to future Apple TVs

Published Mar 12th, 2014 7:15PM EDT
Fourth-gen Apple TV Specs and Release Date

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New Apple job listings uncovered by AppleInsider reveal that the company is looking to fill several positions in its Camera Software team, with some of the listings mentioning for the first time ever the Apple TV alongside other Apple products that already have cameras. These new job listings seem to suggest that Apple may be soon bringing Kinect-like gesture-based controls to future Apple TV iterations and/or to its future television set that’s reportedly in the making.

“The Camera Software team provides the media and graphics foundation across all of Apple’s innovative products, including iPhone, iPad, apple TV, iPod, iTunes, and Mac OS. Combining cutting-edge software techniques with next-generation hardware, the Camera Software team takes the media experience to the next level,” says the job summary of a “Camera Tuning Framework Engineer” job posting dated December 19, 2013.

Apple has been recently rumored to prepare the launch of a brand new Apple TV model, which could be unveiled in April, although it’s not clear what new features the device would offer and whether the upcoming Apple TV generation would include any camera-based user interface elements.

However, there’s more evidence that suggests Apple may soon offer users a way to interact with some Apple devices by using gestures and motion, in a similar manner as the Xbox Kinect does: Apple has purchased PrimeSense last year, the original Kinect creator, whose technology may be used in future Apple TV and iTV devices.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.