Kinect Gestures Dropped with New Xbox One Experience

The New Xbox One Experience, which launches this week, will remove the option to navigate the console's dashboard using Kinect-based gestures, Microsoft has announced.

The feature has been available from the console's launch in November 2013 and enabled Kinect users to control the dashboard using their hands to physically swipe through menus and select options by raising their hand.

Microsoft's Mike Ybarra has however admitted that usage was "very, very low," and thus, the company decided to drop the feature. 

"On gestures, when we looked at the New Xbox One Experience we wanted to prioritize features that customers were asking for, plus areas of improvement from the existing Xbox One UI," Ybarra said in an interview with Windows Central. "Then, we wanted to look at the use-case model of features that take a lot of investment and say, 'is it worth continuing to invest in that area?'

"With gestures, the reality was the usage was very, very low. So for now, we've cut that from the New Xbox One Experience. So when we launch on the 12th, they won't be in the product. We'll continue to monitor and listen to feedback to see if people want them in."

Users will still be able to use gestures in software that supports the feature and search the dashboard via voice commands.

Originally Kinect was bundled with all Xbox One devices, with Microsoft describing the sensor as essential. A Kinect-free Xbox One became available in May 2014 and most recent bundles have not included the sensor. In October, Microsoft executive Mike Nichols claimed the "vast majority" of Xbox One owners still used Kinect, but presumably he was referring to voice inputs.

The New Xbox One Experience introduces an overhauled dashboard said to be 50% faster than the current one and Xbox 360 backward compatibility.