According to Microsoft, the Xbox One S will not natively support the Kinect. The company will be offering an adapter to Xbox customers free of charge. The new version of the Xbox One was announced at this year’s E3 press conference. On top of it being close to 40 percent smaller and sleeker than its predecessor, the Xbox One S will be capable of playing media, such as Blu-rays and Netflix, in 4K Ultra HD Video. All current Xbox One games and accessories will work on the new console.
Matt Lapens, the General Manager of Xbox Devices Marketing, stated on Xbox Wire that the decision to remove Kinect support was made to decrease the size of the console.
“In order to make the Xbox One S as compact as possible and make all of these updates, we removed the dedicated Kinect port from the back. Kinect for Xbox One will still be compatible with Xbox One S via the Xbox Kinect Adapter for USB connection and offers the same great experiences as the current console. For fans that currently own a Kinect for Xbox One and plan to purchase the Xbox One S, we are offering a free Xbox Kinect Adapter.”
If you are a fan of the Kinect and are interested in carrying it with you into the future, you can visit the Xbox support website to find out how you can order the adapter.
The Xbox One S is set to be released in August of this year.