Xbox 720 to offer Kinect 2.0 and Blu-ray drive

Xbox 720 to offer Kinect 2.0 and Blu-ray drive, says Xbox World
The next-gen console will come with beefier hardware and a slew of other enhancements, says the magazine.
Lance Whitney  November 19, 2012
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57551679-75/xbox-720-to-offer-kinect-2.0-and-blu-ray-drive-says-xbox-world

Microsoft's Xbox 720 will unveil a new version of Kinect, a Blu-ray drive, and an A/V port for watching and recording broadcast TV, at least according to details leaked by Xbox World.

Promising "next-gen secrets inside," the latest issue of the U.K.-based magazine dug up several reported specs on Microsoft's next console.

First off, the Xbox 720 will introduce Kinect 2.0.

Microsoft has been as publicly mum about the next version of Kinect as it has about all details concerning the new Xbox. But a company document leaked in June touted a higher level of accuracy, stereo imaging, better voice recognition, and the ability to track four players at once.

A Blu-ray drive will also be part of the package, a rumor that's been around for a few years now.

Other features will include directional audio, an input and output for watching and recording TV shows, and an "innovative controller," noted gaming news site ComputerAndVideoGames.com (CVG). Last February, Xbox World said that the redesigned controller would come with a built-in HD touch screen.

Microsoft is also eyeing AR (augmented reality) glasses for the 720 at some future stage.

Codenamed Durango, the new Xbox would be powered by a CPU with "four hardware cores, each divided into four logical cores" and 8GB of RAM.

Dan Dawkins, Xbox World's editor in chief, told CVG that "Xbox World has been at the cutting edge of Durango coverage for over 12 months. Unless something really dramatic changes, everything...will be revealed long before E3 in June."