Xbox 360 owners can already use voice commands with a Kinect (albeit with mixed results). Arguably, the biggest flaw in its current state is that the software can only recognize specific commands, and not natural human lingo. In addition to Blu-ray support and supposedly requiring an Internet connection, sources tell The Verge the next Xbox will have a sophisticated voice recognition system that's not too dissimilar to Siri on the iPhone.
According to The Verge's report, Microsoft's next console will "support wake on voice, natural language controls, and speech-to-text." The software will reportedly allow users to ask things such as "What are my friends playing?" and it'll bring up a friends list. The text-to-speech recognition will presumably make it easier to compose messages. The tech blog also says Microsoft may even use a Kinect sensor to "detect individuals in a room and suggest appropriate multiplayer games after a user queries the Xbox using voice."
The next Xbox is rumored to have an "AMD eight-core x64 1.6GHz CPU, a D3D11.x 800MHz graphics solution and 8GB of DRR3 RAM" reports EDGE. Microsoft is widely expected to announce its next console at E3 this June (why else would Larry Hyrb, Microsoft's Director of Programming put up a countdown timer?), with a release expected by the end of the year. Sony's tentatively titled PlayStation 4, which will reportedly be detailed on February 20 and launch in the U.S. and Japan by the end of the year will likely go head-to-head with the next Xbox.
To date, most rumors have focused on the hardware in the next Xbox, but what about the software? Speaking to IGN former Microsoft executive Joachim Kempin says:
"There’s no doubt about it, it’s going to be more Windows 8-like; maybe it even gets a touchscreen, who knows? Most of what’s in there today really is Windows, right? I wouldn’t be surprised if the next round of interface comes even closer to Windows 8 than it is today.”
We'll know more in a few months, but if there's one thing we would love to see (but probably won't) in the next Xbox, it's the company's Illumiroom concept that extends the TV's screen onto a room's walls.
Via The Verge
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