Microsoft is reportedly working on 4K webcams for Windows 10 and Xbox One

Looks like Microsoft is hard at work providing its customers with various ways to enhance the experience of using its products. As Thurrot reports, the company is prototyping a few all-new webcams for Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One consoles supporting the Windows Hello security measure which is being advertised as a safer and more personal way to authorize on your Windows 10 devices.

The report suggests that you'll be able to use the webcams for facial recognition when launching your PC or Xbox One, and several models are even supposed to be capable of supporting the 4K resolution. As Thurrot notes, the decision to develop these particular devices serves as the next step in Windows Hello promotion by Microsoft as the feature only works with face recognition on Surface series with built-in cameras for the time being.

There's another side to this story, as the new webcams could bring a bit of Kinect functionality back to Xbox One. If you recall, Kinect allowed for automatic authentication on consoles via face recognition, and this feature might very well return from the dead. This is also a great addition to "couch parties" as your friends won't have to manually log in instead just smiling on the camera and getting right into the action afterwards.

Judging by the sad fate the Kinect devices faced and the Windows Hello integration it is safe to say that the new webcams will be first and foremost developed for the PC and/or laptop users, while the Xbox One owners will likely view these devices as a fun and handy addition to their console experience - but not an obligatory one in any sense. It is also hard to tell if there'll be any actual use for the webcams in-game.

Right now the information is labeled as a rumor so please take this with a grain of salt, but the overall situation seems pretty legit if you ask. Whether or not it turns out to be true, remains to be seen.