Universal Windows apps and DirectX 12 are coming to Xbox One

Microsoft's vision of a single ecosystem across all types of devices is getting a little bit closer to reality with universal Windows apps on Xbox One.

The company announced during its Build 2014 conference that developers will be able to port universal Windows apps directly to Xbox One.

These apps will be identical to their Windows counterpart, said Microsoft Executive Vice President of Operating Systems Group Terry Myerson.

That includes Kinect support, of course, and to go along with this announcement Microsoft also unveiled the new Kinect for Windows.

Nothing better

Myerson showed off an Xbox One version of the education app Khan Academy running with Kinect controls.

He described playing Kinect games with his kids and said Microsoft believes this type of interaction is "the future."

"There's no better TV experience out there than Xbox," Myerson said.

DirectX 12 for everyone

Myerson divulged that the Xbox platform is currently being "actively" used on 80 million televisions around the world, and the average Xbox One player uses the console for five hours a day.

He also shared that DirectX technology will arrive not only on Windows PCs, but on Xbox and Windows Phone as well.

"Windows Phone, Windows and Xbox will all have the same graphics in DirectX 12," he said. "It really is phenomenal technology."

He showed off a DirectX 12 demo by Forza developer Turn 10 Studios and Nvidia that he said would never have been possible before.

It's "one graphics technology that scales; one API surface that efficiently takes advantage of all the GPU horsepower you can throw at it without taxing the CPU," Myerson said.

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