Could Microsoft's rumoured Surface all-in-one PC have a 3D camera?

Microsoft is reportedly working on an all-in-one device under the Surface brand for  Q3 2016 with some rumours that the device will be announced soon.

The rumour states:

The Surface AIO PC is apparently an alternative for Microsoft’s second-generation Surface Book, which will be delayed to the first half of 2017 instead of the original schedule set in the second half of 2016 due to delayed shipments of Intel’s Kaby Lake CPUs, said the sources.

Of course All In One PCs have never been very popular in the Windows world, unlike Apple’s PCs, since Windows users do not tend to see their computers as a form of high-end furniture.

To capture the same kind of high-end and high spending buyers on the Windows end the Surface AIO may need some kind of gimmick. On the Surface it is the detachable keyboard and Windows Hello camera, and we suspect on the All in One side it may be a 3D camera similar to HP’s Sprout AIO PC.

Microsoft Research has shown cheap stereo infra-red cameras and infra-red lights (similar to the Iris scanner in the Lumia 950) plus a reflective pad called Floodlight can produce some very sophisticated data which can replace a touch pad, stylus and finger tracking in 3D.

See this demoed in the 2013 video below:

With Microsoft intent to move beyond the mouse and keyboard paradigm for computing, we think it is very likely Microsoft’s All In One will be more than a screen with built-in PC.

Do our readers agree? Let us know below.