Microsoft has been on the ball lately with its Xbox One updates. Last month we saw the release of Twitch streaming, an addition that had huge ramifications for the console’s quality of life. This month we get more goodies, most notable of which are alerts for when friends log into Xbox Live.
Here is what the update will include:
- Game and app saves and updates. A game save progress bar will show you the status of your game saves. You will also be able to easily tell what games and apps are being updated or have been updated recently.
- Friends improvements. Notifications will be added to see when favorites and friends sign in to Xbox Live. This was one of the most frequently requested features, so we made it a priority to include it in this update. Also, friends who are in multiplayer will be identified in the friends list.
- Kinect voice and motion improvements will continue to be fine-tuned for quality and reliability of Xbox One commands. For example, we’ve updated some of the gesture functionality to reduce false positives on non-hand objects triggering gesture commands.
- Improved GameDVR video quality through compression algorithm improvements.
- Blu-ray player supports 50 Hz video output for content recorded at 50 Hz. We’ll also be updating the Blu-ray Player app in the coming days to round out these improvements.
- Controller and headset adaptor firmware updates will reduce audio static and improve wireless connectivity.
- Silent reboot after system updates and system update on demand now available. If your console is in Instant On mode, the update will happen automatically and return to standby upon completion. This means you won’t need to power on your console after an update moving forward. If you want to take future updates when available without waiting for your console to do it on its own, we’ve added this option under system settings and you’ll be able to use it next update. It will only show as available when there is an update to take.
While the friend notifications are receiving the most attention from Xbox gamers, the improvements to Kinect and improved GameDVR video quality are big ticket items, too. Making voice commands as reliable as possible is something that could really validate the Kinect.
To install the update make sure that Instant-On Mode is enabled on your device. The update will install automatically.
