Editorials
3 Xbox One March Update Features to Get You Excited
Microsoft’s Xbox One isn’t all that old. As it launched last year, the console is stuffed full of all of the technology it needs to evolve as users demand for different games and new entertainment features expand. As advanced as the console’s hardware may be, it’s those features added in what Microsoft is referring to as updates that will define the console over time.
Most industry watchers have tended to use the Xbox 360 as the poster child for how important these updates could be to the Xbox One’s future. After all, the Xbox 360 software that launched in 2005 didn’t even allow users to play back video.
A better showcase of how much sway a big feature update can have on the Xbox experience is the upcoming Xbox One March Update. Here are 3 features included in the Xbox One March Update that make using the console even better.
Parties & Friends
Simply put, creating parties in the Xbox One’s current software is a royal pain. Thankfully, Microsoft is addressing user’s complaints straight away. For starters, Party Chat is now enabled by default. That means that users no longer have to find the Party app and then go about their business.
The company has also restored cross-game chat. Originally, the Xbox One software restricted users to chatting with friends playing the same game. Naturally, users wanted the option to chat with their friends regardless of whatever game they’re playing.
Finally, users no longer have to manually enable voice chatting. By default it’s turned on in the Party app. Ahead of Titanfall, the Xbox One’s biggest multiplayer release of the year, these features alone would be worth getting excited about.
Better Compatibility with Other Set-Top Boxes
Users looking to have the Xbox One replace their universal remote control are also in for a treat. With this update, Microsoft is giving users the option to flip a switch that makes the Xbox One’s HDMI pass-through port compatible with 50Hz set-top boxes. In short, expect more users to have less issues pairing their Xbox One with a television set-top box for Live TV.
That’s key as Microsoft wants the Xbox One to act as the go-to device for any kind of entertainment.
Twitch
Much as has been said about Twitch, the online social network and video service that allows users to stream real-time game play directly to their friends. Well, whether users love the idea or hate the idea, Microsoft has rolled a first-class Twitch experience into the Xbox One March Update. Not only will user get the opportunity to stream their Titanfall footage directly from the console in high-definition, it’ll also be ridiculously easy to do so.
Users need only turn to their Xbox One and say, “Xbox, Broadcast” to get a stream to their friends going.
Those are just three of the features users should expect when the Xbox One March Update launches later this month. Microsoft hasn’t shared an exact release date for the Xbox One March Update, however it has said that it plans to roll out the new software before the launch of Titanfall on March 11th.
