Microsoft Xbox One Update Brings New Features to Game Hubs, Controller, Party Chat and TV [Video]
On Thursday, Xbox Wire announced its first system update of 2015 that include a treasure trove of updates to the Xbox One controller, plus improved Party Chat and new TV features, such as trending to OneGuide.
Each update is described below.
Xbox One Controller Update
The update provides fixes for the Xbox One controller disconnect issues. It previously took the Xbox One about four to five seconds to power on a controller -- now, it will only take about two seconds.
Xbox One Game Hubs
The game hubs will give you interesting content and tips for your favorite video game titles. Every Xbox One game will have its own game hub where you can also see the coolest game clips and broadcasts, plus see which friends are playing the game and compete with them in game leaderboards.
On the hub activity feed, game developers can share lots of interesting information with anyone who follows the game, like news on upcoming updates, behind the scenes content, featured game trailers and more. If you follow a game hub, the activity feed content will show up in your activity feed.
Xbox One Party Chat Updates
New icons have been added so you can see the current status of a chat connection in your party. A Clock icon means the connection is being made. A Squawker Ring icon indicates the connection was successful and actively shows who is speaking. An X icon means that networking limitations (such as a Strict NAT) are preventing the chat connection from completing for specific participants.
There are also connectivity improvements in partial mesh situations when multiple participants are behind moderate or strict NATs with their home gateways and routers.
Party and game invites are enhanced so you can see which friend is inviting you and what the invite is for without having to wait for the scrolling text on the notification.
It now takes less time to set up a person-to-person (P2P) connection for party chat.
Xbox One TV Trending in OneGuide
As you scan the OneGuide TV listings, a "Trending on Xbox" or "Trending on Twitter" note and icon shows you what's trending with details for each show. Currently, "Trending on Xbox" is available to Xbox One owners in the U.S., United Kingdom and Canada. Twitter trending is only available in the U.S.
Lastly, the update allows you to use custom backgrounds and tile transparency. Tile transparency, which has been added to the Home tiles, will make your background images more visible. It's important to note that some images that cannot be made transparent because of usage restrictions.
To start using the improved features, you can force the update from the Xbox One system settings menu.
Fellow Xbox One owners overseas are getting updates as well. Xbox One users in Spain, the U.K., France, Italy and Germany are getting live streaming TV via SmartGlass to Android and Windows devices.
Xbox One users in Mexico, Brazil, France and Germany are getting expanded Trending TV.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com