Update: Xbox One Spring Update Coming Later This Week
How your Xbox One experience will change with the spring update.
[Update] Microsoft has confirmed that the first half of the Xbox One spring update has been delayed. Originally supposed to be released today, Microsoft is now saying that the update will land at some point this week.
We've heard a lot of rumors about hardware updates for the Xbox One but how about some legitimate information on the kind of software improvements Microsoft plans to make in the coming months? Microsoft today announced that its spring update for Xbox will actually be split into two segments. One of these is going to arrive this month, while the second will come a month later, in March. So what can users expect from these updates?
February
February’s update will hit your console in less than one week. Come February 11, you’ll be able to see and manage your storage space as well as control your install lineup and download queue. This means you can shift things around based on your preferences and what you want to play first. You can also create separate queues for My Games and My Apps because the spring update will see them separated into two lists.
Microsoft has also added a boot progress indicator to make the tracking of updates that little bit clearer.
It’s handy to know how much juice is left in your controller. A quick glance at the home screen will tell you just that thanks to the return of the power indicator.
Lastly, you’ll be able to use your USB keyboard with your Xbox One, a functionality that hasn’t been available up until now.
March
Microsoft hasn’t offered much in the way of information regarding the March update. Scheduled to arrive on March 11, we assume more details will become available once the February update is rolled out across all consoles.
Still, we do know that it will bring preparation for the launch of Titanfall. Microsoft is calling it the biggest game launch of the year, so no surprise it wants users' consoles to be prepared when the time comes. As a result, the March update is going to improve and add features for party and multiplayer games.
Read more: Xbox One Review
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So, wait, let me get this straight: so now I can see how much storage space my Xboner has, I can create "playlists" of my games, and how much power is left in my controller?
So... all features that have been around pretty much since the dawn of computers? These aren't features, they're basic essentials. This is the equivalent to bringing food and a tent when you go hiking."Xboner: Now with power indicator and storage limit display!"
And it still doesn't have USB storage support? WTF, MS?
Admittedly, I've been eyeing a PS4 since the announcement, so maybe I'm just out of the loop with Xboner, but the more I hear about it the worse it sounds.
My real guess on what REALLY happened with Xboner is that they weren't ready to launch, hadn't finished the OS, hadn't even finalized the hardware spec and got completely blind-sided by Sony. I've heard rumors from a pretty solid source that 2015 was the target launch date and that the Xboner had been pretty much set on the sidelines in terms of R&D until they got wind in February of last year that Sony was about to announce the PS4. Supposedly, there was no internal budget to continue development.
At this point, even a real feature upgrade isn't anywhere near enough to justify paying $500 for this over the hardware-superior PS4. Even if we add on the PS Eye, the price still makes more sense. It's not even a decision; both systems will have Titanfall, which is supposed to be the biggest game launch of the year. Think about it, MS fanboys who are also PC gamers: would you spend $500 on a weaker PC that did EXACTLY the same thing, only in a worse way? No.
PS - HEY, TOM'S - Your site is still removing spacing and formatting when using the comments form in Chrome and on mobile Safari.
I personally am waiting on a couple of things I'd like to see on both the new systems. First off, good USB storage support. I'd like to be able to slap a big 7200RPM drive in an aluminum external enclosure and install games to it. Second, backwards compatibility. I don't care if it's the rumored upcoming streaming... something is better than nothing. I won't use it for FPS. Offline emulation seems out of reach for the current units, so short of an add-on module, steaming is the best we'll get.
Oh, and I have seen issues with spacing/formatting on Opera too. So maybe it's Webkit-related, Chrome still has a lot of Webkit code, being a fork and all.
This isn't zero-day, and I'm a PC gamer. But because of that, I'm smart enough to see how much more superior PS4 hardware is.
I realized this came off as arrogant; what I meant was because of PC hardware knowledge, it's clear to me which system has superior hardware; it's a matter of technical specifications, not opinion.
I personally am waiting on a couple of things I'd like to see on both the new systems. First off, good USB storage support. I'd like to be able to slap a big 7200RPM drive in an aluminum external enclosure and install games to it. Second, backwards compatibility. I don't care if it's the rumored upcoming streaming... something is better than nothing. I won't use it for FPS. Offline emulation seems out of reach for the current units, so short of an add-on module, steaming is the best we'll get.
Oh, and I have seen issues with spacing/formatting on Opera too. So maybe it's Webkit-related, Chrome still has a lot of Webkit code, being a fork and all.
Yeah, but download queue control is again a pretty basic option. It was also available on PS3, and could be done, though in a clumsy way on 360, too.
Also, on another note, I was wrong - I was thinking of Destiny, for some reason. That said, I'll be playing Titanfall on PC, anyway.
What, if anything at all, is superior on the Xboner? (and yes, I'm going to keep calling it that forever)
People seem to still have the same mentality from 360 vs. PS3 that carried over: PS3 games aren't as good or better, even with superior hardware because the system is hard to develop for. This is no longer the case. Development for PS4 is effectively the same as a PC; devs have confirmed that development is simple, even maybe easier than it was on 360.
The hardware is undeniably superior in PS4. It isn't a fanboy opinion. I'm a PC gamer, and I don't own a PS4, just so we're clear. In fact, the last console I owned was a 360, but I've also owned a PS3, both mostly for their exclusives.
When I say it isn't an opinion, that's simply a fact: the hardware in PS4 is more powerful on a technical level than the Xboner, it's literally that simple. Whether devs exploit this capability to the benefit of better games and/or graphics is yet to be seen.
We haven't even seen a true next-gen title yet.
The hate for Xboner is MS-created. They made some bad marketing decisions, ignored popular culture (which would have made it clear that an always-on camera and mic was a terrible idea), eliminated features and then they keep back pedaling on the system's capabilities and calling it "upgrading" or "unlocking" when the reality is that they simply were unprepared.
I'm going to predict right now that within a year or so we see a system revision that updates the hardware to a closer spec of the PS4 and they drop the price on the launch system to $350 while asking $600 for the upgraded version.