Finally, there’s some clarity for Xbox One owners who have been wondering when system updates will start arriving to improve basic features that took a step back from the Xbox 360 when the new console launched in November 2013. The next major Xbox One update arrives on February 11, according to a new Xbox Wire post from Marc Whitten, and it brings a handful of new features to the machine. These include (copied directly from the XBW post, emphasis included):
- The ability to see and manage your storage space. With this update, you will find it easy to find how much space your content takes up and better manage your content. You can also control your install lineup and more easily manage your download queue. We’ve separated My Games and My Apps into separate lists, so you can easily create separate queues for both. Now you can pick the order in which you want your content to load and we’ve added a boot progress indicator so you can better track updates while they load.
- The battery power indicator is back! You can see it right on the home screen, so you can easily track how much battery life is left on your controller.
- And, you will be able to use your USB keyboard with your Xbox One.
The post goes on to say that a number of other features will be added with the update, with more to be revealed “in the coming weeks.” Being that February 11 is next week, the “coming weeks” remark likely refers to features in future updates.
Another system update will follow on March 4 in preparation for the launch of Titanfall. It sounds like this one will contain more of the sorts of changes fans have been hoping to see – “party and multiplayer systems,” the post reads – but specifics aren’t detailed. Titanfall then launches on March 11.
These are promising words, but we’ll have to wait and see what each update brings, and how the console performs once the new features are in place. The Xbox One proved itself to be a strong console right at launch in terms of raw power, but many features that were considered standard on the Xbox 360 are notable in their absence. Microsoft has recognized this shortcoming and promised to address it in the past, and these two updates appear to be the first steps in that direction.
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