Microsoft announced today that the May 2015 system update for Xbox One is now available. The update adds voice messages, enhanced SmartGlass functionality and more to the software giant’s premier video game and entertainment console.
“We’re streamlining your gaming experiences even more this time around, whether you’re looking for an easier way to power up the console or connect with distant friends in real time through voice messaging,” Microsoft explains in a blog post announcing the update.
Here’s what’s new.
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Voice messages. Now, you can send and receive voice messages through the Messages app, which can be used in snap mode alongside a game or other app. You can also exchange voice messages between Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles.
Power the console from SmartGlass app on a mobile device. Completing the circle on the enhanced remote control functionality of the Xbox SmartGlas app—available on all your favorite mobile platforms—you can now power the Xbox One console on and off from this app.
Power mode is now user selectable during initial Setup. This won’t impact existing users, but when you set up a new Xbox One now, it will let you choose between two power modes, Instant On (which lets you use “Xbox, On” and other niceties, but uses power when the console is asleep) and Energy Saver, where you will need to manually power up the console like someone from the 1980s.
Party chat with dedicated servers. Available to preview users since March, this feature enables dedicated chat relay servers, which solve NAT traversal issues that prevented some people from being able to use party chat. Availability of this feature isn’t automatic for some reason. Instead, Microsoft is rolling it out over time as it “fine tunes the feature and scales out the servers needed to support” it.
Game on.