As energy saving issues are increasingly present today, Xbox tackled the problem head-on to help adapt the consumption of its consoles. He had added improved and customizable power options for all his Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and had implemented an automatic switch to mode Stop and off-peak downloads on standby for the Insiders.
Good news, THE firmware of February has just been deployed and it brings these new energy saving options for everyone! The manufacturer notes that for two consoles using the mode Stop for one year, the carbon equivalent of what a tree absorbs for 10 years is saved. Alternatively, the patch will hide game artwork when browsing theWelcome of your Xboxto use the application Google Home as a touchscreen remote control for your console, and easily find a group chat with friends.
The Xbox team is excited to continue to introduce new ways to improve the Xbox experience, with you at the heart of the decisions, refining it and bringing you new features that take your feedback into account. February system update focuses on Xbox power management, lets you hide game artwork in your Xbox Home, and use the Google Home app to control your Xbox the way you want already doing with your other smart devices.
Xbox is now the first console to offer carbon-conscious downloads and updates
Last month, we told you more about the new sustainability features available to Xbox Insiders. These updates will be available on all Xbox consoles starting today:
- Xbox is now the first console to offer carbon-conscious downloads and updates. When your console is plugged in, connected to the internet, and regional carbon intensity data is available, it will schedule game, app, and system updates at certain times during the nightly maintenance window. This may result in lower carbon emissions, as a higher proportion of electricity comes from low-carbon sources on the power grid. This will reduce dependence on fossil fuels as well as CO2 emissions, and potentially save you money.
- You can choose which power saving settings suit you and change them whenever you want. Shutdown (power saving) mode reduces power consumption up to 20 times compared to Sleep mode. If two consoles went into Shutdown (energy saving) mode for a year, the less carbon would equal the amount removed by a tree grown for 10 years. This finding holds true considering that Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One are in Shut Down (Power Saving) mode an average of 20 hours per day for a year, power saving and carbon emissions avoided may vary by console and other factors. Calculated via the Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator | US EPA.
Hide game artwork when browsing your Xbox Home
Thanks to this new functionality, you will be able to hide the illustrations of the games, which will no longer replace the background of the home when you navigate between your different titles. This will remain the solid color that you have chosen beforehand. To change your background, head to Settings > General > Personalization > My background > Solid color and game type. You can then choose to show or hide the artwork of the games with the option present at the bottom right of this page.
Use the Google Home app as a touchscreen remote for your console
Since 2019, you can control your Xbox by voice with Google Assistant. We’ve teamed up with Google again so you can use the Google Home app as a touchscreen remote for your Xbox. Now when you add your console to your Google Home app, you can turn it on and off, navigate menus, control media playback and more. You can now use the Google Home app to control your Xbox just like you do with your other smart devices.
To get started, launch the Google Home app on your phone. Swipe down to refresh the list of available devices and tap on your Xbox to bring up touch controls. Remote features include: the ability to turn the console on and off, menu navigation, return to home, rewind, play and pause, ability to skip forward or back, change the volume, mute it, and record a video clip of your current game.
Easily find a group chat with your friends
We are currently testing several ways to allow you to quickly join your friends in a group chat that has already been created in the past. Randomly selected users can already try out this feature. To get started, go to the “Groups and conversations” tab, then click on the “Group” or “Group history” button. You will see a list of previously created groups and you can relaunch the one of your choice or create a new one. You can also easily choose the friends you want to invite.
For latecomers, the Xbox Series S is available from €299.39 on Amazon.co.uk.
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