Xbox gets six new features! Which one will you appreciate?

Microsoft has delivered a package of six new features to Xbox Series X and Series S consoles. For now, only participants in the Xbox Insider testing program are receiving them; they are expected to reach regular players by the end of the year. One of these features, however, stands out significantly more than the rest.

Remote Play with a Sharper Image

The most significant change is coming to Remote Play, which is streaming games from the console to a phone, computer, or TV. Testers can now try out resolutions up to 1440p and a higher data rate, which should mean a sharper image and smoother gameplay. There’s no extra charge for the feature, but the result naturally depends on the quality of your connection and the device you’re playing on.

Another practical new feature is Voice Clarity — background noise suppression during voice communication. For most games released since 2020, it turns on automatically, but it can be manually disabled.

Downloading While Playing from the Cloud

It’s also practical that the console now continues downloading games in the background, even if you’re currently playing via Xbox Cloud Gaming. This builds on an earlier feature that allowed streaming a game while it was installing — so now you don’t have to wait for everything to download to start playing.

Startup Nostalgia and Improved Search

The rest of the new features are mostly cosmetic, but welcome. You can now set a startup animation for your console — including those from the Xbox One era, and you can also decide whether it should play with sound. You’ll find these settings in the system section. On your profile card, you can now display up to five badges and hide individual items from others.

The search function has also been revamped. The new local tool can now search achievement lists, including your personal history, which will save a fair amount of scrolling for extensive libraries.

Do you use remote play from your console, or do you play exclusively on your TV?

Source: Notebookcheck, Xbox