Summary
- Quick Resume gets even better with improved reliability, faster load times, and a new group that organizes your Quick Resume games in one place.
- Passthrough audio gives your media apps the best possible listening experience with your external sound system.
- Starting this month, you can approve multiplayer games for your kids by specific titles – right from the console or using the Xbox Family Settings app on iOS and Android.
Team Xbox looks forward to continuing to find new ways to improve Xbox, including improving the experience and delivering brand new features based on your feedback. This month’s release includes new improvements to the quick resume, pass-through audio for media apps, and more.
New improvements for the quick resume
Quick Resume is a feature that draws on the technical capabilities of the innovative Xbox Velocity architecture in Xbox Series X | S based. You can seamlessly switch between multiple games and immediately resume the game right where you left off. With this update, Quick Resume gets even better, with improved reliability and faster loading times.
We have also made it easier to identify and access games that support them and are saved in Quick Resume. You can see if your current game supports Quick Resume with a new tag. Xbox Series X players | S can also use a new group that lists all the games currently stored in Quick Resume. You can use the group to see which games are ready to start in Quick Resume and start from there. As with other groups, you can add it to Home for quicker access or customize your experience by removing a game from quick resumption status.
Pass-through audio for media apps
Try passthrough to make audio even better on your favorite Xbox Media streaming apps like Disney +, the Apple TV app, Plex, Vudu, and more. Passthrough allows you to bypass the audio decoding of media apps on your compatible HDMI devices on the console for the highest quality listening experience with your external sound system. See the new for usage information Allow passthrough Button on the Xbox audio settings screen. An indicator appears in the guide when you are using a compatible media app with passthrough audio enabled.
Watch game trailers with Xbox Game Pass
Discover your next favorite game on Xbox Series X | S and Xbox One with faster and easier access to Spotlight trailers for games in the Xbox Game Pass library. Now, game titles that are in the spotlight of the Game Pass hub will play trailers when you focus on them. This means fewer clicks for you when previewing the latest and greatest additions to Game Pass. To play the trailers with audio, click on the tiles.
New dynamic background – Motes
For the launch of the Xbox Series X | S the team added dynamic backgrounds. This new feature allows you to customize your home screen with movement and color. This month we are offering the new “Motes” pattern. The new dynamic background from Motes can be found in the settings > General > personalization > My background > Dynamic background
Ask a Parent: Multiplayer by Title
Last fall we did Xbox Family Settings app Free on iOS and Android, and keep releasing feature updates to give families easy tools to help them manage their kids’ games. Starting this month, you will be able to approve multiplayer games – where you can play and communicate with other players – on specific titles directly from your console or in the Xbox Family Settings app. If your child wants to play a particular game in multiplayer but is blocked by family settings, they can send a request to unlock multiplayer for that game only. You will receive a notification on the Xbox Family Settings app with the option to learn more about the game and then decide whether to approve your child’s request. Any family organizer in your family group can remove the game from the approved list from your phone or console at any time.
The Xbox app for Android and iOS just keeps getting better
Last month we added leaderboards to the Xbox app on Android and iOS. This month we’re building the experience by releasing a few more updates. First, stay connected with a new push notification that lets you know when your favorite friends are online. We’re also updating the Game Achievements pages to add game stats, including “Play Time”. Finally, reliability is incredibly important to us, and we’re happy to announce that we’ve made some changes that will improve the performance of your Chats tab loading and sending messages in the app.
Smart Glass App for PC
The Xbox One SmartGlass app for PC will go under from June this year. This means that the SmartGlass app will be removed from the Microsoft Store and there will be no further updates for those who have already downloaded the app on their devices. You can still use the Xbox app for Windows 10 PCs to discover and download new games with Xbox Game Pass, see what your friends are playing, and chat with them on PC, mobile, and Xbox consoles.
Help shape the future of Xbox
Stay up to date with Xbox Wire for future updates and the latest and greatest Xbox news. For more information on Xbox updates, see support.xbox.com.
If you want to help shape the future of Xbox and get access to early features, download the Xbox Insider Hub on your Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, or Windows 10 PC today. Let us know what you think – we are always listening!
