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Xbox One April 2014 System Update Starts Rolling Out

Xbox One April 2014 System Update Starts Rolling Out

It's here. Supposedly

Microsoft revealed last night that it has started rolling out the April 2014 System Update for Xbox One. This update adds a number of new features to Microsoft's video game and entertainment console and is the first that was influenced by early-access beta tester feedback.

According to Microsoft, this latest System Update adds the following new features:

Game and app saves and updates. The status of game saves will now be noted by a new game save progress bar that will help you easily tell which games and apps are being updated or have been updated recently.

Friends improvements. The ever-changing Friends interface gets notifications so that you can see when favorites and friends sign in to Xbox Live. (Microsoft says this was one of the most frequently requested features.) Also, friends who are in multiplayer will be identified in the friends list.

Kinect voice and motion improvements. The firm continues to fine-tune Kinect "for quality and reliability of Xbox One commands." Gesture functionality has been updated to reduce false positives on non-hand objects triggering gesture commands, for example.

Improved GameDVR video quality. Thanks to compression algorithm improvements, GameDVR video quality is improved.

Blu-ray player improvements. The Xbox One Blu-ray player now upports 50 Hz video output for content recorded at 50 Hz.

Controller and headset adapter firmware updates. These will reduce audio static and improve wireless connectivity. (You can access the controller updater directly in Settings, System now. I'm not sure when that was added, but the first time I saw that interface was when I installed the Xbox One Stereo Headset.

System update improvements. For those taking advantage of Instant On, Xbox One will now silently reboot after a system update and then return to standby upon completion. Previously, it stopped using Instant On after a system update, which was annoying.

I booted up my Xbox One this morning to see whether the update was available, and rebooted to make sure, but nothing yet. The terse Microsoft statement about this update suggests that it is "rolling out" rather than being made instantly available to everyone at the same time. Which, frankly, is a little weird.

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