To celebrate the anniversary of the Windows 10 launch, Microsoft plans to make some major enhancements to the Xbox One. The first and perhaps biggest enhancement for the Xbox One will come with this year’s big summer update.
According to today’s Microsoft Build conference, all Xbox Ones will become developer kits, enabling people to more easily create games and apps for the console. Microsoft didn’t go into detail about what this meant, but the rumor has been out there since at least last year .
The other two features announced in today’s Microsoft Build conference are geared towards the average consumer.
First, there’s Cortana, the Microsoft answer to Siri. Cortana will be implemented on the Xbox One, though the Kinect will be required in order for Cortana to function correctly. It’s been awhile since Microsoft tried to push the Kinect on its userbase, which proved so unwilling to adopt it. It remains to be seen how useful or wanted the Cortana functionality will be.
Second is the ability to play background music on Xbox One. This functionality is already available on the Playstation 4 via Spotify. Microsoft hasn’t announced whether they’ll partner with an outside company to provide this functionality or if they’ll be creating their own first-party app.
The three additions to the Xbox One are meant to please a diverse range of users, meaning that the summer update should provide enough enhancements that at least one of them will appeal to any given Xbox One owner. It’s unlikely that Microsoft has nothing else up their sleeve, however, so stay tuned for further info from the Microsoft Build conference.
