Some major additions are coming to the Xbox. Miracast support and streaming TV to other devices are only a few of the highlights. The details are found originally in an extensive post and there are so many that we have a separate article on Xbox One for Windows 10.
One of the most dramatic announcements is that of Miracast support on the Xbox One. According to the post over 2,000 people voted to have this feature added and Microsoft has responded.
“Miracast support will be enabled on Xbox One for preview participants later this week, so you can mirror the experiences on Windows PCs (for example, Surface 2, 3, or 3 Pro; Lenovo X1 carbon; Dell Venue 8), Windows Phone 8, and some Android devices (e.g. Samsung S5, Nexus 7, Motorola Droid) that support non-protected Miracast connections. Try the Wireless Display app to cast photos stored on your phone to your Xbox One, or to stream non-protected video content from your PC to your Xbox.”
This is a major leap when it comes to using the Xbox One as a complete entertainment system. Miracast is as close to a wireless HDMI cable as there is right now. That being said, there’s reason to be cautious of how restricted this will be. Generally speaking Miracast allows you to project your phone, tablet, or computer to another screen but the post specifically mentions photos from your phone and “non-protected video content from your PC.” We’ll have to wait until the app is available next week to see the full range of uses.
There are a range of other SmartGlass updates. Many were brought on by the Xbox Feedback site.
- “Over-the-air TV for the U.S. and Canada”: This lets you see which channels are avaialbe if you are suing the new OTA TV tuner.
- “Power on and off from Xbox One SmartGlass”
- “User-selectable power mode”: This is allows you to make energy saving choices for your Xbox One.
- “Voice messages – The ability to send and receive voice messages from the Xbox One messages app continues in preview this month.”
Additionally the Xbox One has a list of updates surrounding controlling your device.
- “Xbox One Now Playing and media controls – The games and apps you’ve used most recently on your Xbox One are now displayed when you connect the Xbox app to your console. You can also use the Xbox app to pause, fast forward and rewind.
- Live TV streaming and PIP (picture in picture) support – For preview members with an Xbox One Digital TV Tuner (in 16 European countries and Australia) or a Hauppauge 955Q TV Tuner (available in the U.S. or Canada) attached to their Xbox One, you can now stream live TV within your home from your Xbox One to Windows 10 PC running the Xbox app. This feature is also available in Xbox One SmartGlass on Windows 8 PCs, Windows Phone 8, iOS, and Android devices. The OneGuide on mobile devices now also provides PIP (picture in picture) support, so you can continue to stream and watch TV while you are using the OneGuide.
- Xbox controller drivers – The drivers for Xbox controllers are now included with Windows 10, so you no longer have to download and install controller drivers on Windows 10.”
