Slated for Christmas 2013 release, the new gaming console includes manyfeatures that gamers have been excited about, including the Kinect motion-sensor and TV/cable capabilities. Let’s take a look at some of the main features.
Voice control
Although this function was also available for the Xbox 360, the new console’s voice control feature is much smoother and not just limited to turning on video games. The voice control feature also allows special software, namely Skype, to be utilised for online video chats.
Entertainment power
The new Xbox One is built to take over your living room as an alternative to a cable TV or satellite box. Users of the Xbox 360 could connect to HBO Go and Netflix with third-party downloads, but the Xbox One integrates all types of TV sources, and monitors users’ show-watching habits so it can pre-download recommended programming. It can also access online TV schedules so it can be used as a DVR.
Blu-Ray
This was once a main selling-point for Sony’s Playstation 3, but now the Xbox One also plays Blu-Ray discs, so movie images will look much better and very large games won’t need so many disks.
Cloud memory
This is one of the key features being touted by all the next-generation consoles: the ability to store game content and data such as gaming history into online or “cloud” memory. The Xbox One’s cloud can also combine processing power from other networked Xboxes, to improve high-detail game graphics on the fly, for example.
Controller
Two IR sensors on the top of the Xbox One controller interact with the Kinect system, which can sense up to six people in the room (compared to two by the Xbox 360). The controller design has been tweaked slightly with a change in battery pack positioning. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!