Xbox One February system update rolls out with tile transparency, game hubs, controller update

Microsoft has just began rolling out the Xbox One February system update, the first update of 2015. The update for February brings tons of enhancements and features. First up, Microsoft is updating the Xbox One controller to connect to the console much faster, there is a new Game hubs, Party chat gets updated, the dashboard gets tile transparency, and live TV gets major update.

Xbox One February 2015 system update

Controller improvements:

The firmware update for the wireless controller brings faster connection to Xbox One, reducing the time from four-to-five seconds to two. The wireless controller update also fixes a number of bugs, where controller gets disconnect for no apparent reason.

To update the Xbox One wireless controller, follow these instructions.

Game hubs:

Like your profile, Xbox One games now also have profiles. Game hubs is now the place to get interesting content, tips and tricks for your favorite games. Each game has a hub and you can see which friends are playing the game with leaderboards, clips and Twitch broadcasts, and you can follow the top broadcasters and clip creators.

Getting to a game hub is easy, simply find a game in your pins, recently played list, or My games and apps, then press the Menu button and select View game hub. Basically, you can access a game hub from anywhere, you just need to be able to select the game then press the Menu button and select View game hub.

On the activity feed for the game, developers can also share content with those who follow the game.

Party chat:

In the February Xbox One system update, Microsoft is adding various updates to the party chat including:

Chat connection status to let users know when a connection has been made (clock icon), if the connection is successful (squawker ring), and to show who is actively speaking. The X means network problems.

Also there is an improved connectivity between multiple participants with Strict or Moderate NATs. Game and party invitations to quickly see who is inviting you to what party or game. And there is performance improvements.

Custom backgrounds and tile transparency:

As we previously anticipated, Microsoft is adding tile transparency to the Home tiles that will let you see more of the background image.

TV updates:

There are six updates for the live TV experience included in the February update for Xbox One including:

• TV trending in OneGuide: Now on the OneGuide TV listings, you can see what’s trending with a “Trending on Xbox” or “Trending on Twitter”. Currently this feature is limited to United States, United Kingdom and Canada, and Twitter trending is only available in the U.S.
• Live TV trending: This feature is now expanding to France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico.
• Improved control of TVs, set-top boxes and audio/video receivers: The updates should make the console better to work with different devices, and the IR blasting database has been updated with more model of devices.
• “Trick play” with Xbox One Digital TV Tuner: Where supported (UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain), now users can see video frames when fast-forwarding or rewinding paused TV on Xbox One.
• Live TV streaming on Windows Phone and Android:  Live TV streaming on Windows Phone and Android devices for Xbox One Digital TV Tuner has been added in UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. And OneGuide support has been added to the Netherlands.

Indeed this is one fat update for Xbox One and it’s awesome to see Microsoft keeping fast pace improving its console. The update is rolling out immediately, as such everyone will start seeing the changes gradually.

Source Microsoft