Xbox One: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know

Microsoft announced the new Xbox today at a media event on their campus in Redmond, Washington. Here’s what you need to know

1. The Xbox One Will Dominate Your TV

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The Xbox One will be the center of your television experience, from what we could tell after Microsoft’s Xbox One announcement. Here’s what the company said about TV on the Xbox One:

TV on Xbox One.[1] Navigate and watch live TV from your cable, telco or satellite set-top box through your Xbox One. Microsoft is committed to bringing live TV through various solutions to all the markets where Xbox One will be available.[3]


2. The Xbox One Will Be Voice Powered

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Yusuf Mehdi introduced the Xbox One and showed that it would be voice powered and have voice recognition. The console turned on only when Mehdi said “Xbox, On.” You and also command the Xbox to turn on the TV by saying “Xbox, TV.”


3. It Will Have A Brand New Kinect

xbox one kinect
The new Kinect will have 1080p, a camera you can use with Skype, and can detect not only a slight movement in your wrist, but can detect your heartbeat too. You can also control the Xbox using gestures; just by simply swiping, grabbing, and dragging your fingers and hands. The Kinect is also not optional: it’ll come with every Xbox One shipped.

From Microsoft’s press release:

The completely redesigned, revolutionary 1080p Kinect is more precise, more responsive and more intuitive. Its unparalleled vision, motion and voice technology let you reach into games and entertainment like never before by dramatically expanding its field of view and fidelity. It works in nearly any lighting condition, recognizes precise motion control from a slight wrist rotation, and distinguishes your voice even in a noisy room using advanced noise isolation.


4. The Xbox One will have “Instant Switching”

XBox One Photos: Pics of the new XBOX Latest Images
You could easily switch between live TV and your games and different apps but simply commanding the Xbox One to “go to Internet Explorer” or “go to games.”


5. It Will Have Skype As Well

xbox live
It makes sense that Skype will be on the Xbox One, since both Xbox and Skype are both owned by Microsoft. But, you’ll now be able to do group video conferences while still watching TV. Also brand new to Skype on Xbox One: HD video-conferencing, which will work through the newly updated Kinect.

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6. The Xbox One will have “Snap Mode”

xbox one snap mode
Snap mode lets you pin the TV to the side while you could search the Internet or use other apps while you continue watching TV. You can now Skype with your friends while watching live TV or track your fantasy team while watching your favorite teams.


7. Xbox Live Got a Huge Update Too

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Xbox Live will now 300,000 servers — more than the entire world’s computing power in 1999. All of your data — movies, TV, games, apps, music, and more — will be stored on Microsoft’s servers on the cloud. It’ll also have a new Game DVR features; so that you can easily record and share clips of you dominating in Call of Duty.


8. The Xbox One is Now A Home Entertainment System

x box one home screen
It’s clear that Microsoft is trying to change the home entertainment ecosystem. The first feature they discussed in the announcement today was about television and interactive features for live TV. Clearly, this is more than a video game console. Microsoft even acknowledges the concept in its press release, referring to the Xbox One as an “entertainment console” as opposed to a “video game console.”


9. Xbox One Partnered Up with ESPN

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ESPN will now show fantasy stats on the side when you’re using the Xbox One. If one of your player’s score, a notification will pop up on the side and show you how your players are doing.


10. The Specs are Insane

XBox One Photos: Pics of the new XBOX Latest Images
The Xbox One will have 8 GB, a number of USB ports, Blu-Ray player, and will have a “practically silent operation.” It will have three operating systems: the Xbox one, a Windows 8 kernel, and a third OS that will act as a glue between the two. This should help switching between apps, TV, and games much easier.