Beam Streaming Comes to All with Xbox One March Update – New Guide, Better Cortana Support Also in the Mix

Microsoft March Update for the Xbox One adds the ability for all owners to take advantage of Beam streaming. There’s also the small matter of a the user interface being revamped with speed and feature access as a focus.

The update gives us a new Guide. The Guide redesign focuses on making features you’re most likely to need/want available “at your fingertips.” Music playback control is now embedded directly within the Guide. Take a look at the video below.

Capturing gameplay is also much easier through more options in the GameDVR menu, and screenshots and videos can be captured with a single button press. There’s a new achievements tracker, which allows you to overlay multiple tracked achievements as you play each game. Cortana can also be added as an overlay while you play to carry out a range of tasks including setting reminders and accessing Party controls.

Other features introduced as part of the update include Copilot, an accessibility feature allowing two controllers to act as one, Magnifier and Navigator have also been enhanced, and audio and rumble settings have been unlocked for all controllers, not just the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller.

There is even a new feature for parents, the Xbox One now supports screen time limits just like Windows 10 offers.