Microsoft is launching a new app in preview that is specifically designed to help parents and guardians monitor their children's gaming sessions on the Xbox.
Microsoft’s new Xbox Family Settings app helps parents keep tabs on their kids’ gaming
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Microsoft’s video game streaming service xCloud launches for iOS in a limited capacity
It has been a bit of a wait, but Microsoft is finally bringing its video game streaming service, xCloud, to iOS devices.
Microsoft is bringing Xbox party chat to iPhone
Software giant Microsoft is planning to bring Xbox party chat functionality to its iPhone app, and you can test the official beta right now ahead of its official debut.
Microsoft officially discontinues Xbox’s motion-sensing Kinect add-on
In a rather astonishing turn of evens, Microsoft is officially discontinuing Kinect.
Xbox One is getting Cortana soon
Microsoft's personal digital assistant Cortana is coming to the Xbox One console with an forthcoming software update for the console, the Windows giant revealed this morning. Cortona is currently available on Windows as an integrated feature and on iOS and Android devices as a standalone app.
Cortana for Xbox One will let players find new games, see what their friends are doing, start a party, perform common tasks and even turn on the console with their voice.
Microsoft said to be considering smaller Xbox to compete with Apple TV
Microsoft is said to be once again looking to create a device that would go head-to-head with the Apple TV and similar products. Citing internal sources, veteran blogger Brad Sams reports (via Business Insider) that the company is considering plans for a "lightweight Xbox One."
The smaller console would feature access to a variety of streaming services, and be capable of playing games from Microsoft's Windows store. Sams believes the device, if it materializes, will launch in the second half of 2016 with a much lower price point than existing Xbox models.
Xbox One SmartGlass app now lets you record game clips and more
Less than two weeks following an update which has enabled Xbox One owners to install games on their console remotely, using their iOS device, the Windows giant Microsoft today pushed another update adding nearly a dozen cool new features.
For starters, the free iPhone and iPad application now allows you to record game clips remotely, too.
And in a series of social improvements, the app now lets players share and post activity feed items and post status updates to their activity feed, as well as browse through their activity feed directly on their profile page.
Xbox One SmartGlass now lets you install Xbox games remotely, live TV streaming due soon
Software giant Microsoft today pushed a nice little update to its Xbox One companion app for the iPhone and iPad, SmartGlass.
Version 2.8 is now available in the App Store, providing a handy new feature letting you buy and install Xbox games and other content remotely, from your iOS device.
Moreover, the application now supports in-app browsing of new and popular games, add-ons and bundles.
You can even rate your favorite Xbox game clips and activity feed entries, as well as view shared Activity Feed and Game Clips — all within the app. And in a future SmartGlass update due later this year, Microsoft will add ability to stream live TV locally to your iPhone or iPad...
Xbox One SmartGlass app is now your universal remote for TV and cable boxes
Microsoft's Xbox One companion app, SmartGlass, has been bumped to version 2.5 earlier today, bringing out a handful of new features that improve your living room experience and interactions with the console itself.
Most importantly, the app now features a remote control functionality similar to Apple's free Remote software. But as Microsoft's console lets you hook up a cable or satellite box to it, you can now basically channel surf from across the room using your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.
The update is now live in the App Store and I have a full list of features for your right after the break...
Skype makes group video calling free on OS X, Windows and Xbox One, coming soon to iOS
One-on-one video calls have always been free on Skype and now the Microsoft-owned communication platform is making the group video calling feature, unveiled in 2010, available free of charge to desktop users running OS X or Microsoft Windows, with no expiration date, as well as to owners of the Xbox One console which has Skype deeply integrated.
Up until now, group video calling used to be limited to Skype's Premium users on Windows desktop and Mac, which costs $4.99 for a day pass or $8.99 per month. Microsoft has said it will make the feature free on all platforms "in the future"...
Microsoft to make it easier to add Xbox Live functionality to iOS games
Software maker Microsoft last November released its companion free SmartGlass app on the App Store, giving Xbox One owners a way to connect to their console to browse the web, navigate the dashboard control content, access achievements and more, all from their iPhone and iPad devices.
But Microsoft isn't standing still.
According to a new report by The Verge, the Redmond giant is now looking to push the Xbox Live service cross-platform "in a big way" soon. For months now, Microsoft has been offering tools allowing third-party iOS and Android developers to integrate Xbox Live functionality into their apps and games.
But as games developers balked at Microsoft's required certification process, the company is now looking to "win back"Â their support by making Xbox Live "a lot easier" to integrate into apps and games...
YouTube’s iOS app can send videos to Xbox One
Google's recent tightening of YouTube restrictions in respect to third-party clients has not sat well with Microsoft, whose unofficial YouTube client for Windows Phone is barebones again - as in, it's been reduced to an icon which launches into the mobile YouTube interface at m.youtube.com. Remarkably enough, the Xbox One console is a different story.
The Redmond-based Windows giant announced yesterday that the Xbox One will include YouTube when it launches tomorrow, Friday 22. It will be an actual app, not a glorified web page and it seems Apple users will be able to send videos from YouTube for iPhone and iPad directly to the console...