Xbox players applaud new update with adjustable active hours power settings – Microsoft News

Microsoft has already shared the details of the Xbox April Update and said it would be rolling out soon. There are just two improvements included in the update, focusing on the Xbox Search experience and power setting. Between the two, however, fans express joy over the latter, praising Microsoft’s decision to help them save energy while allowing them to easily access their devices at specific times.

The update sports the new adjustable active hours power setting for the Xbox console, allowing users to choose and specify their Xbox’s active hours. According to the software company, this will cause the devices to shut down fully and only use 0.5 watts instead of 10 to 15 watts while active.

“If you select the Sleep power option, you can now adjust active hours to have the console ready to wake up when you’re likely to use it and shut down at the times you select to save energy,” Xbox shares in the blog post. “With the Xbox April Update, if you have the Sleep power option selected on your Xbox, you can configure your console active hours, which default to ‘always active’ unless you change them. During your selected active hours your Xbox will boot quickly and be available for activities like Remote Play and mobile game installs.”

Many Xbox customers commended the feature, saying it will help the device save energy while making it possible to wake it up without much fuss during designated hours. 

“This is actually super handy,” said one Xbox player on a Reddit thread. “I like to remote play in the evening, but didn’t like having my Xbox on Instant On all day for energy reasons. The fact I can have it turn off / on at certain times is fantastic.”

“I love the energy saving,” commented another Reddit user. “There’s a huge difference in 10W compared to 0.5W. It’s definitely commendable seeing companies try to make a difference in their carbon output.”

Aside from the new energy settings, the update comes with a new console search experience, which now has a new look. Some of the notable parts of the page include gallery-style results, visible filter categories, and the option to “search on YouTube” in the Movies & TV tab. Despite this UI-related improvement, some fans still voiced the need for a “whole new UI” on the homepage, which has been one of the main concerns of the Xbox community. Recently, the company tested the new “Friends & Community Updates” section on the Home of the Xbox Dashboard. Fans, however, voiced disappointment, stressing there are other areas that need attention. This includes the row of tiles blocking the background wallpaper and the lack of other customization features.