Xbox One September Update Already Rolling Out

Microsoft released another monthly update for the Xbox One on Thursday, August 28. Only, this update is technically referred to as the “September Update” meaning that it is a few days early. Console owners can download it now to check out new features like playing movies from USB devices plus updates to the Party app and the SmartGlass app and more.

Xbox One’s September update is now rolling out with a new media player, Party features & more http://t.co/rXEf2GV2tN http://t.co/ow9XIyCLKK

— Larry Hryb (@majornelson) August 28, 2014

No reason was given for why the September update is being released earlier than anticipated. However, it may have something to do with the console being released to Japan on September 4 followed by a wider China release on September 23. There’s also PAX Prime in Seattle happening this weekend.

The update will download automatically to your Xbox One eventually. If you have to have it now though, go to the console settings app, select “System,” and then click the “System Update” button. If the button is not there yet, it’s because the update has not rolled out to your area yet.

The new Xbox One party app.

Those with Kinect-less Xbox One consoles will be happy to know that you can now record gameplay without trying to figure out how to launch GameDVR with the controller. The new SmartGlass update will allow you to record gameplay without having to switch to a different app.

You can also set your Xbox One to boot straight to the TV app if you’re a TV watcher. There’s plenty of other features too plus the promise of more coming like the ability to stream media straight from a local computer like the Xbox 360.

Here’s the complete list of new features with the September update released in August. A new Media Player app: Play media files from an attached USB device with the new media player app – DNLA support for home media servers coming soon. Xbox One will support more formats than Xbox 360, including support for dozens of new file formats like Mpeg 2 TS, animated gifs and MKV, which will be added by the end of the year.

Party on in the new and improved Party App: Be the leader of your party with the new party leader setting. As the party leader, you can change whether the party requires invitations and you can remove others from the party. The updated app also lets you see what activities everyone in your party is doing and who is playing in the same game with you in addition to being able to quickly perform common actions like muting, joining, or sending game invites.

New features for SmartGlass: You can now post status messages from the Activity Feed and comments, or share items from both your Activity Feed and Game Clips. Along with the new comment and share features, a personalized Activity Feed has been added to your profile and messages have been updated to a new layout supporting a full conversation view. Additionally, we are adding the ability to record game clips directly from the Now Playing bar. Finally, for users who upgrade the app directly, we have introduced a What’s New page highlighting the features of each release.

“Xbox On” capabilities in Australia, Canada (French), Italy, Spain, and Mexico : New regions will have the ability to use the “Xbox On” Kinect voice command to power on their consoles when they’re in connected standby (Instant On) mode.
OneGuide comes to Brazil, Mexico, Austria, and Ireland: The ability to configure live TV listings will be available to all customers in these four countries. Also coming to these markets is the ability to use OneGuide and the Universal Remote Control in SmartGlass.

Boot to TV: Now Xbox One owners will be able to set their console to boot directly to television when coming out of connected standby.

Bandwidth Usage Display: Bandwidth Usage will show users how much bandwidth their Xbox One is consuming over a period of time, a useful tool for those who want to track against bandwidth caps set by ISPs in certain markets.