Microsoft has just started distributing the October 2021 update for its Xbox consoles: here are all the new features it brings with it
Xbox still improves thanks to the October update. The “battle” with Sony PlayStation that Microsoft’s console has been waging for some time now passes also and above all by the details, since the level reached after years of evolution at the highest levels, and the latest update only improves Xbox’s capabilities.
This month’s news are centered on the transition to native 4K resolution of the Xbox Series X dashboard, the combined introduction of night mode and a filter for blue light and better integration of accessibility settings. The new features, as always, have already faced a test phase at Microsoft Insiders, ie developers or users “normal” who have decided to participate in beta testing phases trying out the new preview also to report to Microsoft the presence of bugs or malfunctions that affect the same. Here are all the new features included in the Xbox update for October 2021.
Dashboard 4K on Xbox Series X
Not a substantial change, technically, but the arrival of support for 4K resolution on the Xbox Series X dashboard will make perfectionists breathe a sigh. Until now, in fact, those who had purchased Xbox Series X also for 4K resolution had to accept the fact that the dashboard was not made natively at that resolution, but was “zoomed” starting from Full HD.
This caused a loss of detail to animations, icons and text to those who used Xbox Series X together with a 4K TV, with some components of the dashboard that, if observed carefully, appeared slightly blurry, poorly defined. With the update of October 2021 for Xbox, finally, Microsoft has put a patch: now the dashboard is in 4K so you can see it very well.
Night mode and blue light filter
Another important novelty that comes with the update of October 2021 for Xbox is that which concerns the introduction of the night mode. So now it is possible to adjust the light sources so that they are less annoying in the evening, when the last thing the eye needs is to be stressed with intense lights.
After the update, the user can adjust the brightness of the display but also of the power button on the controller and the intensity of the light emitted by the console.
Specific novelty for Xbox Series X|S that travels in the same “cockpit” of the night mode is the arrival of a customizable filter for blue light. We all know by now that blue light is not good for our eyesight, so we can’t help but welcome the possibility of filtering out the blue/blue rays without affecting the performance or the clips and screenshots captured by the Xbox.
Interesting is the possibility of scheduling the activation of the two novelties – night mode and blue light filter – within a time slot decided by the user or to leave everything to the management software that can take care of activating and deactivating them at sunset and sunrise.
Quick Settings
The latest addition to the October 2021 Xbox update is the ability to quickly access and customize accessibility settings by adding the Quick Settings menu to the Xbox Guide, so you can quickly activate options without leaving the game.