Xbox One's August update adds mobile purchases, 3D Blu

MICROSOFT HAS ROLLED OUT its biggest update yet for the Xbox One, which equips the games console with support for remote mobile purchases and 3D Blu-ray playback.

Xbox blogger Major Nelson announced the August update in a blog post on Sunday, promising that the update will be available to all Xbox One systems 'over the next few days'.

He said, 'Today, we will begin rolling out the next Xbox One system update to fans around the world, which will include improved social features to make sharing your gaming experiences with friends better and easier.

'These new features are a result of your invaluable feedback, including some of the most requested features seen on Xbox Feedback.'

Perhaps the most significant addition is 3D Blu-ray support, a feature that arrived on the Sony Playstation 4 ( PS4) games console in an update last month. Another is mobile purchasing, which will allow Xbox One users to buy games and add-ons using the Xbox Smartglass application. If a user's console is set to download updates automatically, they will be able to buy a game while at work, for example, and have it on their console when they get home.

While we can't see that many requested it, Microsoft has also rolled out a bunch of updates to Activity Feed, enabling users to post status updates and comment on other people's posts, while a 'Last seen time in Friends list' feature will show how long it's been since a friend was online.

Microsoft has also added a low battery notification to the Xbox One, which means you'll get a pop-up when your controller is running low on juice.

'Stay tuned for even more new features headed your way in the coming weeks including more social features and a few new updates for watching TV,' Major Nelson concluded, hinting at some of the features that are likely to appear in the September update. µ