Xbox December Update Adds Feature We've Waited Years For

Xbox gets a major update this December, and one of its new features is something that we’ve waited years for.

Whether it’s the Steam store or the Epic Games Store on PC, the PlayStation and Xbox stores, accessing games and DLC has never been easier than it is today. For starters, each store is easy (mostly) to navigate to find content, and we have the option to store payment details for quick purchases.

What’s more, both the PC and PlayStation platforms have mobile store apps, meaning that we can buy and download content when away from our systems. That being said, Xbox also has a dedicated app. The problem is, you can’t buy anything with it, or at least, that was the case.

Xbox Took Its Sweet Time!

The latest Xbox update went live this week, and it finally includes the long-awaited feature of being able to buy digital content via its official mobile app.

To be honest, it’s quite baffling that Microsoft has taken so long to add this basic feature, but as they say, it’s better late than never.

Up until this point, when it came to accessing games, we were only able to search for them and send the download request to our Xbox console, as long as we already owned the game or if it was on Game Pass.

Furthermore, we can also filter our game searches via the app, such as deals, trending and free games. This may be something seemingly small, but it’s still a much-needed quality of life improvement.

However, that is not all, because the latest Xbox update also brings the option of selecting ‘Bluetooth Low Energy Audio’ mode for the official wireless headset.

This specific addition also includes a high-fidelity audio mode, shared audio across Bluetooth devices (Xbox Preview only), and it can extend battery life. All in all, it’s a subtle but solid update, in my opinion.

Judging by the social media reaction, while many gamers are happy with these recent improvements, there are still some features that are being requested.

“Please have the option to remove Copilot, no one wants to be forced into using AI,” said earthhearterath, replying to the tweet.

“Local cloud streaming in app?” requested FrostzMonkey.

“Any chance of the update going to the original Xbox headset?” replied JohnnyBawesome.

As someone who uses both the PlayStation and Xbox mobile apps every day, while it’s several steps in the right direction, Microsoft still has some catching up to do with Sony in making its app more functional and easier to navigate. But it’s at least getting there, slowly but surely.