Yesterday the Redmond giant began rolling out its Creators Update to the console, bringing tons of new features and improvements. Among them were changes to the Xbox app, which received Beam notifications on iOS and more. However, the update also did something users typically hate – it removed features. The OneGuide functionality curates TV shows and live channels for console viewing, and the TV remote can control those with ease. Though OneGuide still exists, it no longer supports snapping for live TV. Remote functionality, on the other hand, is gone completely. The iOS update does add some new features, however, bumping the version up to version 1703.324.1309. You can see the full changelog below:
“Get notified when your friends are streaming on Beam Added gamerscore leaderboards Ability to share the gamerscore leaderboard Identify hard-to-earn achievements with achievement rarity If you’re getting several notifications when receiving a message, uninstalling and reinstalling the Xbox app should fix the problem.”
Unfortunately, these improvements probably won’t be enough the allay frustrations about a major feature removal.
The Accessibility Argument
However, It’s worth noting that this could just be a temporary change on Microsoft’s part, but we’ve heard nothing from them so far. The Redmond giant could have plans to bring the features back better than ever, or it could be phasing them out completely. If so, it may go against Microsoft’s core message of accessibility to everyone. The remote is a great alternative to those who have problems with a traditional Xbox controller. Permanent removal would be a very strange move on Microsoft’s part, as it recently introduced new features to the controls. Our hope is a return in later builds. OneGuide is a different issue and relates to the wider removal of Snap Mode across the platform. Those still wanting the feature have been encouraged by Microsoft’s Mike Ybarra to vote for Picture in Picture mode. Though Ybarra says “We’re not planning PiP for TV at this time,” that may change with enough demand.The feature currently has 1,187 votes on UserVoice, making it the highest voted feature. A separate suggestion, “Implement a replacement for snap for the TV/Guide app” is in fourth place with 973 votes. Users argue that is was a “system selling feature” and put the Xbox above other platforms for media streaming. It’s definitely a strange move on Microsoft’s part and hopefully we’ll see a viable replacement soon. Let us know your thoughts below.
