SmartGlass was unveiled during Microsoft’s 2012 E3 presentation in Los Angeles. The service allows users to connect to their Xbox 360 in a variety of ways through their smartphones, tablets, and PCs. However, it was introduced late into the Xbox 360's lifecycle, something that impacted performance and features.
The Xbox One has been built with SmartGlass in mind, so we can expect a lot of improvements not just in performance, but new features to take advantage of the platform. Here’s what we can look forward to.
Ron Pessner is a general manager on Xbox Live and also happens to lead the engineering team responsible for the new SmartGlass. He recently sat down with Xbox Wire to reveal some details about the upcoming changes and additions to SmartGlass. Here are some of the exciting changes coming:
- Xbox One SmartGlass will be a separate app from the Xbox 360 version.
- Xbox One SmartGlass will be available for Windows 8, Windows Phone, Android, and iOS devices later this holiday
- Connection, speed and performance are 3.5x faster on Xbox One vs. Xbox 360
- Up to 16 SmartGlass devices can be connected to a single Xbox One
- Xbox One Smartglass will now connect directly to Xbox One via Wi-Fi or LAN connection
- Developers can offer Game Help for games through SmartGlass
The article on Xbox Wire goes into more details on the new SmartGlass experience coming this fall. It’s worth reading and the link is below, but we’ll highlight a few of the more interesting features. For example, when you’re away from your Xbox One that SmartGlass app can function as the dashboard. Here you’ll be able to see what your friends are playing, pin games to your home, and much more. While it doesn’t explicitly say this in the post, it’s not hard to imagine a world where you’ll download games to your Xbox One from the SmartGlass app when you’re not home.
What do you think of some of the upcoming changes to SmartGlass and the Xbox One?
Source: Xbox Wire
