By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
Xbox April Update Adds Refreshed Xbox Search Experience, and More

Xbox April Update Adds Refreshed Xbox Search Experience, and More - News

by William D'Angelo , posted on 12 April 2023 / 2,592 Views

Microsoft and the Xbox team have announced the April 2023 update for Xbox has begun rolling out.

The update adds a refreshed Xbox search experience and the ability to adjust the active hours power setting for the Xbox.

Read the Xbox Wire post below:

Refreshed Xbox Search Experience 

Looking for your next favorite game, movie, and more? You can search for games, entertainment, and apps using the refreshed console search page. This includes a sleek new look, gallery-style results, visible filter categories navigable with RB/LB, the option to “search on YouTube” within the Movies & TV tab, and more. To open the search experience, tap the search button on the top of the dashboard, find the magnifying glass icon within the guide, or press Y on your controller anywhere within the console UI. 

Adjustable active hours power setting for your Xbox console  

You can adjust your power settings at any time by going to Settings > General > Power options. If you select Shutdown (energy saving), it will help conserve power and enable carbon aware updates on your Xbox. If you select the Sleep power option, you can now adjust active hours to have the console ready to wake up when you’re likely to use it and shut down at the times you select to save energy. When your Xbox’s active hours are done for the day, the console will fully shut down and draw 0.5 watts as compared to 10-15 watts while active.   

With the Xbox April Update, if you have the Sleep power option selected on your Xbox, you can configure your console active hours, which default to “always active” unless you change them. During your selected active hours your Xbox will boot quickly and be available for activities like Remote Play and mobile game installs. 

Help shape the future of Xbox 

Stay tuned to Xbox Wire for future updates and all the latest and greatest Xbox related news. For support related to Xbox updates, visit the official Xbox Support site.

We love hearing from the community, whether you have a suggestion for a new feature that you’d like to see added, or you want to give feedback on existing features that could use some improvement. From game capture and share improvements, new ways to connect with your gaming community, and so much more, we’re always looking for ways to improve Xbox experiences for gamers around the world. If you’d like to help create the future of Xbox and get early access to new features, download the Xbox Insider Hub on your Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, or Windows PC today. Let us know what you think! 

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.


More Articles

5 Comments
Sort by Highest Rated
scrapking (on 12 April 2023)

I wish I could set it to only download and install updates (whether OS or game updates) in the middle of the night, which would be both a carbon improvement and a quality of life improvement for me. But a plain reading of the power options descriptions suggests it's polling for updates all the time.

  • +2
VAMatt scrapking (on 13 April 2023)

How is that a carbon improvement?

  • +4
scrapking VAMatt (on 13 April 2023)

Because where I live 97% of electricity generation is hydro-electric, and the biggest chunk of the remaining 3% is wind. The less electricity I use during peak periods, the more we have to sell to neighbouring jurisdictions (whose power grids aren't nearly as green as ours).

  • +1
VAMatt scrapking (on 13 April 2023)

The time of the electricity use doesn't make any difference though. The electricity is still used, and the relatively dirtiness does not change with the time of day.

It would only make a difference if, for instance, during periods of very high demand they fired up a coal generation facility. Presumably that is not the case though.

  • 0
scrapking VAMatt (on 13 April 2023)

You hit the nail on the head. If during a peak period in a neighbouring jurisdiction they have to fire up a "peaker plant" that runs on hydrocarbons, that's bad. If instead I reduce my usage during that peak period and that neighbouring utility instead buys hydroelectric power that I didn't use? That's better.

My electric utility is virtually 100% renewables, and has nearly limitless power generation capability, but limited power transmission ability. So the less the locals here use peak power, the more the utility can sell elsewhere instead (potentially replacing dirtier power with cleaner electricity).

  • +1