Xbox May Update arrives with Stories in the mobile app and a new network feature
The Xbox May Update brings minor tweaks to the Xbox experience.
What you need to know
- The Xbox experience includes the Xbox operating system and all the Xbox apps across mobile, PC, and other devices.
- On Tuesday, Xbox revealed the Xbox May Update, detailing major new features and changes coming soon to the Xbox suite.
- The Xbox mobile app is gaining support for Stories, letting players quickly share gameplay and other posts with their friends.
- Players will also be able to take advantage of QoS Tagging on Xbox, an advanced network feature that aims to improve your online experience.
The Xbox experience encompasses an array of services, apps, and more across Xbox, PC, and mobile devices, and it is regularly updated with new features and changes. May 2022 seemingly won't be the most exciting update for implementing improvements to the Xbox experience, but players will still have a few new features to look forward to throughout this month.
The Xbox May Update is here, and details two improvements heading to Xbox players in the immediate future. For one, the Xbox mobile app is gaining support for Stories, which will allow players to upload game clips, screenshots, or Achievements (alongside captions) to their followers and friends with only a few taps. The Stories will persist for up to 72 hours, and will also appear on players' Activity Feeds.
The Xbox operating system is also improving with the addition of Quality-of-Service (QoS) Tagging. Part of the advanced networking features on Xbox, QoS Tagging labels relevant facets of gaming like online multiplayer, streaming, Party Chat, and more, to take advantage of QoS on supported networks. If your network becomes congested or too busy, QoS Tagging will help ensure your bandwidth-sensitive content maintains priority and isn't affected, even in the middle of the most intense Xbox shooter match.
Xbox didn't detail any other changes, fixes, or new features that may come to Xbox consoles and the wider Xbox experience in the near future, but it's safe to say there's always something in the works. In case you missed it, Xbox also revealed the games coming to Xbox Game Pass in the first half of May and a new "Deep Pink" Xbox Wireless Controller.
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Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.