More details and updates will become available in the following weeks regarding the other features that Microsoft is preparing to release, particularly the new interface that will come with the Xbox One Experience.
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The company has an all-you-can-listen subscription service – Xbox Music – but it has barely made a ripple. A menu on the far left side of user’s screen divides activities up into the same categories as the Xbox app for Windows 10. Turned on in 2012, Xbox Music was Microsoft’s attempt to replace its unsuccessful Zune service with a new one that would offer music streaming, storage and purchasing. He also added, “There are no new user-facing features in this release as the team focuses on the New Xbox One Experience that will be available later this year”. It will support Windows devices, Xbox, web apps, Android phones. Polygon wrote that Preview program members will also be able to access the Windows 10 game streaming feature, where Xbox One owners can play their games on Windows 10 PCs and tablets.
Microsoft asks for $9.99/month or $99/year for the service and there is no word on any family plan.
Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, said that Windows 10 is being treated with the utmost importance by them. (Though you can still access your collection easily enough, and browse it by artists, albums, songs and genres.) I am hoping/expecting that with the switchover to Groove, these apps will be updated to look and work more like they do on Windows phones in particular. Otherwise, you can just download the updated Xbox Music app from the Google Play Store to be able to stream your music from OneDrive.
Offline playback is another new feature. They expect to come with 100 titles quite quickly, so that’s really good news.
Microsoft is smart for tryingUnlike Apple, Microsoft has played the introduction of Groove very low-key. Hat tip to The Verge for bringing this to my attention.
That makes sense because the greatest strength for Groove is that it’s already there.
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It’s not a bold strategy, but it’s a sensible one which has worked for the company in the past as it built up on the audience for Internet Explorer, Bing, and other products.
