Xbox One May System Update Out Now, Finally Lets You Send Voice Messages

Another month, another set of Xbox One updates. Headlining this month's list is the much awaited voice messaging feature. It was supposed to show up in last month's update but was held back. At the time Larry 'Major Nelson' Hyrb, Director of Programming for Xbox, in a post on the Xbox Wire site said it was still being fine-tuned.

The May Xbox One May system update began rolling out on Monday. With it, Xbox One and Xbox 360 users can now send and receive voice messages. It is the most requested feature in the Friends and Parties section on the Xbox Feedback site. Tapping "Add audio message..." will let you record and send audio to friends and others through the messages app that's accessed by double tapping the Xbox button. Messages can be sent between the Xbox 360 and Xbox One console as well.

Another feature that's making an appearance is being able to power on and power off your Xbox One via the Xbox One Smartglass app. The app for Windows, Windows Phone, iOS and Android will be updated to let you power your Xbox One on and off when your devices are on the same home network as your console. According to Microsoft, this feature request has over 4,000 votes on the Xbox Feedback site.

Also new is a change to the initial set up of the console that lets users select which power mode they can use. Instant-on enables you to use the "Xbox on" voice command and receive background updates to console, game and app updates. Energy-saving mode is a low power state that requires you to press the Xbox button on your console to start up your Xbox One.With the May Xbox One system software update, Microsoft has also started rolling out dedicated party chat relay servers to solve NAT traversal issues that the firm says had prevented users from being able to use the chat service.

Existing Xbox One users, do think Microsoft has done enough? What else would you like to see from the Xbox One? Let us know in the comments.