Xbox One June Update Features External Storage, Real Name Support and More

Written by Brandon Hofer on May 21, 2014

News: Microsoft has revealed what gamers can expect to receive in the Xbox One June update and there are a few items gamers have wanted for a while.

Major Nelson has just revealed what the Xbox One System Update will have in June and there are a few items that gamers have been requesting for quite a while. External storage support will finally arrive, you will be able to request your friend’s real name so it is easier to identify them on your friends list and more highlight what Microsoft will be rolling out in June. It has been rumored for quite a long time that these features would roll out to coincide with E3 and, fortunately, those rumors turned out to be accurate.

External Storage Support

Microsoft has revealed that once you receive the June update your Xbox One will be able to support up to two external hard drives. I have one 2tb hard drive waiting to be used but if I end up using up all that space over the coming years it is great to know I could buy another one and essentially give my Xbox One 4.5tb of hard drive space (which includes the 500mb internal drive). For these hard drives to work though it appears that the external hard drive must be bigger than 256gb and it has to be USB 3.0. They made no mention of USB 2.0 drives but you would want to use USB 3.0 anyways for the faster transfer rates. All you have to do is plug in your hard drive, allow the Xbox One to format it and then you can copy over games, DLC and apps.

Real Name Support

Once you receive the June update one of the other new features will be the addition of real name support. You can have up to 1,000 friends on Xbox One, however, as you get more friends it can be difficult to remember who each gamertag is which can be troublesome. Now with the real name feature you can see their real name instead of guessing whether that gamertag you are looking at is Mike or John. Microsoft also pointed out that you will be able to share with “all of your friends, a subset of your choosing, friends of friends or none at all.” So you aren’t forced to use this feature but it is there for you if you want to use it which is nice. Apparently your name doesn’t show up in games though but I’m not exactly sure what they mean when they say that. Does that mean your real name won’t show up on leaderboards? Does it mean if I am playing against a friend in Madden I won’t see his real name?

SmartGlass Additions Including Pin Reorganizing

The Xbox One SmartGlass app will also be receiving an update that will give you more functionality as well. The entire OneGuide experience and Universal Remote Control will be coming to SmartGlass. Now, in supported markets, you will be able to view your TV listings on your SmartGlass device and view your favorite channels and app channels on your smart phone, tablet or PC. The Universal Remote will allow you to easily switch channels, set new recordings, control recorded content on your DVR and more.

Finally you will also be able to reorganize your pins with the SmartGlass app. You will now be able to organize your pins in categories or favorites based on your preference and have those changes show up on your console. Other improvements include being able to get a notification on your smart phone, tablet or PC when a favorite friend signs in to Xbox Live or begins broadcasting. With some devices you would even be able to start watching your friend’s broadcast wherever you are.

There are other welcome additions coming with the June Xbox One update including being able to choose an account for automatic sign in on your Xbox One. It seems like June is going to be a big month for Xbox One users as June will also be the first month where Games with Gold will include Xbox One games. What do you think of all of these changes? What do you want to see next? Let us know below.

source: Xbox Wire