Microsoft is rolling out an Xbox update that will put the consoles into energy-saving mode by default. It follows criticism about the 'power-hungry' consoles and concerns over rising energy bills.
The update is for Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. It comes after The Verge highlighted fears that the Xbox Series X/S sleep mode (Instant On) could cost an extra £60 a year.
XBox consoles now have a host of new energy-saving settings that mean they turn on when your electricity is cheaper and then turn off when it is more expensive, the Mirror reports. The switch to power-saving shutdown mode is part of an effort by the company to ‘make Xbox the first ‘carbon aware console.’
In an Xbox Wire Blog post, Xbox technical program manager Blaine Hauglie said: “When your console is plugged in, connected to the Internet and regional carbon intensity data is available, Xbox will schedule game, app, and OS updates for your console at specific times during the nightly maintenance window that may result in lower carbon emissions because a higher proportion of electricity is coming from lower-carbon sources on the electric grid.
"For example, instead of your Xbox waking up during the nightly maintenance window at a random time between 2am – 6am, your console will wake up at a time when it can use the most renewable energy in your local energy grid. This decreases fossil fuel dependency and CO2 emissions, and could potentially save you money.”
The blog post adds that Xbox Series X owners will also be able to manually schedule downloads via its new active hours settings. These let you schedule when the console uses its more power-hungry always-on and remote wake features.
When not in active mode, the console will shut down and use only 0.5 watts of power compared to the 10-15 watts while active. With this mode, you could set it up to be active only when you know you will be home or when electricity is cheaper.
Xbox One owners will also have access to the active hours feature, but it will default to ‘always on’ unless changed in the settings. Turning on power-saving shutdown will result in longer boot times for the console.
The changes are available now for members of the Xbox Insiders program and will roll out to all other units later.
