With the first day of Spring just a few weeks away, Microsoft has chosen to unveil its feature-heavy Xbox Spring update, which should excite those looking for a more immersive visual or audio experience. Available first for those in the Xbox Insider Alpha Ring program, the Spring update includes more immersive sound options, support for 1440p video output, new features for the built-in Microsoft Edge browser, and more.

We’ve some excellent news for those that listen to their own music playlist on consoles while gaming; players now have the option to balance game audio against background music from within the Guide. Those that prefer their own music over what is found in any given video game can now adjust the volume accordingly, which honestly is pretty flipping fantastic. Additionally, Xbox system sounds on both Home and within the Guide have been reworked to support spatial audio, which means that those rocking surround sound will hear system sounds depending on where they originate from onscreen.

One of the more exciting feature introduced in the Xbox Spring update is the newly announced support for 1440p video output. Both the Xbox One X and the Xbox One S now support 1440p resolution for both games and media, which is a significant step up – over a million and a half more pixels, in fact – from 1080p. 1440p video output raises the bar and establishes itself as the second best video output option below 4K resolution.

Another admittedly less exciting addition to the Xbox Spring update is that of a few new quality of life features for the built-in Microsoft Edge browser. Improvements have been made in regards to Favorites and History, and Microsoft has also implemented the ability to download and upload pictures, music, and videos from Microsoft Edge onto your console. Other miscellaneous quality of life improvements include tab muting, autofill, and read aloud.

Here are the hot points from the other features of the Xbox Spring update:

• Smarter Feeds – Xbox users will be able to sort club feeds and filter out specific content, while also having the ability to disable comments on your feed posts across club, Game Hubs, and Community.
• Open Tournaments – Tournaments are now available directly in Game Hubs, so you don’t have to be a member of a club to start or join a tournament.
• Invite Filtering Tools for Club Owners – Club owners can filter out invitation requests based on specific criteria, such as Gamerscore, reputation, and recommendations from other club members.

So, thoughts on the upcoming Xbox Spring update? What are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!