Microsoft has issued an important update for Xbox Series X and Series S consoles that should lessen your electricity consumption and assist the company’s sustainability goals.
The consoles will now be capable of downloading system and game updates while in the Energy Saving mode, which has become the the default mode suggested when users set up their consoles, over the last year.
It follows up on improvements Microsoft has already made to Energy Saving mode, which already consumes 20% less energy than Standby Mode. Until now, Standby Mode has been required to download updates when the console isn’t up and running during normal use.
In today’s update on posted Xbox Wire, the company said: “Last year, we made improvements to the console’s Energy Saver sleep mode. Energy Saver mode consumes about 20 times less power than Standby mode when the console is not being used or receiving updates. Now, system and game updates can be downloaded during Energy Saver mode, further saving energy.
“We also made Energy Saver mode the default option when players initially set up their consoles, which offers a significant opportunity to enable energy savings across the entire Xbox ecosystem.”
If you haven’t enabled Energy Saver mode already, you can head to Settings > Sleep Mode & Startup > Sleep Mode > Energy Saver and save yourself a few quid on your electricity bill.
Microsoft received criticism shortly after the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles went on sale, for not shipping Xbox consoles with Energy Saving mode highlighted as default. The National Resources Defence Council estimated that, as well as wasted energy, the decision could cost gamers around $500 in additional electricity consumption over five years.
Now the company has rectified this and has made Energy Saving mode even more effective, which is good for gamers and the environment. Furthermore, Microsoft said it is investigating enhanced power management strategies for the console, that would lower energy consumption.
Microsoft, as an entire company, has committed to be carbon negativity by 2030 and console hardware, software and cloud improvements are part of that.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
