Microsoft's Xbox One S and X consoles are getting a new standard power mode and "carbon-aware" downloads to make them more eco-friendly, reducing their carbon footprint.
Users of Microsoft's Xbox may expect to reduce their console's carbon footprint and monthly power costs with an impending system upgrade. Likewise, the consoles' energy-saving standby mode will activate automatically, as Evening Standard reports.
Microsoft's Xbox Series X (black) and series S (white) gaming consoles are displayed at a flagship store of SK Telecom in Seoul on November 10, 2020.
Reducing Carbon Emissions
The most cutting-edge option for this update, which is a change to the "Shutdown (energy-saving)" setting for Xbox game consoles, is worth discussing.
As long as regional carbon-intensity data is available, it will arrange for game downloads and upgrades to occur when fewer carbon emissions arise because a greater percentage of power originates from lower-carbon sources on the electric grid.
In other words, these are downloads that happen while the device is not being used, usually throughout the night.
A spokeswoman for Xbox told the Evening Standard that the upgrades mentioned in the statement from the Xbox Wire news blog in the US would also be available to console users in the UK.
However, at the moment, this function is exclusive to Xbox Insiders only. They are members of the Xbox Insider Programme, who get early access to Xbox One software upgrades before the general public. Microsoft promises that "soon," the rest of the console owners will be able to test this one out.
As an added bonus, this energy-saving Shutdown mode is said to use up to 20 times less power than the regular Sleep mode.
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Lowering Power Costs
There is already a power-saving shutdown option - built into the Xbox Series S and X consoles - that uses roughly 0.5W of power, as opposed to the 10W-15W used by the regular Sleep mode.
While going to sleep can speed up your console's startup time, keep in mind that doing so will use as much energy as turning on two standard LED lights. The rapid response time of Sleep mode is expected to increase significantly during Active Hours.
Extra-demanding gamers may benefit from this feature since their console will boot up very quickly when they need it, but they will not be wasting power when they are not using it.
Microsoft claims that if people set their game consoles on Shutdown (energy saving) mode for a year, they would save the same amount of carbon as if they planted and let a single tree grow for ten years.
These settings do not modify gamers' console's game-playing capabilities but rather their idle behavior.
Microsoft plans to achieve its goal of being a "carbon-negative, water-positive, and zero-waste company by 2030."
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