Say Goodbye to Snap Mode
Do you use the Snap Mode feature on your Xbox One? No? Neither do we and nor do many others apparently. Last November, Microsoft was toying around with the idea of removing the Snap Mode for Xbox One. Now it appears like that will be the case moving forward.
Xbox Platform head Mike Ybarra tweeted that the removal of Snap Mode is to improve speed, reduce memory use, and to free up resources for “bigger things” in the future.
We replaced Snap to improve multitasking, reduce memory use, improve overall speed, and free up resources going forward for bigger things.
— Mike Ybarra (@XboxQwik) January 24, 2017
Last November, our friends at Windows Central (WC) received information that Microsoft was experimenting with picture-in-picture functionality for apps like OneGuide that currently allows you to snap your TV, taking up a quarter of your screen’s real estate. Using information WC received, they speculated that in the future, Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps would be able to overlay existing games and apps. We have already begun to see elements of this with Cortana, Beam, and the new Achievement guide. For instance, Cortana can be positioned anywhere on the screen. Additionally, Beam chat overlays can also be positioned at will.
We don’t know when (or even if) third-party UWP developers will be able to leverage these new overlay features, but it appears it won’t be long.
If you’re a fan of snapping TV or other apps on your Xbox, picture-in-picture should step in to replace snap mode in the future.
One thing remains certain, Xbox is relentless with its improvements of the console and its features. We will continue to share more info as we receive it.