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Cortana on Xbox One requires Kinect

Cortana on Xbox One requires Kinect

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Microsoft is planning to roll out an updated Xbox One dashboard later this year, and one of the key new features is Cortana integration. While Microsoft didn’t even mention Kinect during its E3 keynote, its console accessory is key to the Cortana experience on Xbox One. In a new promotional video Microsoft says "Kinect required for Cortana speech recognition," but the company isn’t commenting on whether Cortana for Xbox One will be updated in the future to support headsets at a later stage. If you want Cortana on your Xbox One this fall then you’ll need a Kinect if you bought one of the console bundles without the accessory.

The new Xbox One dashboard also includes improvements to speed and performance for the built-in apps, and an entirely new interface. Microsoft is using a slide-in menu to bring features like the friends list, messages, notifications, and even Cortana into view quickly within games. It all looks similar to Windows 10, and that’s because the new update will actually bring Windows 10 to the Xbox One. There’s no exact date on when the Xbox One update will be made available, but it’s scheduled for the fall.

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