Microsoft speeds up Xbox boot times by more than 50% in latest update

Microsoft is speeding up the Xbox Series X boot time, the director of Xbox has confirmed. The latest Xbox console has always featured a faster boot time than its predecessors. However, now, users can boot up their console up to five seconds faster. There is a catch, though, as you’ll need to use the Energy Saver mode to activate it.

Microsoft is upgrading the Xbox Series X boot time

Image source: Microsoft

The Xbox Series X boot time has always been one of Microsoft’s biggest advertising pushes for the latest console. Now, though, the company is looking to make it better. Xbox testers began noticing the faster boot time recently. However, Microsoft didn’t confirm it until last Friday.

Josh Munsee, director of Xbox integrated marketing, tweeted on Friday that the company has improved the boot-up time. Munsee says that Microsoft did this by creating a shorter boot up animation. The new animation is roughly four seconds, whereas the original lasted around nine seconds.

Trimming down the animation has allowed Microsoft to speed up the Xbox Series X boot time by around five seconds. The boot-up was already quick, though. So, the upgrade isn’t as big of a difference between the newer and the older Xbox consoles. But it should still be noticeable if you use your Xbox a lot.

The catch

While the boot-up process has received a speedy upgrade, the difference won’t be apparent unless you’re using the console’s Energy Save mode. Energy Saver completely turns off the console, allowing you to conserve energy. You won’t see the faster boot time if you use Standby Mode, which keeps the console in a low-power state.

The upgrade makes sense for Energy Saver, though. As noted above, Energy Saver turns the console off completely. As such, it used to take longer to turn on than if you kept the console in Standby Mode. But, with so many countries dealing with record heat waves right now, having a quick Xbox Series X boot time from a complete shutdown will be handy.

The upgrade makes Energy Saver even more appealing for gamers. You can conserve energy while still being able to get right to the best Xbox Series X/S games quickly.