Microsoft announced today that the Xbox One will receive its next major system update in April and that beta testers will begin receiving it over the next few days. We can confirm that one of our systems has received the new software patch this morning, so if you’re among the lucky few who participated in the company’s software testing program, you may want to check your console for the update.

As for the April update itself, Xbox One owners can expect the following:

• Game and app saves and updates: This introduces a progress bar that shows the status of your game saves. It also helps track  games as they’re being updated and allows follow which ones have most recently updated.
• Friends improvements: Sign in notifications are now available. Players will receive toast notifications when their friends and favorites sign in to Xbox Live. Microsoft says this was one of the most requested items.
• Kinect voice and motion improvements: No specific details, but the company says it “will continue to fine tune the quality and reliability of Xbox One commands.”
• Improved GameDVR video quality: Game DVR video quality will improve through a new compression algorithm.

In addition to rolling out a new system update to existing software testers, Microsoft says it’s extending its software preview program to more Xbox One owners, so if you didn’t make the cut last time, keep an eye on your Xbox Live inbox for an invitation.

[via Microsoft]