Microsoft has rolled out a significant update to its Xbox Music app on iOS and Android, although it stopped short of relaunching them under the new "Groove" branding, which the company recently unveiled.
The update brings a range of improvements, including the addition of support for music streaming from OneDrive cloud storage. This functionality was previously made available only for Xbox Music on Windows 8.1.
The updated app for iOS and Android has also dropped the requirement for an Xbox Music Pass.
Microsoft"s release notes for the update, available on the iOS app listing, detail the changes that the company has rolled out to Xbox Music:
- You no longer need Xbox Music Pass to use the app! (Certain features still require it)
- Music in your OneDrive music folder now appears as part of your collection
- In addition to playlists, you can now download individual songs and albums for offline use
- Filter your music to see just what"s available offline
- Various bug fixes
Despite these improvements, the app is still pretty limited on both iOS and Android compared with the more fully-featured versions available on Windows devices. Still, if you"re happy to work around those limitations, you can grab the updated apps via the links below.
Download Xbox Music: iTunes App Store / Google Play via Thurrott.com