Microsoft"s Xbox consoles are getting new features for some of its media apps this week, making them more suitable as entertainment boxes. First off, the Apple TV app, which debuted alongside the Xbox Series X|S, is getting support for Dolby Vision on the new consoles. That means you can watch compatible content in HDR, provided you have a Dolby Vision compatible TV.
This is in addition to Dolby Atmos support, which is Dolby"s surround sound technology. To enable Dolby Vision, you need to go into Settings -> General -> TV & display options -> Video modes on the console itself. You can then check if a specific show or movie is compatible with Dolby Vision, represented by a small icon in the description page in the Apple TV app. This feature will be available this week.
If you"re more of a podcast fan, the Spotify app is adding support for video podcasts on Xbox consoles, so if you prefer having the added visual context, you can. You can still play the podcasts in the background while playing a game or doing something else, though, and you can also control playback from the Spotify app on your phone.
Finally, Microsoft is highlighting some media apps that were recently released on Xbox. First, there"s discovery+, a streaming service by Discovery that launched earlier this year. Discovery actually recently announced that it"s merging with WarnerMedia, so the future of the app is unknown right now. There"s also Paramount+, a rebranding of CBS All Access, and IMDb TV (originally IMDb Freedive), an ad-supported streaming service by Amazon. Microsoft is also promising even more media apps this summer.