The Xbox One’s March 2017 Update adds and removes features in a snap

If your Xbox One home screen looks a little different today, calm down. It’s supposed to be different, thanks to the March Update. (If your console’s menus haven’t changed, you can do a manual update by checking under the settings screen.) The March Update for the Xbox One brings a number of features and usability enhancements such as speedier menus, Beam streaming, and more granular parental controls.

The update also did away with Snap, the previously much-touted ability to multitask by “snapping” an application to the side of the screen while doing something else. Remember the ideal scenario? You could be playing Madden and then Snap the live NFL broadcast through your cable connection to your screen so you wouldn’t miss a thing! Alas, this was back in 2013 when Microsoft’s vision for the Xbox One was still a fusion of TV, gaming, and an all-in-one multimedia hub. Multitasking is much simplified in the new Xbox One strategy.

We’ve added a new achievement tracker that is active based on the game you’re playing, and allows you to select and follow multiple achievements in an overlay, all while you’re playing. Cortana will also appear as an overlay on your screen, allowing you to set reminders and alarms, access Party controls, and play music with simple voice controls.

Goodbye Snap! We hardly knew ye!