Snap Mode, the Xbox One’s multitasking feature, may no longer be a part of future dashboard updates on the console.
According to Windows Central, Microsoft is considering implementing a new feature that would replace Snap Mode. The new feature would be a picture-in-picture mode that is apparently more compatible with Universal Windows Platform apps. Snap Mode is based on the Windows 8 dashboard, since it was the operating system in use at the time of the Xbox One’s release in 2013.
Complicating the mode is the fact that Kinect voice commands are crucial in making sure it functions as well as it can, but Microsoft has backpedaled pretty much entirely on Kinect, not only taking it out of the box on all versions of the console, but even removing the Kinect port on the Xbox One S. Since Microsoft seems to be trying to forget the Kinect even exists, it makes sense that they would also replace software features that rely on it.
There are not many details aside from this, but Xbox consoles have been receiving sometimes drastic user interface overhauls since the early days of the Xbox 360, so it would not be out of the ordinary if Microsoft implemented a different multitasking feature. And with Project Scorpio expected to release in fall of next year, it seems appropriate that an all new dashboard would accompany it.