Groove Music — formerly Xbox Music — is getting a huge update on smartphones that are running Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system.
Microsoft’s Ellen Kilbourne revealed what Microsoft is calling Groove Music 3.6.1573 late this afternoon on the company’s Answers website. There’s a lot in this update, including some features that we’ve waited for. Others are nice changes that bring the app inline with the version of Groove Music that’s available on Xbox One on regular Windows machines.
By default, Groove Music now shows Recent Plays from across the different Groove Music apps, not just locally. Songs and albums are now sorted by date added too, something that tons of users asked for. Swiping from the left edge of the screen to the right opens up the Menu now. Playlists can be re-ordered by tapping and holding on individual songs. Cortana now understands playing genres with a voice command.
Again, it’s not a bad update at all. Here’s to hoping that Microsoft brings some of these upgrades to its apps on iPhone and Android. Only the Lumia 950, Lumia 950 XL and devices with Windows 10 installed are getting todays update. Microsoft plans to begin upgrading Windows Phone 8.1 devices to Windows 10 sometime in the new year.