Microsoft today made three major OneDrive announcements centered on photos. The Xbox One is getting new photo views, Windows Phone users are getting automatic high-resolution photo uploads, and all OneDrive users in the US can now print their snaps at Walgreens.
First up, the OneDrive app for Xbox One can now be accessed by simply saying “Xbox, Go to OneDrive.” The command will take you straight to your most recent photos.
To see your pictures from across all your folders organized by time and date, just like the “All Photos” view at OneDrive.com, you just have to select “more” at the bottom. You can then jump from month-to-month and start a slide show once you’ve found what you’re looking for.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
Microsoft is reminding Xbox One owners that an Xbox Live Gold Subscription will no longer be required to use OneDrive. This change will come into effect this month as part of the June Update.
Next up, the Windows Phone 8.1 update will allow high-resolution photos to be automatically backed up to OneDrive. You can turn this feature off, but if you’re worried about losing access to all your wonderful photography, you’ll probably want to keep this one on.
Last but not least, OneDrive users in the US can now print photos from OneDrive.com directly to their local Walgreens. To print your photos (or those that someone else has shared with you), just select the ones you want on OneDrive.com, click Manage, choose Order Prints, and then specify the size as well as quantity you want.
Microsoft promises they’ll be ready for pickup from your local Walgreens in about an hour. To promote the new integration, Walgreens is offering a 25 percent discount on all orders from OneDrive through December 31, 2014: use the coupon code “ONEDRIVE” during checkout.
Focusing on photos is part of the cloud storage game. Microsoft and its competitors are well-aware that photos are the main use case in the market, so pushing features specifically for them is simply a requirement if you want to stay relevant.
See also – Microsoft SkyDrive becomes OneDrive, gets camera backup for Android, real-time co-authoring, and easier video sharing and Microsoft increases OneDrive for Business storage from 25GB to 1TB per user, including for Office 365 ProPlus
Top Image Credit: Microsoft
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.