Xbox February update focuses on environment, Google Home

And in doing so, slightly contradicts itself.

The Xbox February update is rolling out to consoles and slightly contradicts itself with a push to an energy saving mode at the same time it introduces improvements to Google Home functionality that won’t work in said environmentally-friendly mode.

First, Microsoft is spruiking what it calls “carbon aware” game downloads and updates through an energy saving mode — we’ve detailed what that means here.

“You can choose what works best for you and adjust your settings at any time,” Microsoft said in a statement today. “Shutdown (energy saving) cuts power use by up to 20x when it’s off compared to the Sleep power option.”

The update strangely adds additional Google Home functionality so you can use the app as a controller if needed. Google Home and Google Assistant also let you use voice commands to turn the console on and off alongside media playback and volume control, but those bits of functionality mean you cannot put your console into energy saving mode. Instead, you’ll need to use the sleep mode, which draws far more power.

While the Google Home stuff may be a little helpful in the short-term, we’d recommend you bypass the functionality and do your bit to save the environment (and your wallet in terms of your power bill).