Microsoft: SmartGlass is three-and-a-half times faster on Xbox One than Xbox 360

SmartGlass, the second-screen application that extends your Xbox game and entertainment experience to your smart device, is said to be three-and-a-half times faster on Xbox One than on Xbox 360. For those unfamiliar, SmartGlass is a free downloadable companion app that allows you to use your smart device (phone, laptop, or tablet) for a variety of Xbox functions, including as a remote to navigate the web on your console, control the volume on your TV, and select a game to play or video to watch.

"SmartGlass is maturing with the evolution of Xbox 360 to Xbox One. Xbox One was designed from the ground up with SmartGlass in mind, and an immediately noticeable difference with Xbox One SmartGlass compared to Xbox 360 SmartGlass is the connection speed and performance," said Xbox LIVE General Manager Ron Pessner, who is also leading the engineering team developing the new SmartGlass.

"On average it only takes about four seconds for SmartGlass to recognize your Xbox One and create an instant connection. Of course, this is based on the speed of your wireless connection, but generally SmartGlass is about three-and-a-half times faster on Xbox One than its Xbox 360 predecessor. And that’s just for your first connection, once you’re synced up, re-connecting will happen even faster," he added.

Pessner explained, "With Xbox 360, SmartGlass had to talk to a datacenter that could be halfway around the world, and the datacenter then relayed commands to your Xbox. That connection from your SmartGlass device to a datacenter and then to your Xbox required extra time to execute. Now, SmartGlass talks directly to your Xbox One over your Wi-Fi or LAN network."

As for how SmartGlass will affect your gaming, it's already been revealed that you'll be able to use the second device as a way to begin matchmaking for a multiplayer session so you won't have to interrupt your action on the big screen. Developers are also using it as an extension to the game world, using it as a way to find new missions or hidden in-game items and locations.

For those of you with an Xbox 360, do you currently use SmartGlass?