OneDrive gets new photo views on Xbox One and high-res photo uploads on Windows Phone

Microsoft today made some 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.

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.

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.