Windows Phone 8 has been out on the market for roughly over a year, but now Microsoft is infusing some fresh blood in the form of official Xbox Video and Music apps.
The new Xbox Video app, which is already available in the Windows Phone Store, brings back the ability to purchase and stream movies and TV shows from the Xbox Network. Rented or bought media can also be downloaded to a handset for offline viewing.
Users that have already bought into Microsoft's video service will instantly have access to their library even if they purchased it on another device. So far, Xbox-ers and Windows 8 users have been able to access the Microsoft video channel on Desktops, the Xbox One, and Xbox 360, as well as a recently launched Xbox Video website.
Similar to the Xbox Video website, the new phone app is missing HD playback, which is only available on consoles and Windows 8 PCs. The Windows Phone 8 app comes just a month after the OS maker announced it was killing video support for Windows Phone 7 devices.
There's music, too
In another long-time-coming software released, the Xbox Music app also slid its way into the Windows Phone Store.
Although Windows Phone 8 already comes with a built-in app, this separate version touts more features, including editable playlists and sync support for radio stations.
According to The Verge, Microsoft promises more features are coming, and the current Xbox Music app release is only a preview.
On a similar note, TechRadar reported December 17 about the expected changes that the inevitable Windows Phone 8.1 update will bring next year. Although mentions of the Xbox Music and Video apps were included, it seems Microsoft has decided to roll these out as separate updates for now.
