One of the cool features of Kinect is the ability to control Xbox 360 through voice interactions. The only problem is that it isn't all that good.

The system requires users to use specific terms or sayings which appear on the screen, but it can be quicker to use a controller or a remote to find what you want, rather than spending a large amount of time shouting things at your console.

But all of that seems like it is going to change with the next-gen Xbox. Sources have learned that Microsoft has "big plans" for voice interactions on their new console, which will see that the system is improved to support much more "natural" speech recognition. Instead of relying on default commands like "Xbox, Music, Xbox Music", users will be able to ask questions and give instructions like "what's new on Xbox Music?" or "show me my playlists".

The new console is also said to support speech-to-text conversion, which offers a large boost to messaging interaction on the console.

It is also believed that it will allow users to turn the console on using a voice command, which isn't possible on the current-generation of Kinect. It will likely rely on the new Xbox offering a low power standby mode, which will enable the console to respond to boot up on voice command.