Microsoft has a big hardware lineup this holiday season, including the release of upcoming 4K-capable Xbox One X console and five Windows Mixed Reality headsets.
Leading up to these product launches, Microsoft is rolling out the new Xbox One Fall update, which is now available to all users.
With it, Xbox One owners will be able to take advantage of a number of improvements made to the user interface, notification system and more.
Home
Microsoft says it wants to let Xbox One owners personalize their systems “more than ever before.”
Using new “blocks,” which are tiles for different games and apps, users will be able to better customize their Xbox One Home screens. Favourite games, friends, Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass-related subscriptions and software and more can be placed prominently on the Home screen with block and be later removed or re-ordered as desired.
In addition to the blocks, you’ll be able to Pin up to 40 of their favourite content to appear on the Home screen. Pins will also now have their own designated block.
Content searching can be found directly at the top of the Home screen to make it more easy to discover new friends, leaderboards, tips and more. All of this can be viewed overtop new dark, light and high-contrast background theme options, which can be applied in Settings.
Guide
- According to Microsoft, the new update makes Guide “fast, powerful and convenient” in the following ways:
The left thumb stick and/or bumpers can be used to navigate left and right more quickly and easily - When Guide is brought up during an active party or broadcast, the Xbox One will automatically open the related party or broadcast option by default
- A new flyout called “Friends in games” will inform you of any friends playing the same game
- Game invites will show up in the dedicated Multiplayer tab of the Guide
- The multiplayer tab of Guide now has a new Tournaments section for easier managing of community competitions you’ve joined in
Keeping you informed
- When the Xbox One is idle, enhanced notification system will make time-sensitive activities and statuses larger and more prominent, so they’re visible from far away
- Screen-dimming functionality has been updated to better prevent screen burn-in
- Redesigned Game Hub Welcome tab now features a summary of all the great content around the selected title on one page
- Profiles now enable faster access to recent activity through the “Others can see your activity feed” privacy setting
- New Community feed shows content from other players, such as game screen shots and video clips
- A new Xbox Assist App will offer personalized tips and help, smart notifications, community tips, and troubleshooting
Mixer
Microsoft’s Mixer streaming service has also received a few new changes. Among other additions, the Mixer tab on the dashboard will now display broadcast previews to see what a stream is about before going. As well, a USB webcam can now be used to broadcast yourself alongside your gameplay on Mixer or to have a 1:1 or group video chat with friends on Skype.
Prepare for the Xbox One X
Finally, Microsoft’s blog post offered a few tips for anyone upgrading from the regular Xbox One to the beefier Xbox One X console. The tech giant suggest backing up games to an external hard drive to let you play your current games on the Xbox One X right away.
Games that are improved by the Xbox One X in terms of resolution or frame rate, marked as “Enhanced” titles, will be able to be easily found in the Xbox Store. As well, developers will be able to optimize game delivery by ensuring that 4K assets in game updates are only installed on the Xbox One X.
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