While everyone may be getting hyped for the Xbox Series X, Microsoft is still keeping up with the Xbox One too; the company recently outlined all of the new features coming to the console in the next update, including the redesigned Xbox One dashboard. The big update–Xbox One version 2002–is out for Insiders now, and for everyone else, it’ll be coming in February.
The redesigned dashboard was actually revealed back in a July 2019 update, but it has undergone multiple evolutions since then, and Microsoft’s made sure to specify what changes Xbox One version 2002 made to the redesign. Other elements of the update include additional storage suggestions, ease-of-use tweaks, and new organization methods.
Overall, Microsoft intends the new Xbox One dashboard to be more responsive to users, prioritizing each user’s favorite content and getting them from the home screen into their gaming experience as quickly as possible. The dashboard was redesigned with simplicity in mind; as such, Twists have been removed from the top of the dashboard and replaced instead with dedicated rows for Xbox Game Pass (which has apparently been as successful for Microsoft as it has been for players), Mixer, Xbox Community, and Microsoft Store. In addition, users will be able to customize their dashboard even further, with the ability to add or remove rows as desired. And that’s just the home screen: the games & apps UI will offer easier navigation and access to all the various games and apps on the console, and “streamlined settings” with labels for trials and demos to keep everything in order.
The improved Xbox software will also let users pick a preferred spot on the screen for notifications to pop up out of six possible options (located through “Preferences” in Settings), useful if notifications keep blocking certain parts of gameplay. One existing feature of the Xbox One presents suggestions on where to free up storage once the console reaches full capacity, and with the update, users will be able to respond quickly to those suggestions.
Microsoft is implementing a “Move” option for users who have external storage connected to their console, allowing them to remove any content as needed. Messaging conversations in Xbox Live can now handle images and GIFs, and those can be viewed on both the mobile app and console; plus, Xbox Game Pass members get some extra control over what they’re downloading with the ability to choose individual titles from within a bundle to install.
The update isn’t rolling out to the general public until sometime in February, but it’s good to see that the Xbox One is still getting adequate attention from Microsoft in the face of all the next-gen console buzz.
Source: Xbox News
