Microsoft is building a brand new Xbox One user experience with a complete redesign of the dashboard and Cortana integration. Microsoft has just announced that the Xbox One dashboard is about to get a major overhaul later this fall. The new changes are focus on making the user experience much faster and complete “must-have tasks on Xbox One”. In addition, Microsoft is bringing Cortana to Xbox One too.
“it’s a major milestone to mark the continued evolution of Xbox One.” Microsoft says.
Perhaps the most noticeable change coming to Xbox One is the new design of the dashboard, which leaves behind the tiles layout, in favor of a new Windows 10 design with a little bit of familiarity of the new Xbox app for Windows 10.
Microsoft now displays more information of the recent games you have played, such as link to Game Hub, game clips, and new announcements of a particular game. In addition, Pins now has been move to the bottom of the list.
The activity feed is getting a major update too and now it’s a priority element in the home screen, and a new “Trending on Xbox Live” appears to the right of the screen.
Another change coming to the Xbox One dashboard is the new flyout menu that overlays on top the main screen with faster access to friends, parties, messages, and notifications. Now you’ll also find quick settings on the quick-menu, such as volume controls for games and party chat.
The new flyout menu can be invoked at any time and during game play by a simple double-tap of the Xbox button in the controller or simply moving to the left when you’re in the home screen.
Cortana, Microsoft’s digital assistant, is another big announcement coming to Xbox One. The digital assistant is now coming to your video game console. When the update releases, you can interact with it by simply saying “Hey, Cortana” and asking questions naturally like you would in Windows 10 — all the Xbox voice commands will continue to work –. You can ask to add new friends to a party, record and share gameplay clips, and a lot more.
Furthermore, because Cortana will be available across devices including Windows 10 PCs, laptop, consoles, and phones, including Android phones and iOS devices, you will be able to set reminders with your phone and receive notifications on your Xbox One. Initially, Cortana will be limited to the United States and the U.K. on Xbox One this fall.
Xbox Avatars are being updated, with the new update Microsoft is modernizing the new look of avatars with better images quality and animation, “keeping all the familiar customizations fans loved on Xbox 360.”
This is the update that brings the Xbox One version of Windows to Windows 10, as the company says that the Windows 10 architecture is what opens the doors to all these new features.
With this new update, which will be available this fall, we can also see Microsoft focusing the experience on games and social interaction, and not on content consumption, but of course content will continue to be part of the experience.
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Source Microsoft
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].