After months of testing with Xbox Insiders, Microsoft today officially announced that the Fall Update for the Xbox One is available for everyone to download. The update includes the renamed Microsoft Store, a redesigned Dashboard, community tabs, and much more. Without further ado, here is what you need to know before you install it on your console.
The Dashboard is more personal:
The Fall update for Xbox One brings the option to customize your dashboard with new Content Blocks. The new Dashboard experience lets users put the content they want to see all in one place, and blocks can be removed and changed around as the user sees fit. Other new features include support for up to 40 pins and more:
- Have up to 40 pins! All these pins will appear in the Pin block on Home, as well as the Pins flyout in the new Guide!
- Easily discover new things, such as friend activities, leaderboards, LFG posts, tips, quick links to Game Hubs, across both your console and Xbox Live at the top of Home.
- Choose dark, light, or high-contrast theme option in Settings.
The Guide is faster, powerful, and more convenient:
Microsoft is saying that the Fall update makes the Guide much more convenient. You can now move left and right between horizontal tabs with the left thumbstick or bumpers. Check out the other enhancements to the guide below:
- New “Friends in games” flyout informs you of friends playing the same game.
- Game invites will show up in the Multiplayer tab of the Guide.
- The new Tournaments section in the Multiplayer tab of the Guide provides a quick portal into the official and community tournaments that you’ve joined. Enjoy more Xbox Arena tournament options with the addition of new titles.
Other improvements to notifications, Profiles and more:
New in the Fall Update are some features which will help you keep up to date with your Xbox while away. There is a new enhanced notification system which will show you time-sensitive activities and status when Xbox is Idle. Also new is an enhanced screen-dimming functionality which further reduces screen ghosting. Game Hub, Profiles, and Community feed also see enhancements as well:
- The newly redesigned Game Hub Welcome tab now features a summary of all the great content around the game on one page.
- Profiles now enable faster access to recent activity. You can now easily manage who sees your activity feed content through the “Others can see your activity feed” privacy setting.
- See more content at a glance with new Community feed, and view screenshots and game clips in an immersive, full-screen view.
Helping you upgrade to Xbox One X:
With the Fall Update, Microsoft has thrown in a couple of features which will make it easier to set up a console for new users and those who have plans to upgrade later. Users will be able to find Xbox One X Enhanced titles in the Store, filter games and more:
- Transfer your games to an external drive so you can connect it to your new console and play immediately. Just unplug the drive from your current console, plug it in to your new one, and you’re ready to go.
- Existing Xbox One owners can back up their games and console settings to an external drive so that they’re ready to be applied to the new console during setup.
- Copy your games and apps over your home network from one console to another via network transfer.
- Bulk transfer will allow you to select and transfer as many games as you want all at once.
Easier to discover and create content:
With Mixer in mind, Microsoft has also made it easier to discover and create engaging content in the Fall Update. For example, the Mixer tab on the Xbox dashboard will how broadcast previews, and the Broadcast & Capture tab in Guide is also now more deeply integrated with Mixer. Other changes can be seen below:
- You can also use a USB webcam to broadcast yourself alongside your gameplay on Mixer, or to have a 1:1 or group video chat with friends using Skype.
- GameDVR will now be able to capture up to 4K/HDR screenshots and game clips on Xbox One X, and you’ll be able to capture content directly to an external hard drive.
- Once you start a Broadcast, a new flyout will appear that includes your profile stats.
These are just a few of the great features introduced in the Fall update for Xbox One. You should be seeing the update now on your console, and you can manually check by going to Settings, All Settings, System, Console Info and Updates, and Update Console.
