Microsoft has released Xbox One’s next feature update to Alpha Ring Insiders. The features will greatly improve the overall experience thanks to tweaks to Guide, Groups, and accessibility features. The additions are part of a monthly update process and all may not be available immediately.
That said, there are some exciting new improvements coming to the interface of Xbox One. The main one is the aforementioned Groups, which will let users create multiple collections of content on their Guide and Homescreen. Users will be able to collate apps and games, give folders custom names, and transfer cross-console thanks to cloud support.
After considerable feedback, Microsoft has made tweaks and fixes to the Groups experience:
“Updates for Groups based on Xbox Insider feedback:
- Guide now locked to 4 columns
- Guide now opens multiple groups in flyout
- The “Add more” and “Create a group” flows now also includes your “Ready to install” games
- The “Add more” and “Create a group” flows now allow you to add up to 40 items to a Group at one time
- If you are looking for Groups in Guide but expected to see a Pins button, click on the “My games & apps” button – we’ve combined Groups with “My games & apps” to put all your stuff in one convenient location for quick access
- Resetting Groups: We’ve updated the reset button so now you can delete your local Groups and re-sync with the service. This will clear up a lot of issues that may have occurred due to bad states or if data is not showing up as expected. You may need to sign in / out for the pages to refresh. You can still delete from everywhere if you want a fresh start with Groups.”
Search and Wi-Fi
Microsoft is also bringing an enhanced search functionality to Xbox. Users will be able to get to the bar faster by pressing Y anywhere in the dashboard. After searching, they can also click the ‘more results’ option to see more.
Long-awaited tweaks are also coming to Wi-Fi. Microsoft is finally letting users store multiple network passwords on their console, meaning they can jump between them without having to enter a new one every time. This is perfect for those with multiple routers or Wi-Fi extenders.
Last but not least, Xbox is getting some accessibility options, building on its Adaptive Controller. The narrator feature now supports Spanish, Polish, Swedish, and Dutch, as well as Australian English.
Naturally, there are a number of fixes and known issues, mostly relating to Groups and Edge. The most important thing to note is that despite the new features, Wi-Fi isn’t quite stable and requires more work.
You can read the full list of known problems on the Xbox blog.
