Xbox One Major Update: New Home Menu Options, Guide & More Detailed

The Xbox One gaming console is getting a big system update soon. Find out what changes this update will bring below.

Microsoft is about to make some drastic changes to the user interface of its Xbox One gaming machine. An upcoming system update is already live for participants of Xbox Insider Program’s Alpha Ring, so information on the new update has become available online.

New Home Menu Options

When the new system update arrives, users will right away notice the big changes Microsoft did to the console’s Home menu. After booting the device, the default page or dashboard that will be shown is divided into four. The first one is for the option that would allow players to resume the last game they played. The second one is for adding a suggested friend who is playing the same game as the user. The third option allows users to remap the button layout, while the fourth option will give users access to the limited time offers on the Xbox marketplace.

“When people boot up the console, they’ll see an entirely different screen. We’ve added four areas on the Xbox dash,” Mike Ybarra, head of Platform Engineering, said during an interview with Xbox Live programming director Larry Hryb. While discussing more about the four major options, Ybarra pointed out the perk that the suggested menu option brings. “So, for example, if I’m playing a lot of ‘Minecraft,’ it’ll suggest a friend that happens to play ‘Minecraft’ a lot,” he said before adding that the feature will basically introduce users to new people who play the same games that they play.

The reason behind this changes has to do with user feedback. According to Ybarra, they listened to what fans have been asking for, and it’s the ability to customize Home in a manner that they want. Ybarra explains in his Xbox News Wire post that the upcoming major update is “designed to make the Xbox gaming experience more fun, personalized, and social than ever.” He also pointed out that the new user experience this update offers will provide players with more choices while also delivering fun at a faster speed.

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Most Recently Used List

Just below the four main options on the Home menu is a strip that lists the content that users most recently used or accessed. The first thing that players will see in this strip is the My Games & Apps, which is an app that players access to view all of the games and apps on their console. Basically, it serves as the users’ library for all content available to them.

The next three items that are shown in this list are the games or apps that users recently accessed. This makes it easier and more convenient for users to jump back into the game or app they wish to continue playing or using.

Following the Most Recently Used List are the different content blocks users will see on their feed. Each block could be about a game or a person they’d like to follow. “Think of them [content blocks] as areas where if a user has a specific interest in a game, or a friend, or what’s going on in the gold lounge — these are specific areas they can pin and will be updated multiple times so they can see the latest news on what’s going on with their friends, or their games,” Ybarra said.

Updated Guide For Faster Navigation

Eurogamer has learned that the major update also brings changes to the Guide. Such changes include the addition of more tabs within tabs, so users can quickly keep track of the things that interest them. For example, they can now instantly view which of their friends are online.

“The new Guide layout quickly gets you to the stuff you care about, so you never miss a moment. It’s now even easier to switch between apps or get back to Home, and the new layout will enable you to quickly jump to different tabs using the left thumbstick, d-pad, or bumpers on your controller,” Ybarra explained.

A New Layout For The Community

Microsoft is also tweaking the community page by introducing a revamped Activity Feed. The layout for this aspect of the interface now lets users see what their friends and other people are doing in the games that they’ve been playing as well. The layout also makes it easier for users to learn about the Achievements of their friends in the games.

Users who are fond of reading comments and checking what others are saying in the community section will also like the update since it allows the comment window to be expanded to fill the entire screen. This way, it would take less time for them to skim through the feed and read comments.

The next major system update for the Xbox One is scheduled to arrive in the coming months. Its official release date has yet to be announced, so stay tuned.