Microsoft has announced the August 2020 Xbox Update today, making it available to Insiders. And this release brings along a lot of neat little features, some of which we are already acquainted with.
For starters, it includes part of the UI that we are going to see with the Xbox Series X.
Since both the current and upcoming console run the same Windows 10 based software, a new user interface for the latter means something similar for the former. And this is exactly what we are getting with this new update.
First up, we have improvements to the Guide, which makes it cleaner and easier to read.
Up top, are listed sections like Home, My Games & Apps, things you were recently doing and all that. The bottom part houses buttons for things that you might not access all the time, but are still important for the experience. Of course, you can customize what you see here.
Next, we have a new notifications inbox that can be opened by clicking the button at the bottom on the Guide. Messages, alerts, and more are combined here, with all of them coming to Xbox apps soon.
Some minor improvements to Parties and Chats are also reserved in this update, with text previews and individual volume controls for each member.
Microsoft has also handily added in some useful tips and tricks in the guide, with the intent of making it easier for folks who are using an Xbox console for the first time.
And then there is the new activity feed look where everything shows up as the same size now, so no more guessing how your content is going to show up in the feed.
Redmond has also made a few other improvements in other areas for a more refined look and feel.
The August 2020 Update will be rolled out to the general public very soon, though it merits a mention that there are a few other features that are exclusive to Xbox Insiders for now. Like the rest of the Xbox Series X user interface, profile themes, apps, and the ability to sign into multiple Xbox devices at once.
Sweet.
