THE NEW Xbox One update for March 2017 has arrived, including a new home screen, as well as additional streaming options.
The dashboard has been given a major revamp through the new March 2017 Xbox One update, allowing fans to now access menus through pressing the Xbox button on their controllers.
It speeds up a lot of the additional options you may be looking for while playing a game, removing an extra layer of fiddling around with sub menus.
Here’s Microsoft on their new home screen options: “One of the first things you’ll notice with this update is a new look for Home on Xbox One. We made these changes to simplify the UI and increase overall system performance.
“To do that, we’ve optimized for speed and are prioritizing the most valuable content for your games.
“Now, you’ll see a smaller icon for the game with options to dive deeper into the community surrounding the game, as well as the ability to interact with your Club or find Looking for Group posts, view your Achievements and more.
“If you do not have a custom background set, you’ll see that the updated Home also spotlights the game you’re currently playing by featuring hero art as your Xbox background.”
Microsoft definitely had multitasking in mind when putting together the new Xbox One update, adding: “In addition to adding a new start page to Guide, we’re also evolving the way gamers multitask on Xbox One.
“To simplify discoverability and to make it easier to get to the things you care about most, our multitasking features were designed with the new Guide in mind.
“We’ve added a new achievement tracker that is active based on the game you’re playing, and allows you to select and follow multiple achievements in an overlay, all while you’re playing.
“Cortana will also appear as an overlay on your screen, allowing you to set reminders and alarms, access Party controls, and play music with simple voice controls.”
Having been using it for some time, the new Xbox One update appears to focus on improving the cluttered overlays that fans have had to deal, although it may feel a little odd at first, not being able to get back to the home screen after pressing the Xbox button on your controller.
The other big addition is the new streaming options added through Beam, something that has been teased for a while by Microsoft.
