Microsoft has been releasing Redstone 4 previews for Windows 10 PCs since last summer. But with the spring update just weeks away on PCs, gamers are left wondering, what"s going on with the Xbox One? After all, Xbox One development is aligned with Windows 10, so there will be a major Redstone 4 update for the console.
The company finally answered that question today. Called version 1804 (the Windows 10 version is 1803, so this will probably be done a bit later), it contains loads of new features.
First is 1440p support, which was promised a while ago by Microsoft. Obviously, you"ll be able to stream video and play games at 1440p on the Xbox One X, and while support for the resolution is coming to the One S as well, it"s unclear if this will include gaming.
You"re not likely to have a TV that"s 1440p, but if you hook up your console to a PC monitor, you"ll have more choices.
With Mixer, there"s a new "Share controller" feature. This will allow viewers of a stream to take over a streamer"s controller in the game that they"re playing. This feature is also included on Windows 10, by plugging a controller into the PC. Microsoft says that the viewer and the streamer can work together, or the viewer can just cause some wacky hijinks.
Also, Mixer won"t stop your streams anymore when you switch games. It will only pause and then pick up when you open the new game. And finally, the service can now be activated from anywhere in the Xbox One experience.
Microsoft"s Edge browser is getting an overhaul as well, with a "new look that"s modern but still feels familiar." It"s meant to be easier to navigate with a controller, and you can also now download and upload images, music, and videos from the browser on the console. You can then access this content through the File Explorer.
There are new audio controls, which will allow you to adjust the volume of background music. For example, you can turn down the game volume and turn it up on background music that you might be listening to. Also, the sounds on Home and Guide now support spatial audio.
There are some new features for Club owners, including the ability to filter invitation requests. This can be done by recommendations from other members, Gamerscore, and reputation.
Club feeds will have more sorting options, such as "what"s hot" and "top posts". The former shows trending content, while the latter shows the most popular posts of all time. You can also disable comments in feed posts across Clubs, Game Hubs, and Community.
Finally, Tournaments are now available in Game Hubs, so you don"t have to join a Club in order to enter.
Microsoft also previously announced experimental features, which will show up for a subset of users, similar to the control testing that"s done on Windows 10. The company says that it"s revamping the Xbox Live Gold experience with a dedicated tab that allows you to view all of your Games with Gold, as one of the new experimental features.
The first preview of version 1804 will roll out today to those on the Preview Alpha ring. Remember, it"s likely to be a bit unstable at first, so if you"re not up for that, you might want to switch your console to a lower ring of the Insider Program while you still can.