After about a month and a half in testing with Xbox Insiders, Microsoft announced today that the July update is rolling out. The update is version 1806, and it"s what would be considered to be a minor feature update. Version 1806 is an extension of Redstone 4 development, with the big update, Redstone 5, coming this October.
One of the new features is FastStart, which lets you start playing twice as fast as before. You"ll only need to download a portion of the game before you can start playing, and this is done by identifying the files you need, and getting those first. You can find out which games FastStart works with here.
Also, Groups are finally available. This is a feature that"s been in testing for a couple of versions now, and it allows you to make collections of your games and apps. Moreover, these groups will sync to your Microsoft account, so they"ll show up on other consoles that you own.
There are some more minor improvements as well. Hitting Y while on the Dashboard will immediately bring up the search dialog. There are some Mixer improvements, like making it easier to use Share Controller from the web and multi-touch support.
Another Mixer feature is that you can now use full-screen streaming with your webcam. Microsoft says that for best results, use one of the following webcams:
Microsoft LifeCam Studio
Logitech HD Pro Webcam C922
Logitech Webcam C930e
Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000
Just three days ago, Microsoft released the first Redstone 5 build for the Skip Ahead subset of the Preview Alpha ring. Being that the version that was being skipped ahead of is now available to the general public, it"s unclear where Microsoft is headed, or where this leaves the regular Alpha ring, let alone the other three rings. One would suspect that there will be another monthly feature update, or the brand new Skip Ahead ring would be a waste.