Earlier today, Microsoft announced some of the features that are coming to the Xbox One family of consoles with the Fall Creators Update, promising that Alpha ring Insiders would get their first preview tonight. Ahead of the build's release, the firm published a changelog with the new features that are included, and of course, the known issues.
The build string is RS_XBOX_DEV_FLIGHT.170802-2008, but what's interesting is that the version number is to be 1710, which indicates that it will be finalized in October. Xbox software and Windows 10 are developed in parallel, so this could mean that the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will arrive with the same version number, rather than the expected 1709. Of course, we'll likely find out soon when Windows Insider builds start shipping with an actual version number.
While Microsoft was clear in the release notes that not all of the new features planned for 1710 are in this build, here's what is included:
Customize your Home
The look, feel, and movement of the dashboard has been updated to focus on speed, customization and expression. Now you can customize your Home screen to be uniquely yours and view all the things you love at-a-glance. Have a favorite game or friend? Add them to Home! Select the game or friend of your choice, press the Menu button on your controller, and select “Add to Home.” This creates an entire block of content that can be moved up or down—or removed altogether, should your interests or habits change. These content blocks will evolve over time based on the things you like to do. For example, adding a game to your Home screen may pull in an Activity Feed post from the developer, show you when your friends are playing that game online, suggest your next Achievement, or provide a quick shortcut to the Game Hub for that title.
Get started personalizing your Home by following the steps in our “Custom Home Page” Quest, and don’t forget to return to the Xbox Insider Hub and provide us with your feedback!Effortless Guide Navigation
With this update, it’s faster than ever to switch between tabs in the Guide so you can join up with friends, broadcast, switch between apps, and get back Home. New tab flyouts make it easier to see more content quickly, too. The new guide layout quickly gets you to the things 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. Sign-in, Achievements, multiplayer (including parties, Looking for Group, and tournaments), people, Home and recent, messages, broadcasts and captures, and a new action center (including settings) also each have their own tab in the new guide.
Complete the “New Guide Experience” Quest and let us know what you think about the speed and organization of the updated Guide.Copy and Move Content with Ease
We've made it significantly easier to copy and transfer games/apps between external hard drives! All you need to do is follow these simple steps:Using this feature you can move games and apps one at a time or in bulk using the "Select all" option. But don’t take our word for it: Try it out for yourself by completing the “Transfer Your Games” Quest, and don’t forget to provide feedback on your external hard drive use in the accompanying survey, titled “Hard Drive Use.”
Navigate to Settings > System > Storage
Select a connected hard drive
Use the "Transfer" option to move content between hard drives
Of course, there are some known issues to be aware of:
Installations may fail
Apps may fail to install immediately after taking the update
Workaround: Reboot your console immediately after updating to the latest system updatePins on Home
Moving and editing pin blocks may cause console to crash to Home
Workaround: None at this timeXbox Insider Hub loses focuses
Upon opening ‘Quickpoll’ from the main menu, the Xbox Insider Hub will lose focus, impacting use of the app
Workaround: Return to Home briefly before re-opening the Xbox Insider HubXbox Insider Hub may not launch properly
You may experience sign-in or launch issues when using the Xbox Insider Hub
Workaround: Remove your Profile from the console in Settings and re-download prior to launching Xbox Insider Hub
The good news is that all of the known issues include workarounds, so there really shouldn't be any show-stoppers. The Preview Alpha ring is meant to get two to three builds every week, so we'll likely see more soon.
If it's too much for you, you can always switch to one of the lower rings, or stop receiving Insider builds altogether. Remember, once you start receiving builds from the new branch, it might not be so easy to go back.
