What you need to know
- The Xbox Dashboard is enjoying lots of testing for new updates in the Xbox Insider Program.
- The latest test, rolling out this week, will bring a new "Friends & Community Updates" group to the Xbox Dashboard.
- The pinnable group will share the latest updates and posts from friends, fellow players, and official game clubs.
- Xbox is aiming to collect feedback on the feature as part of its wider, multi-month New Xbox Experience experiments.
Microsoft is constantly updating the Xbox OS over time with new features and improvements, but the software hasn't enjoyed a significant upgrade in a long time. The company is working to fix this; on Monday, it announced the latest feature heading to Xbox Insiders later this week. Say hello to the refreshed "Friends & Community Updates" group for the Dashboard.
As part of Microsoft's multi-month New Xbox Experience experiment, this week's Xbox Insider Program update continues the company's efforts to revitalize the Xbox Dashboard with a refreshed design and new features. Microsoft is busy collecting feedback on every iteration, and the brand-new "Friends & Community Updates" group is a part of that.
The Xbox Dashboard is customizable with various pinnable groups, and the "Friends & Community Updates" has been around for a long while. However, it dominates the screen and takes up a huge amount of space, and doesn't always surface particularly useful information. The latest iteration in testing with the more streamlined Xbox Dashboard is compact, with a brief look at the latest Achievements, game clips and captures, announcements, and more from friends, fellow players, and official game clubs.
Clicking into the group will show you your complete activity feedback, and the group aims to encourage you to share more in the Xbox community as you play the best Xbox games or explore the vast Xbox Game Pass catalog. The build is rolling out this week all users in both Alpha rings of the Xbox Insider Program.
Windows Central's take
This is a small update to the ongoing New Xbox Experience experiments, but it's good to see Xbox testing changes to many aspects of the Xbox operating system, which is in dire need of a facelift. I'm hoping to see a major update arrive for all players in the near future with a more customizable, visually appealing Dashboard and a host of new features.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate provides access to hundreds of amazing games across Xbox, PC, and the cloud, making it the perfect way to play with friends and create new content.
