The Xbox One Preview Program lets consumers try out development builds of the Xbox One software ahead of release. Today, members of the Alpha Ring received build 1804.180307-1900 which fixes some critical bugs and adds new features.
Aside from gaining a new search button in the Guide, Alpha Insiders can now upload content directly to Twitter. This means your screenshot and footage will now display and play directly in your Twitter feed.
That's not all though. Today's "Inside Xbox" show revealed a host of new features coming to Alpha Insiders in the coming weeks. According to AMD's Antal Tungler, the Xbox One S and Xbox One X will support variable refresh rates on AMD Radeon FreeSync displays. FreeSync helps get rid of tearing and stuttering while gaming, enabling the display and Xbox One to work together to create a smooth experience.
Soon, an Alpha Insider update will also allow the Xbox One to enable Auto Low Latency Mode on supported displays. Auto Low Latency Mode will recognize when a game is being played and automatically switch your display to the setting.
While these aren't crucial announcements, the company also confirmed that Microsoft Edge is getting an update on Xbox One. The browser should look and feel more like the Windows 10 version. As a reminder, Share Controller on Mixer was also discussed. Mixer streamers on Xbox One will be able to share their controller directly with viewers so that they can play the game.
Some of the fixes this build brings are listed below.
Casting from the Xbox – YouTube
- Automatic discovery over Wi-Fi is resolved.
Pins
- If Microsoft Edge was pinned prior to downloading the 1804 update, attempting to launch Microsoft Edge from the existing pin will now succeed.
My Games and Apps
- We resolved an issue in which Games and updates are installing to non-Home consoles even if you have selected to not keep games and apps up to date.
Upload Studio
- We resolved an issue in which Upload Studio would fail uploading.
Some of the known issues in this build as listed below.
Settings
- When accessing the Language & location page in Settings, it may take a long time for the page to load.
- Pi-hole users may encounter issues signing in, creating, or recovering accounts upon downloading the 1804 update. This is due to a new configuration file which is downloaded from a URL Pi-hole blocks by default. Add clientconfig.passport.net to the Pi-hole allowed IP address list to go around this.
- We are aware that some Spatial Audio users will experience unexpected game volumes and are working on a fix.
- We are aware that the Mono output feature is not working as expected in latest builds. The team has identified a fix and is testing. Please turn off the feature if you are using an audio receiver with less than 7.1 audio channels.
- We have identified an issue with Dolby Atmos for Home Theater and certain AVR models that will result in random sound cut outs. If a sound cut out ever occurs you can change your audio format settings to something else and then back to reset it.
- Some users have reported that HDMI in volume is lower for TV Input and some media apps. We are actively investigating. The workaround is to start Background Music and go to the Audio Settings and set the volume slider to 50% rather than 0% and the volume issue is fixed.
Now TV
- In the Now TV app some UI elements are disappearing during playback.
Plex App
- In the Plex App some users are experiencing buffering. We are actively investigating this issue. The workaround is to back out of the Plex app to home then go back into the Plex app and playback continues.
Netflix
- The Netflix team are updating the app as it is crashing for some users.
- Netflix on Monitor only works at 1080p and does not support 1440p. Netflix is aware of the issue.
System
- We are investigating an issue in which some users are experiencing the console shutdown after you turn it on.
Vudu
- We are investigating why some users are unable to play 4k content in the Vudu app.
Virtual Keyboard
- The virtual keyboard disappears randomly when inputting text. You can use a physical keyboard to enter text until this is fixed.
HDR Issues
- Some users are discovering that some games are not showing in HDR. Please file feedback when you encounter this to help in the investigation and please provide the make and model of your TV and the firmware version.
Game Install Progress
- We are aware of an issue in which the Game Progress status shows over 300%. Please note that this is a different scenario to the fix in this build referenced above in fixes.
Spotify Search
- Some users are discovering that the search function in Spotify is not working. Please file feedback when you encounter this to help in the investigation.
Store App
- Some users are experiencing a problem in which the Store App is failing to update. Please file feedback when you encounter this to help in the investigation.
Settings
- We are aware that the Schedule details is missing after you re-select your schedule from Dark or Light in Theme.
Be sure to download the update if you're an Alpha Insider. Hopefully Microsoft will release another patch soon to fix the remaining issues because they're quite serious.
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