Microsoft has kicked off testing for the "Xbox Spring Update" – a major upcoming update in the pipeline for Xbox One consoles. As previously announced, the console's next feature update will pack a variety of new features, including support for 1440p displays, controller sharing over Mixer and much more.
Members of the Xbox Insider Program can expect to get testing soon, with the first version 1804 build on its way to Alpha preview ring. As detailed by Xbox Insider Team Lead, Brad Rossetti, users will have the chance to test all upcoming announced features, prior to their public release.
As with any pre-release update, expect bugs – a lot of them. Current known issues include black screens, update errors and various issues across the Xbox One experience. These will soon clear up in forthcoming builds, though caution should be taken, especially when installing on your daily driver.
Today's update will begin rolling out from 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET on March 1. For those who use the Xbox One's "Instant On" mode, the update will begin automatically downloading to your console. If you choose to manually install the build, navigate to "All Settings > System > Console Info & Updates" and check for an update. Read on for the complete list of changes, fixes, and currently known issues, via Microsoft's changelog.
DETAILS:
OS version released: rs4_release_xbox_dev_1804.180227-1801
Available: 6:00PM PST 3/1 (2:00AM GMT 2/3)
NEW FEATURES:
Support for 1440p Video Output
Xbox One X and Xbox One S now support output at 1440p resolution for games and media; 1440p resolution, sometimes referred to as "2560x1440" and "QHD," is a popular choice for PC users. With over a million and a half more pixels than 1080p, this resolution fills the gap between Full HD and 4K displays.
A New Level of Mixer Interactivity
Introducing a new form of Mixer interactivity: Share controller. Now Mixer streamers on Xbox One have the option of sharing their controller with a Mixer viewer who is watching through Mixer.com. Streamers can share their entire controller (except the Xbox button) in the Xbox game they are playing, and a viewer can take control through the on-screen gamepad or by plugging a controller into their PC. Viewer and streamer can work together in the game, or the viewer can cause trouble – resulting in hilarious chaos. It's your choice!
Stat Comparisons on Home
In an upcoming Insider release, you'll also see stat comparisons with your friends across game blocks, friend blocks, and Mini Game Hubs. These stat comparisons are specific to the games that you play, so a PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds player may see comparisons of solo or squad wins, number of matches played, and opponents defeated. A Forza Motorsport 7 player may see driver level, number of cars owned and collector tier.
The Cutting Edge
The Microsoft Edge browser on Xbox One has been updated to a new look that's modern but still feels familiar. We know how important a good web browsing experience is for you, so we've doubled down on making Microsoft Edge easy to navigate with a controller. Improvements to the Favorites and History experience make it simple for you to return to your favorite sites. We're also very excited to announce that you can now download and upload pictures, music and videos from Microsoft Edge on the console; your downloaded content can then be browsed with the File Explorer app. Other new features to note are tab muting, read aloud and autofill. We're always looking to improve the browsing experience on Xbox and look forward to your feedback.
More Immersive Audio
If you're the type of person that loves to rock out to a music playlist while playing your favorite games, we have good news for you! You now have an option to selectively balance game audio against background music within the Guide. Turn down the game volume, crank up the music volume and rock on. But that's not all. The system sounds on Home and in the Guide have been completely revamped to support spatial audio, so the audio cues from your surround sound system will match the actions you see on-screen.
Powerful Invite Filtering Tools for Club Owners
Club administrators can now filter invitation requests based on various criteria, including reputation, Gamerscore, and recommendations from existing club members. Are you setting up a club for hardcore PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds players? Set a filter to only show invitees with over 200 hours of playtime. Maybe you're looking for Gamerscore completionists in Forza Motorsport 7? Filter requests to only show invitees with over 900 Gamerscore. These filters will persist until the administrator changes them, so if you set or edit club filters, they'll still be there the next time you sign-in. Club invitees will also now appear in a vertical list, with details such as their Gamertag, Gamerpic, Gamerscore, a line noting if the new invitees were recommended by an existing club member, and a reputation indicator.
Smarter Feeds
You will soon be able to sort your club feeds to show you "what's hot" and "top posts." Use the "what's hot" filter to see trending content in the club feed that's popular right now. Filtering by "top posts" will show you the most popular posts of all time in that club. You will also soon be able to disable comments on your feed posts across clubs, Game Hubs, and Community, so the only person in control of the narrative is you. Finally, we're cleaning up your feeds by hiding posts for broadcasts once they've ended.
Open Tournaments
Tournaments are now available directly in Game Hubs, so you don't have to be a member of a club to start or join a tournament.
FIXES:
Installation
- Fixed several issues to improve the reliability and usability of game installations, updates, and content management.
- Fixed an issue which impacted transferring content between drives.
- Enabling the download 4K updates checkbox will now cause 4K updates to show up in the Updates tab of My games & apps.
- Fixed an issue where installations interrupted due to slow network conditions could fail to automatically resume.
- Fixed an issue where a "You need to free up space" dialog was displaying too often.
- Fixed a bug where all items in the install Queue could show as "Queued" without making progress.
Profile Color
- Fixed an issue which sometimes caused an incorrect Profile color to be used when powering on the console.
KNOWN ISSUES:
Black Screen
When resuming from connected standby (with the console in Instant-On mode), you may encounter a black screen on the TV or monitor. You can avoid this issue by powering on the console prior to powering on the TV or monitor.
-Workaround 1: If stuck in this state, unplug and reinsert the HDMI cord into the back of the console, then power the TV off/on. -Workaround 2: Disable IR blasting in Settings to prevent this issue from reoccurring.
System Update
When installing a system update, you may encounter an E200 error at the last stage of the installation.
- Workaround: Unplug and re-plug the power cord, then power on the console normally—the console should go through the standard start up sequence and land on the dashboard.
Pins
If Microsoft Edge was pinned prior to downloading the 1804 update, attempting to launch Microsoft Edge from the existing pin will fail.
- Workaround: Delete the old Microsoft Edge pin and re-pin Microsoft Edge.
Dolby Atmos
You may notice audio drops in receivers using Dolby Atmos for Home Theater.
Netflix
If Netflix crashes when first launched, check for an app update on the Store or from My games & apps.
HBO GO
If HBO GO crashes when first launched, check for an app update on the Store or from My games & apps.
Settings
When accessing the Language & location page in Settings, it may take a long time for the page to load.
Store
When browsing Add-Ons in the Store, the Show All page may appear blank.
Pi-hole
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. Workaround: Add clientconfig.passport.net to the Pi-hole allowed IP address list.
Which features are you looking forward to? Make sure to let us know in the comments.
