Microsoft continues to roll out new features to members of the Xbox Insider Program, ahead of a major system update in the works for Xbox One this fall. Offering a range of visual changes and increased functionality, the update lays the foundations for the launch of the Xbox One X on November 7. Among the biggest changes is a new dashboard influenced by Microsoft's Fluent Design System, a modular Home menu, a reworked Guide menu.
A new Xbox One preview update is rolling out to the Alpha ring today, alongside two new features for all Xbox Insiders running 1710 builds. In preparation for the upcoming Xbox One X, this adds the ability to download 4K assets for supported Xbox One games ahead of the console's official launch. Users can also now back up console settings to external storage, aiming to streamline the move to a new console.
For those planning to pick up an Xbox One X, 4K game content downloads allow users to download improved assets to their consoles, prior to the release of the device. With these enhancements often taking up significantly more storage than standard Xbox One games, this should especially help those with slower internet connections from getting started quicker on launch day.
To enable the option to download 4K game content, navigate to Settings > Storage > Settings > System > Backup and Transfer and enable the checkbox labeled Download 4K game content. In our limited testing, none of our installed games fetched 4K assets to download, however, more may begin to appear in the days leading to the Xbox One X launch. In its current implementation, it appears 4K asset downloads are a console-wide preference, rather than being enabled on a per-game basis.
System backup is a similarly useful feature when migrating between Xbox One consoles, by allowing system settings to be backed up to an external drive. Found under Settings > Storage > Settings > System > Backup and Transfer > Back up my settings, various system preferences and your profile can be quickly transferred during the Xbox One out-of-box-experience. It also appears that backups can be scheduled to regularly update, by checking the Keep backup current option.
For those in the Alpha ring, the update also deploys a range of fixes across the system, affecting 13 features and apps. A full changelog of the fixes can be seen on the official Xbox forums, alongside details of the two new features.
Have you tried out these new features? Have you found games with 4K assets available for Xbox One? Let us know your experience in the comments.
