Xbox is testing audio passthrough and new Quick Resume features in the Xbox Insider program

What you need to know

• The Xbox Insider program tests future updates and features for Xbox consoles with interested testers.
• The latest Xbox Insider update is beginning tests for a handful of upcoming exciting new features.
• The first one is audio passthrough, which lets people send raw audio straight to their home audio setup for better sound quality.
• Quick Resume is also getting new features, with a new group to show games in Quick Resume and a tag for Quick Resume-enabled titles.

The Xbox Insider Program is a way for Microsoft to collect feedback on upcoming features and updates for Xbox consoles like the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S with interested and committed Xbox gamers. The latest update for the Xbox Insider Alpha Skip-Ahead branch, a handful of new features have just entered early testing that may be pretty exciting for some Xbox players. Audio passthrough is coming to Xbox, and the innovative Quick Resume feature is getting some tremendous quality-of-life improvements.

Firstly, Xbox is adding the ability to allow audio passthrough for players who can take advantage. If you weren't aware, audio passthrough allows any audio from media apps like Netflix to bypass your Xbox and instead head straight to your audio setup. This can translate to a nice boost in audio quality for people with advanced or high-end audio setups in their homes.

Next, the innovative Xbox Quick Resume feature is getting some much-needed improvements to make it an even better experience. Quick Resume allows the next-gen Xbox Series X|S to hold multiple open games on its SSD and switch between them on the fly, bypassing the time spent loading into a game. While the feature is impressive when it works, it has some pitfalls that make it less than perfect. Microsoft is testing a couple of features that should drastically improve Quick Resume.

Quick Resume will get a new Group on Xbox Series X|S that lists all of the games currently stored in Quick Resume, which should help a lot with the consistency of Quick Resume (and will maybe lead to the ability to kick games out of Quick Resume manually). Additionally, the Xbox Guide will add a new tag that indicates if your active game supports the Quick Resume feature, alleviating the stress of leaving the game running in the background.

These features are in early testing through the Xbox Insider Program, so most players may not see them for a while. In case you missed it, however, the Xbox April Update began to roll out today with some new features and improvements of its own! Of course, you can also pass the time waiting for these features to hit your Xbox by visiting some of the best games on Xbox.