Hey Xbox Insiders! We have a new Xbox One update preview coming to the Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha ring. It’s important we note that some updates made in these preview OS builds include background improvements that ensure a quality and stable build for Xbox One.
We continue to post these release notes, even when the noticeable changes to the UI are minimal, so you’re aware when updates are coming to your device. Details can be found below!
System Update Details:
- OS version released: RS_XBOX_RELEASE_2008\19041.4067.200804-0000
- Available: 2 p.m. PT – August 5, 2020
- Mandatory: 3 a.m. PT – August 6, 2020
New Features and Experiences
We have exciting news! Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha users can expect something new coming to their Xbox One update preview.
Introducing the Game Activity tab!
The Xbox team is ready to preview a new experience that makes it easier to discover game related activities around the game you are currently playing or the last game you played. We want users to know what is happening around their favorite games, hunt for achievements, and discover new ways to engage with liked minded gamers. With this goal in mind, while this feature is active, a random subset of users in Preview will now see the Game Activity tab in place of the Achievement tab, which includes:
- Achievements: Achievements are here to stay! Your top option on the tab is still the list of Achievements for the game you are playing or your most recently played game. We have added new sorting and filtering options to the list.
- Notice the new shortcut to turn the Achievement Tracker On/Off
- You can view the list of your Recent Achievements in your notifications. From the Home tab in the Guide, scroll down and select the notification bell icon to see them.
- You will find your next achievements and the monthly Gamerscore leaderboard by selecting your Profile in the Guide, then scroll down past “My subscriptions” to locate both options.
- Of course, you can still find and compare your achievement history, Gamerscore leaderboard, and Game Pass quest progress on your Profile.
- Friends playing: See which friends are playing, or have played, this game.
- Looking for group: See LFG posts for this game to find new people to play with.
- Events: See Suggested Events that are happening in-game or access the ones you have expressed interest in!
- Official club: Check out updates from developers and see posts from the Xbox Live community.
We want to gather initial feedback and analyze usage to evaluate these changes, and adjusting this experience based on your reports. Achievements are a pillar of the Xbox ecosystem, and we want to support them alongside promoting different ways to engage with your favorite games!
New Store Experience
We’ll be rolling this update out gradually, so if you’re an Xbox Insider, you may begin to see the new Microsoft Store on Xbox starting today. The experience will be available for more Insiders over time before it rolls out to all users this fall. If you encounter any issues, please submit feedback via Report a problem under Category > Apps and Subcategory > Microsoft Store. For more information on the new Store experience, read the blog post here.
A few things to note:
- The new Store will only be available to a random subset of users located in the US, UK, Canada (English only) and Germany for the initial release to Preview.
- Some functionality with the new Store Experience is not working at this time, you can read more information under the “Known Issues” section of this post.
- Users should report all unexpected behavior in the New Store Experience on the console via Report a problem. In addition, If a user encounters an issue that requires billing/payment assistance, they should still contact Support for assistance in resolving these issues.
Happening now
- We are previewing this new experience to a random subset of users and as a result it may appear in the People area of the Guide or at the top of the Friends list; some users may not have access to Happening now in either area and this is expected behavior.
- Happening now brings forward friends that are joinable in parties or in games making it easier to jump into activities with others. The version of Happening now in the People area of the Guide combines friends who are together so you can easily see groups of friends that are with each other.
- For friends that are in joinable games, happening now introduces a new companion feature called “Ask to join”. Jumping straight into a game uninvited with a friend can feel awkward or that it might disrupt them. The ask to join feature provides a way to reach out to the person playing and let them know you are interested in playing with them. If so, the “Request to join” they receive as a notification gives them a quick way to reply with an invite to the game.
HDR Game Calibration App
The HDR Game Calibration App is now available on Xbox! The HDR Game Calibration App shows a series of test patterns to determine the characteristics of your HDR TV.
Calibration values are stored in the system and new games can choose to use this information to enhance their visual quality for your HDR TV. The app can also be used to verify that your TV and console is setup correctly to support HDR for Xbox.
Fixes Implemented
Thanks to the hard work of Xbox engineers, we are happy to announce the following fixes have been implemented for this build:
Groups
- Fixed an issue where users were unable to add/edit Groups across the dashboard.
System
- Various updates to properly reflect local languages across the console
- Note: Users participating in Preview may see “odd” text across the console, for more information go here.
New issues we’re investigating:
Guide
- Some users have reported that the Friends tab no longer shows the number of players online in the icon. We are aware and investigating.
Home
- Users may see their Most Recent games/apps not displaying correctly on the dashboard.
New Store Experience
- Some titles may display a “Not currently available” message on the product page and will be unavailable to purchase
- Note: Users can use the Microsoft Store on the web or Windows to complete purchases for these items.
- Users will not be able to use the “gifting” option for both Xbox 360 and original Xbox titles at this time.
- Users will not be able to use the “Build a bundle” functionality at this time
- Workaround: Create the bundle via the Microsoft Store on the web or Windows.
- Xbox Design Lab customization is not currently supported.
- Workaround: Use the Microsoft Store on the web or Windows to purchase.
Known Issues
We understand some issues have been listed in previous Xbox Insider Release Notes. These items aren’t being ignored, but it will take Xbox engineers more time to find a solution.
We’re still tracking these known issues:
Audio
- Users who have Dolby Atmos enabled and console display settings set to 120hz with 36 bits per pixel (12-bit) are experiencing loss of Dolby Atmos audio in some situations.
- Workaround: Disable 120hz or set Video Fidelity to 30 bits per pixel (10-bit) or lower.
- Some users have reported that Dolby Atmos for Headphones audio setting changes when the console is rebooted/updated.
- Note: If you attempt to set the audio to Dolby Atmos for Headphones and see a message advising you to launch the Dolby Access App, please file feedback before launching the app.
Game DVR
- Some users have reported that clips are being recorded without audio. We are aware and investigating.
- Note: When reporting the issue, please be sure to include details about what resolution, length, and game you were trying to record.
Guide
- Some users have reported that the audio mixer cannot be used to adjust chat/game audio levels.
My Games & Apps
- Users have reported seeing black tiles instead of game artwork when browsing their collection.
- Note: We are still investigating the issue, please report the issue again from the console if you have done so with a prior update and are still seeing this behavior.
- Some titles in collection may appear with a “trial” tag incorrectly in collection.
Profile Color
- Sometimes users may encounter the incorrect Profile color when powering on the console.
Make sure to use Report a problem to keep us informed of your issue. We may not be able to respond to everyone, but the data we’ll gather is crucial to finding a resolution.
How to Get Xbox Insider Support
If you’re an Xbox Insider looking for support, please reach out to the community subreddit. Official Xbox staff, moderators, and fellow Xbox Insiders are there to help with your concerns.
When posting to the subreddit, please look through most recent posts to see if your issue has already been posted or addressed. We always recommend adding to threads with the same issue before posting a brand new one. This helps us support you the best we can! Don’t forget to use “Report a problem” before posting—the information shared in both places helps us understand your issue better.
Thank you to every Xbox Insider in the subreddit today. We love that it has become such a friendly and community-driven hub of conversation and support.
For more information regarding the Xbox Insider Program follow us on Twitter. Keep an eye on future Xbox Insider Release Notes for more information regarding your Xbox One Update Preview ring!