Latest Xbox One Preview Alpha build brings new light theme option

Last month, Xbox exec Mike Ybarra teased a new Light theme for the redesigned Xbox One dashboard that will ship on all consoles later this Fall. This new option is finally coming with the latest Xbox One Preview build for Preview Alpha Insiders, which the Xbox team released yesterday. If you already installed the new build, be aware that the option will go live today at 9AM PDT, and you’ll have to reboot your console to see it in the Settings app.

This latest build also brings notifications improvements, with Game invites moving from Action Center to the Multiplayer tab of the Xbox Guide, while Recent Achievements will now be found in the Achievements tab. You can read the full release notes below.

Xbox One Insiders – Preview ALPHA Users 9/5 Build notes for 6.00pm PDT https://t.co/kU5jAa2mlQ & REDDIT https://t.co/OzPd3DAnoN

— Brad Rossetti (@WorkWombatman) September 5, 2017

DETAILS

OS version released: rs3_release_xbox_dev_1710.170831-1900
Available: 6:00PM PDT 9/5 (1:00AM GMT 6/9)

NEW FEATURES:

Light and Dark Themes

• We are adding new themes to the dashboard. In addition to the current theme, you’ll be able to select a new light theme. Please note that this setting will not be enabled till 9.00am PDT 9/6/17 as we need all Alpha users to be on this new build. After 9.00am on 9/6 simply reboot your console to see the setting. 1. Navigate to Settings > Personalization > System personalization > System theme. 2. Select Light.

Notifications enhancements

• Game invites are moving from Action Center to the Multiplayer tab of Guide and Recent Achievements will now be in the Achievements tab. This makes it easy to see at a glance if you have new invites or Achievements when opening the Guide, and makes accessing those notifications faster, now that other system notifications aren’t in the way

FIXES:

• Movies & TV and Misc Media Apps: Black screens during movie playback have been fixed as has Fast Forward.

KNOWN ISSUES:

• Light Theme: There are some known visual contrast issues in messaging, the entertainment twist and the Mixer twist – you may see white one white. Fixes will be coming soon.
• Sign-in When using Arabic or Hebrew language and signing in with a profile using the “Lock it down” security preference, the sign-in screen which requests Microsoft account e-mail address and password is distorted. This does not affect the profile if it is set to use the “Ask for my passkey” or “No barriers” security preferences. Workaround: Set the console to use another language, sign-in, and set the profile’s security preference to “Ask for my passkey” or “No barriers”. Alternatively, you can still type in your password as normal using the virtual keyboard though the screen is distorted.
• Netflix: When using Hebrew language, Netflix fails to launch.
• Minecraft Better Together Beta: Other games fail to launch after launching the Minecraft Beta. Workaround: This occurs if the Minecraft Beta is the first game launched after powering on the console; launch another game before Minecraft to avoid this issue. If you are stuck in this state, hard reset your console.
• Blu-Ray Player: 3D Blu-Ray content plays in 2D.
• Game Hub: Game Hub isn’t accurately tracking Gamerscore and achievement unlocks for certain games.

The redesigned Xbox Dashboard and the new Light Theme are just the first steps in Microsoft’s Fluent Design update for the Xbox One, and we expect much more in the near future. If you’re on the Preview Beta Ring, Xbox Preview Program manager Brad Rossetti also tweeted yesterday that you should get your first 1710 build in the next few days.