As we’re getting closer to the release of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, Microsoft unveiled yesterday several new tools to be added to the Windows Device Portal. First of all, the diagnostic platform will soon support Location Based Testing for UWP apps, with a new Location tool allowing developers to change the location that Windows reports to apps. Even better, this new Location tool won’t change the locale of your PC, and it will also work for web pages in Microsoft Edge.

For those of you using Device Portal to configure devices over a USB connection, the new USB Devices tool will now give you a complete view of your systems USB hubs, controllers and peripherals.

Developers leveraging the UWP Streaming App Installation feature will also be able to use a new Streaming Install Debugger tool in Device Portal. “In it you’ll be able to edit the states of the content groups so you can test your apps behavior as streaming install is being simulated and ensure it behaves correctly when content groups are missing,” explained Microsoft.

Last but not least, Device Portal is gaining new 3D View and Framerate counter tools for developers of mixed reality apps, as well as an Installed Apps tool to easily launch apps in a mixed reality headset attached to a PC. “While fully immersive apps will always run in Mixed Reality, this new button is particularly useful for 2D UWP apps (or apps that switch between 2D and immersive) when you want to test them in Mixed Reality,” explained Microsoft.

The updated Device Portal will ship with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, but developers can already suggest new features and suggestions on the dedicated UserVoice website.

The Xbox Game Pass is a recently launched subscription based library with over a hundred titles for gamers to browse through. One of the reasons the Xbox Game Pass is so popular is that it has a little something for everyone with a grab bag of classic, backward compatibility, and newer titles. Now users are reporting that some games are vanishing from the library without warning from Microsoft.

Specifically, Dungeons & Dragons Chronicles of Mystara has vanished from the Xbox Game Pass library. Users are reporting that the game originally available on the program’s release is now unavailable and it has some more than upset that there wasn’t a statement on it.

Dennis Ceccarelli from Xbox Daily did say during E3 that games would be removed eventually but that it wouldn’t start until November.

“While there’s not one set amount of time that a game will be in the catalogue, and some titles will leave the catalogue eventually, I want to put some fears at rest because our first games won’t be leaving the catalogue until late November”

The idea is for the games to rotate with fresh titles, encouraging purchases of the games that users enjoy and providing new experiences for the price, similar to the EA Access vault. With this title disappearing without a trace, consumers are left wondering when the titles they are currently playing might get pulled abruptly by Microsoft.

There are other reasons that could have resulted in the game disappearing from Xbox Game Pass such as licensing issues. We’ve reached out to a Microsoft spokesperson for more information. Let us know your opinions in the comments below or tweet us @OnMSFT.

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Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara

Developer:
Capcom

Price:
$14.99

Microsoft’s official Xbox app has updated on Windows 10 with some improved volume controls for chat and the new Light Theme that had been tested in the Xbox Beta app. Like with the Xbox Beta app, the main Xbox app has now removed the animated Xbox Avatars, likely preparing for the rollout of the revamped Avatars which are due sometime before the end of 2017. Here’s the official release notes:

• New for party chat: Control your party’s chat volume, and choose a specific audio device.
• Get the bird’s-eye view: Brackets have been added for Killer Instinct tournaments.
• We now take you live! Watch game broadcasts in clubs.
• Co-stream with friends: Once you get an invite, just accept to go to Mixer.com and co-stream.

Have you noticed any other changes with this app update? Let us know in the comments below.

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Xbox Console Companion

Developer:
Microsoft Corporation

Price:
Free

Developers are now able to create Unity projects and new games for Xbox One X. Announced today, Unity now has support for Xbox One X with 4K HDR output and increased power for the next Microsoft console.

The Xbox One X revealed at E3 2017, formerly and fondly named Project Scorpio, is the next console in the video game industry. Microsoft has decided to continue the Xbox line with higher benchmarks compared to the Xbox One S. Games developed for the Xbox One X will also be compatible with the original Xbox One and Xbox One S.

The Xbox One X support was added to the existing Xbox One family development kit. Independent developers will need to register for the ID@Xbox publishing program to access the Xbox One forum for Unity. This is where you can access resources and the download for the Xbox One Unity editor add-on, as well as a bustling community to interact with.

Read more about Xbox One X development with Unity from its official site.

Microsoft announced today that it is expanding its Azure cloud computing service to two new regions in Australia, to be available in the first half of 2018. With these latest additions, Microsoft Azure will soon have 42 regions worldwide, which is more than any other cloud provider.

The two new Azure regions will be located within data centres in Canberra, and Microsoft says that it will be the only major cloud provider in the country to be able to handle unclassified and protected government data. This a result of a partnership with Canberra Data Centres (CDC), a local specialist datacenter provider for secure government data.

“This announcement builds on recent news that dozens of Microsoft Azure services have received certification by Australian Signals Directorate, including services for machine learning, internet-of-things, cybersecurity, and data management,” explained Tom Keane, Azure’s Head of Global Infrastructure. “Along with Australian certifications for Office 365 and Dynamics 365, Microsoft is recognized as the most complete and trusted cloud platform in Australia,” he added.

Welcome back to our Windows 10 news recap. We are continuing the trend of our weekly “Windows 10 news recap” series where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

View 3D gains ability to superimpose 3D models into the real world in latest update on Windows 10

In an update for those on the Windows 10 Insider program on the Fast Ring, Microsoft has released an update that adds the ability for users to superimpose 3D models into the real world via a camera.

71% of Windows 10 users share all of their diagnostics data with Microsoft

Microsoft has claimed that 71% of users of its Windows 10 operating system have opted to share diagnostic data with the firm, helping to provide information on crashes and issues experienced by users.

New privacy features in Windows 10 Creators Update have been positively received by users, Microsoft says

After reporting that 71% of users have opted to share Windows 10 diagnostic data with Microsoft, the company has also said that new privacy features in its operating system have been received positively by users.

VP of Microsoft devices doubles down on recent Consumer Reports claims, “We stand behind Surface”

After Consumer Reports pulled its recommendation of Microsoft’s Surface product line entirely, the Vice President of Microsoft devices, Panos Panay, has stated that they “stand behind Surface”.

That’s it for this week, we’ll be back next week with more Windows 10 news!

Microsoft (MSFT) news recap is a weekly feature highlighting the top Microsoft news stories of the past week. Sit back, grab some coffee, and enjoy the read!

Microsoft is giving away 500 Rewards points for free to apologize for the system being slow to grant rewards

In response to Microsoft Rewards being slow at granting rewards upon redemption, the company is offering 500 Rewards points for free, as an act of apology.

Some Microsoft Band owners are still experiencing sync problems, and Microsoft is still working to fix it

For about a week now, Microsoft Band owners have been complaining of problems with synchronisation. The company has said they’re investigating and are working on a fix for the issue.

yes, we know about this and are investigating.

— Dona Sarkar at #MBAS #a11y (@donasarkar) August 10, 2017

Microsoft introduces Coco Framework, makes blockchain networks enterprise ready

As Microsoft pushes further into blockchain, the company has introduced a framework called the Coco Framework. It aims to deliver performance and processing power that enterprises need for blockchain networks, and is open source.

“We have listened to the needs of our customers and the blockchain community and are bringing foundational functionality with the Coco Framework. Through an innovative combination of advanced algorithms and trusted execution environments (TEEs), like Intel’s Software Guard Extensions (SGX) or Windows Virtual Secure Mode (VSM), we believe this takes the next step toward making blockchain ready for business.”

Kaspersky drops its antitrust complaint after Microsofts agrees to cooperate with AV vendors

After a months-long fight, Kaspersky Labs has dropped an antitrust complaint it lodged against Microsoft, after the company has reportedly agreed to cooperate with vendors of anti-virus software in Windows 10, with the following key points:

• We will work more closely with AV vendors to help them with compatibility reviews in advance of each feature update becoming available to customers. This means customers can expect we will have worked through compatibility issues with AV providers before offering the update to customers running that AV.
• We will give AV partners better visibility and certainty around release schedules for feature updates. This includes increasing the amount of time AV partners will have to review final builds before the next Windows 10 feature update is rolled out to customers.
• We will enable AV providers to use their own alerts and notifications to renew antivirus products before and after they have expired.
• We have modified how Windows will inform users when their antivirus application has expired and is no longer protecting them. Instead of providing an initial toast notification that users could ignore, the new notification will persist on the screen until the user either elects to renew the existing solution or chooses to rely on Windows Defender or another solution provider.

That’s it for this week, we’ll be back next week with more Microsoft news.

Throughout the summer, Microsoft has been releasing updates to the Bing Maps Web Control, which is essentially the Bing Maps seen on the web and in apps. In a post on the Bing Blog, the company gave an overview of the new features that have been added.

Known as Bing Maps V8, the eight version of the web control, it’s a competitor to Google Maps, and in comparison to the search market share, Bing also comes second in the maps world. Here’s a rundown of the updates that have been made available:

Custom Map Styles

Customize the look and feel of the road maps inside of your application. Change the colors of the roads and land, hide certain types of labels. Create a style that aligns with your applications UI, company branding or change it just for fun. Not only are these available in the Bing Maps V8 Web Control, but you can also use custom maps styles with the Bing Maps REST Imagery service (static map images) and with the Windows UWP map control.

GeoXml Module

Easily import and export common spatial file formats such as KML, KMZ, GeoRSS, GML (via GeoRSS) and GPX. Load it as a layer on the map or directly access the data with just a few lines of code.

Ground Overlays

Overlay georeferenced images on top of the map so that they move and scale as you pan and zoom the map. This is great for building floor plans, overlaying old maps, or imagery from a drone.

In addition to these updates, Microsoft released an open source project that contained more than 160 code samples for using Bing Maps Web Control. Now, that project hosts over 200 samples; these samples include an SVG Pushpin Maker, a Solar Terminator Module and more.

To see the updates in detail and try out some examples, take a look at the post on the Bing Blog.

For those in the Windows 10 Insider program on the Fast Ring, an update to the View 3D app is making its way down the lines and into the Windows Store, delivering a new feature that Microsoft promised previously – the ability to superimpose 3D models into the real world.

With this update, several 3D models are made available, such as the Curiosity Rover, Harajuku girl, elephants and more, as well as objects that have been downloaded via Remix 3D.

After selecting a 3D model of your choosing, there’s now a button that will open the camera/webcam of your device, and allow you to begin placing the 3D model into the picture.

This update is only available on Windows 10 PCs and tablets. No word on Windows 10 Mobile at this time.

Go wild – show us your creations in the comments below!

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3D Viewer

Developer:
Microsoft Corporation

Price:
Free

Yooka-Laylee received its first major update on Xbox One. I know that Yooka-Laylee is not exactly a well-known Xbox One game. However, it remains one of the most funded UK games on Kickstarter ever produced, raising more than £2,090,104 of its £175,000 goal.

Yooka-Laylee is a 3D platformer that is the “spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie.” Banjo-Kazooie was a Nintendo 64 (N64) game featured in Xbox One’s Rare Replay game. In a post on Reddit and on Playtronic Games’ official website, there is an extensive list of all the updates and bug fixes for Xbox One. Most notably, the new update fixes camera design issues that players experience throughout gameplay.

One downside to Yooka-Laylee is that it lacks Xbox Play Anywhere support, otherwise Yooka-Laylee is a solid 3D platformer on Xbox One and Windows 10.

Buy Yooka-Laylee on Xbox One.

Buy Yooka-Laylee on Steam.

The Windows Insider monthly webcast has become the new monthly rendezvous that Windows 10 enthusiasts don’t want to miss, and this month you’ll once again be able to ask your burning questions to the team. This time, you’re invited to submit your questions about Microsoft’s Engineering Systems operations, including how Windows 10 is built, everything automated testing and more.

#WindowsInsiders: Pre-submit your questions for the upcoming Engineering Systems webcast this month! Details here: https://t.co/dkzmAFk3RR

— Windows Insider (@windowsinsider) August 10, 2017

You can submit more than one question if you want to, though be aware that feature suggestions or questions about product bugs won’t be addressed during the podcast. As usual, you’ll be able to follow the webcast on Mixer and we’ll let you know when the date has been set.

Last week, the popular simulation video game Slime Rancher became available for free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. After its highlight in Games with Gold, developer Nick Popovich announced that now it has over 2.6 million downloads via Xbox One.

Over 2.6 million people have downloaded Slime Rancher on Xbox One. #GamesWithGoldSlimes

— Nick Popovich (@NickPopovich) August 11, 2017

The game has been building steam since its early access began in January of last year culminating in its official release on August 1 for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Xbox One. Slime Rancher has also been announced to be heading straight for the Windows Store, eventually hoping to become an Xbox Play Anywhere title.

Slime Rancher is available for free right now on Xbox Live Gold or you can pony up the $19.99 to join in the fun. Learn more about it in the store link below.

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Slime Rancher

Developer:
Monomi Park

Price:
$4.99

Earlier this week, the much-anticipated Spotify for Xbox One app finally launched on the Xbox Store, which was a pretty great milestone for the gaming console. While Spotify did not release the native UWP app that many would have like to see, Microsoft has been promoting the new Xbox One app pretty heavily these days. You may have seen the new app being prominently featured in the Xbox store, and even Xbox’s Major Nelson shared his first public playlist this week:

Here is my custom @Spotify playlist inspired by games I've played and more. ???????????????? https://t.co/EOJ0bQ5DY4 https://t.co/IoTgCHX8Wl

— Larry Hryb ????????☁ (@majornelson) August 8, 2017

For those unfamiliar with Spotify, the service has many social features including public playlists, collaborative playlists and more. That’s why many brands and public figures are now creating public playlists (even Barack Obama did at some point), so the launch of the Xbox One was a good opportunity for one of Xbox’s well-known ambassadors to step in.

Major Nelson’s first public playlist kicks off with Game of Throne’s popular opening theme music, and it includes some cool video game music from Gears of War 4, Mass Effect 3 as well as some modern and old-school pop music. The exec shared on Twitter that he will refresh the playlist at some point, and your suggestions are welcome. Additionally, he’s also working to bring his podcast to the service, so you’ll be able to listen to it on any device including your console.

I am working on getting my podcast on @Spotify so you can listen to it on your Xbox One as well.

— Larry Hryb ????????☁ (@majornelson) August 9, 2017

This is all good news for Spotify users, but we can’t avoid the elephant in the room here: yes, Spotify is currently much better than Microsoft’s own Groove Music app, and the company seems well aware of it. Spotify has pretty much all the music you want (including video game music), a great collection of podcasts, and it’s completely free to use (with ads). It’s great to see that Microsoft is promoting it, but we can’t help but wish that Groove Music received the same kind of support over the years.

Update: Major Nelson’s podcast is now on Spotify, and you can subscribe here.

Super Lucky’s Tale is now available to digitally pre-order in the Windows Store. The game is part of the Xbox Play Anywhere initiative which means that buying it on Windows 10 or the Xbox One will automatically unlock it on the other device. Data will also transfer between each version allowing for players to begin a game on their Surface Pro, for example, and continue it on the Xbox One. Here’s the official game description & teaser video:

Welcome to Adventure! “Super Lucky’s Tale” is a delightful, playground platformer for all ages that follows Lucky, the ever-optimistic, energetic, and lovable hero, on his quest to find his inner strength and help his sister rescue the Book of Ages from Jinx. Jinx is the scheming and mysterious villain trying to reshape the world, but for what reason? Along the way, encounter a hilarious supporting cast of friends and adversaries. Lucky must confront the nefarious Kitty Litter, Jinx’s mischievous kids – self-taught villains who might not be getting Jinx’s plans quite right. Lucky meets friends and allies along the way too. He meets misplaced Yetis, Kookie Spookies, a village of farming worms, and other colorful friends inhabiting the Book of Ages.

Test your skills with carnival attractions mini-games and nerve-wracking obstacle courses. Plus, surprise “Jinx Levels” popping up when you least expect them, drawing Lucky into a fiendish game of life and death. Explore hidden secrets of new worlds with Lucky’s signature burrow move. Dive into unpredictable foxholes, or try devilish side scrolling challenge levels to unlock additional rewards. Head back to the era of classic platformers with challenges players of all skill levels and all ages can enjoy.

Super Lucky’s Tale was announced for the Xbox One at this year’s E3 and it will be one of the first video games to offer 4K resolution imagery when played on Microsoft’s new Xbox One X console. The game is due for release on November 7th just two weeks before the launch of the Xbox One X.

Are you going to pre-order Super Lucky’s Tale? Let us know in the comments below.

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Super Lucky’s Tale

Developer:
Xbox Game Studios

Price:
Free

If you’re a Microsoft Rewards Member, check the email linked to your account now for a little points bonus from the folks at Microsoft. The company is giving away 500 Microsoft Rewards points for free to certain members as an apology for the rewards system recently being slow.

Notice of the 500 point bonus is being sent out in an email from Microsoft with the subject line “Sorry about that!” We received the email around 6PM ET today, and we’ve also included Microsoft’s apology note for you below.

You may have noticed recently that our system was slow to grant your points while searching, shopping, and browsing with Microsoft. We’ve fixed the issue and would like to offer you this 500-point bonus to make up for the inconvenience. Our sincerest apologies for the trouble.

To receieve the 500 points, make sure you’re logged into your Microsoft Rewards Account. After you do so, you can then click on the link in the email. Your browser of choice will open, sending you on to the Rewards Dashboard, where you can click on the green “our apologies” offer to cash the points in to your account.

The last time the Microsoft Rewards service acted up was eight months ago, and Microsoft had given members a 1,000 points bonus as an apology. If you’re not already a Microsoft Rewards Member, you can still sign up now. It’s fast and easy, and sometimes fun! Once you’re up and running, you can check out our guide on how you can earn those points quickly.

This is a reminder that the Xbox 360 program Xbox Live Indie Games created to encourage developers on the platform is wrapping up next month (via Neowin). The program is scheduled to be decommissioned and all the games from it unlisted in the Xbox 360 store in September following up on a plan released two years ago.

Many popular titles that have come out through the Xbox 360 era such as Super Meat Boy, Limbo, and more have already converted over to the Xbox Backward Compatibility program. While the titles won’t be available in the store anymore, gamers can still play their purchases still downloaded on their devices.

The program will have ran for eleven years. Indie developers are being encouraged to join the ID@Xbox platform now instead, ushering in an improved way to create video games for Xbox One and Windows 10. You can read more details about the ID@Xbox program here at OnMSFT.

Earlier this year at GDC, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox Live Creators Program, a new initiative to make it easier for indie developers to publish their games on the Windows and Xbox stores. Compared to the pre-existing ID@XBOX program, developers joining the new initiative will be able to integrate Xbox Live into their game (with some exceptions such as Achievements or Internet multiplayer) and publish to Xbox One and Windows 10 without the need for concept approval.

Today, the Xbox team announced that the first wave of Creators Program games are now live in the Windows Store, starting with nine games. All of them are UWP apps, but some are actually available on Xbox One, Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile and even HoloLens:

• Animal Rivals ($4.99)
• Block Dropper ($0.99)
• Crystal Brawl (Free)
• Derelict Fleet ($9.99)
• ERMO (Free)
• GalactiMAX (Free)
• kubic. (Free)
• Space Cat! (Free)
• Stereo Aereo ($3.99)

If you’ve never heard of these games before, that’s normal, and the Xbox team says that you should expect “games that can be quirky and have varying degrees of polish, but are always interesting.”

As these games don’t have to respect the same quality standards as ID@XBOX games, they won’t be proeminently feature on the Windows Store. On a Windows 10 PC, Creators Program games will appear in the Games category, but on the Xbox One they will be regrouped into the Creators Collection section of the Xbox Store. “This gives us all the best of both worlds: A curated store and a fully open marketplace in the Creators Collection,” explained the Xbox team.

It will be interesting to see if many game developers embrace this new initiative, but Microosft promises to “regularly add new games as developers finish their work.” If you’re a game developer, you can learn more about the program on the dedicated website.

If you were bummed to find out that Battlefield 3 was only available through EA Access or disc when it was added to the backward compatibility list, you’ll be happy to know that’s no longer the case.

As bullets whiz by, walls crumble, and explosions throw you to the ground, the battlefield feels much more alive and interactive than ever before. In Battlefield 3, players step into the role of the elite U.S. Marines where they will experience heart-pounding single player missions and competitive multiplayer actions ranging across diverse locations from around the globe including Paris, Tehran, and New York.

As of today, a digital copy of Battlefield 3 can be accessed via the Xbox Store. The twelfth installment of the franchise was released in 2011 with both single-player and cooperative campaigns and all the destruction you could ask for from its generation.

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Battlefield 3™

Developer:
Electronic Arts

Price:
Free

Battlefield 1, one of the biggest blockbuster games released on the Xbox One this year, is now available to play for EA Access subscribers (via Neowin). The WW1 shooter follows Titanfall 2, which was added to the EA Access vault last week. Battlefield 1 is still priced at $59.99 on the Microsoft Store today, so it’s now much cheaper to try the game by subscribing to EA Access.

Here is the game’s official description:

Fight your way through epic battles ranging from tight urban combat in a besieged French city to the heavily defended mountain forts in the Italian Alps or frantic combats in the deserts of Arabia. Discover a world at war through an adventure-filled campaign, or join in epic multiplayer battles with up to 64 players, and adapt your tactics to the earth-shattering destruction and dynamic weather. Fight as infantry, lead horse charges or take control of amazing vehicles on land, air and sea, from tanks and biplanes to the gigantic Behemoths – some of the largest vehicles in Battlefield history.

In addition to Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2, the EA Access Vault recently welcomed FIFA 17, Dragon Age: Origins as well as all four Star Wars Battlefront expansions. As a reminder, the gaming subscription service is still $4.99/month or $29.99/year.

Since Microsoft introduced Xbox Live Achievements with the Xbox 360 more than 10 years ago, the gamification system has pretty much become a game within the game for many players. For some, it has even become a real life competition: Ray “Stallion83” Cox, long time owner of the world’s highest Xbox Gamerscore recently reclaimed his crown after losing it to Stephen “smernov” Rowe during his honeymoon (you can check the global Gamerscore Leaderboards on this site).

But does your Gamerscore really represent your true achievements as a gamer, including your dedication to playing your favorite titles? You could argue that the current Gamerscore system doesn’t necessarily reward the most passionate and skilled gamers out there, and it seems that Microsoft now agrees with that.

Mike Ybarra, Corporate Vice President of Gaming at Microsoft recently explained that the Xbox team is thinking about revamping Xbox Achievements to better reflect your gaming accomplishments, independently from your own Gamerscore level. This is what he said during the Xbox Two Podcast yesterday:

Those are all small things that we can do to the system, and the team looks at them. They’re in our backlog of things that we want to get done, but there’s actually bigger, more bolder changes that we have in mind. Nothing that I can talk about now, but something that fundamentally changes the concept … we are working towards a bigger, more meaningful change about somebody’s gaming accomplishments in history, as a gamer on Xbox.

We can do a lot more to reflect and let people show their gaming history and their status. Whether it’s somebody who only plays multiplayer in Halo 5 at a professional level, maybe they only have 2,000 Gamerscore, you want to be able to celebrate that person. You want people to be in the know. This person doesn’t play a lot of games, but they’re world top ten at Halo 5. All the way to people [with over a million gamerscore]. It’s that range that we really need to look at and celebrate … we’re going to go big in the area of letting people show off and represent their gaming history and the type of gamer that they are, far more than we do with Gamerscore.

It’s not exactly clear what the Xbox team has in mind, but we guess it could mean making better use of your personal gaming data to surface interesting facts that are not already rewarded with Xbox Achievements. This is something that the company already tried to do in the past, and you may remind the recent Gamercrest website that gave you a lot of insights on your overall activity on Xbox Live. Hopefully, the Xbox team is working on something much more ambitious and interactive for the future.

Build 1706.170807-1737 will be rolling out to Xbox Insiders in Preview BETA today. It’s a fairly minor update that doesn’t add any exciting new features and make grand sweeping changes but it does fix a glitch that was occurring on systems during the initial set-up phase. Here’s the official notes:

HOW TO GET IT

If your console is in Instant-On mode and you have been selected to receive the update, it will download and install the update and reboot to standby.

NOTE: Once the update is available to you, you can manually begin the update by launching the Guide and navigating to All Settings > System > Updates.

If your console hasn’t downloaded and installed the update by 1:00 AM PDT 8/11/2017 (8:00AM GMT 11/8), you will be prompted to do so at that time.

DETAILS

OS version released: rs2_release_xbox_1706.170807-1737

Available: 6:00PM PDT 8/9 (1:00AM GMT 10/8)

FIXES:

Console Set-up

Fixed an issue which could cause graphical glitches to appear during the initial console set-up experience.

Have you got this update yet and noticed anything surprising? Share your findings in the comments.

In an interview on the Xbox Two Podcast, Microsoft’s Mike Ybarra spoke about the upcoming redesign of the Xbox One dashboard and how it could evolve even further in the future. Something that particularly stood out was his description of the new Content Blocks which would allow Xbox One users to pin specific content to special areas on the dashboard.

“You can imagine a world where you have a Twitter Content Block, and you can see your latest Tweets there or DMs that you want to see,” Ybarra explained. “That’s just one example I made up here. But certainly as we go forward, we think the Content Block idea of giving gamers the ability to customize their home is something that not only apps and game developers will embrace, but consumers will embrace as well. So you’re seeing just the cusp of what we really want to do here.”

His mention of Twitter integration on the dashboard bears a striking resemblance the Live Tiles that were first introduced on Windows 8 devices and Windows Phones and allowed for the display of live, updated content, directly from the Start Screen. Windows 10 devices and current Windows phones still make use of the feature and it’s been something many Xbox One users have been wanting to see for years now, just check out this User Voice suggestion from 2014. Honestly it’s surprising it hasn’t happened before now.

Do you think Microsoft will finally bring Live Tiles to the Xbox One or will this be something completely different? Maybe an evolution of the Live Tile concept? Let us know in the comments below.

Microsoft unveiled their upcoming visual redesign of the Xbox One dashboard earlier this week and the response from users has been fairly mixed. While most console owners are excited about the new customizable areas, many have begun to voice their dislike of the overall look and are hoping that Microsoft will make some adjustments before the change is rolled out to the general public.

One group of Xbox One users on Reddit in particular have begun commenting heavily on a fan-made image of a potential new Xbox One dashboard that mixes elements of the current look with more conveniently placed recent and custom pins (see the image above).

Microsoft’s own Larry Hyrb has already seen this suggestion and commented on it publically in the thread. “I’ll pass this along, but do know members of the Xbox team browse here frequently – so it’s probably already been seen internally,” he wrote.

The Xbox team at Microsoft constantly takes feedback from users online and in particular those who are Xbox Insiders (select members of the community who have opted-in to test features and changes). What changes would you like to see made to the Xbox One dashboard? Share your thoughts in the comments below.