Xbox Insiders update - welcome Xbox One UI improvements on the way

By Oscar Dayus,

Microsoft has revealed a new Xbox One system update for the Insiders program, and while there's nothing game-changing in there, some welcome UI improvements are on the way.

Mercifully, the Guide will soon have a simpler layout. For example, parties, messages, and invites have been combined into a new "parties & chats" tab, while settings, audio, and power options have been merged under "profile & system". The streamlining continues when it comes to notifications, too, as they'll all be combined under one banner, the bell icon - this will house "app & system notifications ... [and] other alerts".

The new and improved Guide has already begun appearing on Insiders' machines and will continue to roll out in phases over the coming weeks.

Elsewhere, the My Games and Apps area will now contain the Storage Management page, and the "Surprise me!" button returns. You can set filters for the button before playing roulette with your entire library of games, if the mood takes you.

Finally, the Xbox One Mixer app will finally show emotes and subscriber badges in the chat, and it'll be easier to access your stream settings in just one push of a button.

There's no word as yet when these changes will come to non-Insider Xbox users - indeed it's not guaranteed they will at all. We'll keep you up-to-date when Microsoft reveals more.

If you want in on the action, you can download the Xbox Insider Hub from the Microsoft Store now.

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Written by Oscar Dayus

Oscar is the acting editor of both TrueAchievements and TrueTrophies. He's written for GameSpot, Vice, PCGamesN, Pocket Gamer, VideoGamer, and, to be honest, too many others to name. Send him good memes, if you like.