Microsoft has provided small tweaks, features and enhancements to the Xbox One since launch. All of that work culminated in last year’s New Xbox One Experience. With that update available, the company is back to monthly releases and updates that contain good-to-have improvements. Members of the Xbox One Preview Program can expect a Xbox One update to arrive on their system over the next few days that brings with it a ton of improvements to the social experience on the console.
Microsoft announced the first Xbox One update of 2016 this morning in a post on its Xbox Wire news blog, just days after members of Xbox’s executive teased that users would be able to see who is in a party before they join. That feature and more Xbox Live enhancements will make their way to users not in the Xbox One Preview Program during the month of February.
Besides seeing members of a party before you join, Microsoft has added the Gamerscore leaderboard that it ditched with the New Xbox One Experience to the Achievements area of user’s profiles. The Activity Feed from the Community area of the Xbox One software now notifies users when there are newer messages that they haven’t seen. Suggestions for adding new friends are backed into the Activity Feed update too. The latest Xbox news shows up in the Activity Feed automatically.
Microsoft has re-added the ability to hide some games and apps from your collection in the event you don’t want to see them anymore. Buying Avatar items is now something that players can do directly from the Xbox Store and from the dedicated Xbox Avatars app on Windows 10.
Of all the things that Microsoft has added, being able to use Pins when not signed into Xbox Live is the best.
Preview Program members should receive the update automatically over the next day or so. That is, unless they’ve turned Always Connected Mode off on their console. If it is off, they’ll need to manually download the update the next time they connect to Xbox Live.