Microsoft has announced that they have began to ship the first wave of Xbox One features from the Creators Update to Xbox Insider Program members.
The Creators Update is full of features for the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. The update is being sent out to a small group of gamers, with the rest of the Xbox Insider Program members receiving the new features in the coming weeks. Microsoft has stated that the Creators Update is about providing a faster experience than before.
New features include a new look for Home. The goal was to simplify the UI, and to increase overall system performance. Players will notice that the main tile for what they are playing has changed. Now, gamers will see a smaller icon for the game, as well as a few options to dive deeper into the Game Hub, interact with their Club or LFG for that game, view Achievements, and more. The Guide has been updated, which can be pulled up with a press of the Xbox button on the controller as an overlay on the left side of the screen. New features and functionality have been added to the guide, including a new start page.
Cortana is receiving a series of updates in order to make the Xbox One smarter. Players will be able to set reminders and alarms in the latest update. In the coming weeks, more updates will be applied to Cortana in order to enhance the gaming experience. New accessibility options are being added, which are meant to make the Xbox One more inviting to gamers who need assistance. To help make a more immersive experience on the Xbox, a number of audio output features have been added for developers. The Blu-ray disc player on the Xbox One will now support a beta of bitstream passthrough, which allows receivers to decode audio natively. All bitstream formats will be supported, including Dolby Atmos.
Microsoft has stated that this is the first in a series of updates, and that Beam, Windows Game Mode, updates to Cortana, and more are on the way. The full details of the new update can be read here.