Beam, Microsoft's game-streaming Twitch competitor, is continuing its evolution today with a batch of new updates heading out to a few different parts of its platform. For Xbox users, you'll now be treated to toast notifications when your favorite streamers go live. The mobile website is also getting an overhaul, and streamers are getting some new tools to work with.
Starting today: FTL transcodes, offline channel media, a new mobile website, and toasts on Xbox. Read more at https://t.co/XyJbMlbWur. pic.twitter.com/kRpbQ9stX6Starting today: FTL transcodes, offline channel media, a new mobile website, and toasts on Xbox. Read more at https://t.co/XyJbMlbWur. pic.twitter.com/kRpbQ9stX6— Beam (@Beam) May 5, 2017May 5, 2017
Toasts on Xbox One operate much as you'd expect. Once a streamer you follow goes live, you'll get a toast notification letting you know. You'll want to make sure your Beam account is linked to your Microsoft account to take advantage of this.
Streamers themselves can now set offline images for their channels. Now, instead of a plain blue background when you're offline, you can set a custom static image to show when you aren't streaming. Beam has also started rolling out Interactive 2.0, which adds even more ways for streamers and developers to interact with their fans with dynamic controls, groups and more.
Lastly, the mobile website is getting a bit of an overhaul to make it look more like the latest versions of the iOS and Android apps. Given that the only way for Windows 10 Mobile users to watch on the go is via the mobile website, this should be a welcome change. overall, the experience looks pretty slick, with the same chat and interactive features that you'd expect making an appearance.
