Next Xbox One preview pushing out soon to testers, new language and pre-order features in tow

Those enrolled in the preview program for the latest Xbox One experience will be seeing a new build pushing out around 6PM Pacific today, as confirmed by platform head, Mike Ybarra.

As ever there are a whole bunch of fixes and a whole lot of stuff that's still causing an issue. Top of the list though are new features for language independence and game pre-orders.

Language Independence - Based on overwhelming fan feedback, we've enabled Language Independence to give you even more choices over your Xbox experience and how you engage with your Xbox One. Language Independence gives you the freedom to choose any supported language on Xbox One, regardless of your location.Please try out this capability and give us your feedback. If you encounter any issues, change your language and location settings back to their previous values to see if the issue still exists. We look forward to your feedback.Game Pre-orders - When purchasing a game pre-order, funds may no longer be deducted from your account immediately (depending on when the game pre-order is purchased). Pre-order funds will now be deducted from your account 10 days or less prior to the game's release date.

Those in the program should hit up the preview forums right now (opens in new tab) to check out the full list of features, fixes and known issues.

Richard Devine
Managing Editor - Tech, Reviews

Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you'll find him steering the site's coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@richdevine

72 Comments
  • Ooh, not charging the account for pre-orders until closer to release date. That's nice, many third-party retailers do the same thing.
  • The thing that bugs me the most about the Xbox Store to date. Can pre-order months in advance from Amazon and be charged at shipping. Microsoft takes your money and doesn't deliver for months.
  • I liked the old design for the pre order but I'm probably in the minority of who feel that way
  • I'm with you on this.
  • I would agree. Take my money right then and there so I'm not surprised by a random charge months later Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • I agree with you. I want it out while I know about it and not out of the blue later. It's just a peace of mind thing for me.
  • Much prefer the current way.  You can set-and-forget without having to worry about potential dishonor fees if you forget to transfer money into the appropriate account/service within some stupid 10-day window, and you'd also lose any potential pre-order bonuses if that happens too.
  • Same here. I might forget and not have the funds to cover.
  • Why would you want to wait to pay??
  • I guess just incase the game doesn't turn out to be like you thought and want to get your money back before it releases
  • I wish I was a preview member ...
  • I'm on the preview love the new features
  • Are you able to invite to be a member? Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • I haven't checked recently but I believe it's still possible, or maybe there are limited spots, drop your gamertag and I'll try to invite you later today :)
  • And if invitations are still full, the testing model will be changing after the Anniversary Update is released. Xbox One will be joining the same Insider experience we've come to enjoy on Windows 10
  • Anyone know what the difference is between the 'current' and 'latest' previews are?
  • Yes. This is the preview of the Anniversary Update hitting later this year. Some current preview members were invited to test out the next big thing.
  • Haha, I know what the preview is. On the Xbox preview app there's 'latest' and 'current' and I wondered what the difference between those two different enrolments are.
  • The difference is what I just said ;-) the latest is the anniversary preview. Current is what we already have.
  • It means the current nxoe is what your on and latest is the lxoe aka summer update with Cortana and other features
  • But still no music on background?
  • Nope still gotta wait
  • Coming soon?
  • There was a developer preview that went out recently for xbo that allowed devs to write code that allowed background music. So I'd say this is coming with the anniversary update along with uwp apps. Or whenever that will hit. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Yrs, support for writing apps with background sound too.
  • If funds won't be deducted until 10 days or less from release does this mean you can cancel pre-orders before funds are deducted? Also, does this mean you can pre-order before you have enough funds in your account assuming it's beyond 10 days from release? I've never made a digital pre-order (only physical limited editions & when MS Store is giving $15 to reward members). Can you even use your MS account? Cause if it's CC only that makes my second inquiry null.
  • Good question. In theory charging close to release would mean you now have the option to change your mind and cancel. Hopefully that's the case.
  • When will be getting the Windows Store For the universal apps?
  • So when the hell are those of us non-preview members finally getting an update? iirc we haven't had a update since last year...sucks hearing about this stuff and not seeing any of it...
  • Prolly when the anniversary update launches Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • And didn't we all love that god awful update we got last year that moved our games as far away from the main screen as possible and slowed everything down to an utter crawl.  Yeah, I really want a repeat of that debacle.
  • And forcibly removed Kinect gestures. NXOE sucks.
  • I hope they fix the "hey Cortana" commands. I get why they are doing it but right now it does not work near as well as "Xbox_____" It takes time to warm up and says that it can't connect to the internet most of the time.
  • I agree with this completely, it's very slow. I think they can improve it as this is early days but if they can't they I think they need to re-consider the feature in this current Xbox. If it can't perform as well or better than the original "Xbox____" commands then they should consider holding off on this feature until Project Scorpio is available and the hardware is better. At times it feels like the Xbox One struggles with just basic dashboard navigation, nevermind Cortana - I think there's got to be ways they can optimise the overall experience.
  • I'm not sure if the slow response or delays is all hardware or not. The original Xbox dashboard would go home very quickly when the home button on controller was pressed. Ever since the nxoe was released there is a noticeble delay.
  • A LOT more than just 'noticable'.  Sometimes it can take 5 seconds from long-pressing the guide button and the shutdown options to appear after the controller has vibrated. Its a horrible system we got forced upon us.
  • I never have the problem connecting to the internet, but I frequently get a large delay between "Hey Cortana" and the on-screen display, then Cortana stops listening but keeps playing the listening sound until I open a game/app. Also, for me, it usually goes, "Xbox, play music. *beat* I mean, Hey Cortana, Play Music."
  • I wonder if they are doing A/B testing. When I say "Hey Cortana" for the first time, there is a long warming up pause and that first command will never work. Subsequent commands are a 50/50 whether it will work or she replies with "The internet and I are not talking" or something like that.
  • Still in test mode perhaps, and will get better on/after the official release.  Who knows, but I'm gonna hate having to say 'hey cortana' instead of just 'xbox' followed by a nice structured and known set of commands.
  • Definitely... It like hey cortana pause... She plays her little chime and maybe 5 secs later she will pause by that time it's missed the mark lol... I just broke out my remote and say screw it lol Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • I'm not seeing any drastically horrible lag times for Cortana, a little, but I hate hate hate having to say "Hey Cortana" *pause. Watch light on Kinect light up* "Xbox on" *wait for more lag, hope that I said it right and that it's still lagging* I do, however, love that she can actually hear me over the volume of my TV when a game is uncomfortably loud after switching from Netflix or another game. This was the original promise of Kinect for X1 and Cortana delivers it. "Hey Cortana, volume down" It still lags slightly, but it actually responds. Sheesh, about time they figured out how to determine TV sound vs sound I make Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • But will this give me Cortana in Canada early?
  • the Language Independence is not a feature, more like a fix for something I felt was broken from the begining. I can change the language in every other device I ever owned without breaking all online services by changing the region... I hope it will finally make me able to turn on my Xbox with voice commands, the promised feature that never came to the rest of the world.
  • I'm enjoying checking out the preview, I was in the old preview from the start pretty much - I hope they can improve Cortana over the next few updates, at the moment it's Flaky - Obviously that's expected in this early stage but as it stands right now it's not really reliable in my testing. We mustn't see "Warming up" in the public release IMO, not after initial launch at least. I have started recording clips using the gamepad instead of by voice now as it rarely works - I'm sure they'll improve it but I think if they want Cortana on Xbox it needs to get as quick as the old commands were. Hopefully when project Scorpio rolls around we'll get a much smoother Dashboard experience overall but until then glad for them to keep trying to improve it. I just hope they aren't trying to cram too much in...Even though the hardware in consoles isn't spectacular I think the dashboard has always felt a bit clunky and slow. Not sure if others notice it, but sometimes pressing the Xbox button on the controller just doesn't take you back to the dashboard on the first try.
  • The dashboard was smoother prior to the NXOE update of last year.  It had nothing to do with everything being updated to Windows 10, just a really badly thought out and designed UI that made even the simplest things take way longer than they did before.
  • Yeah?
  • I wish they had a different trigger for Cortana on the Xbox. Had my surface by me while gaming the other day and both of the machines answered me.
  • That's a really good idea...I wonder would it add confusion though. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Now if Aaron Paul does another xbox advert. Alot more devices will respond :P. That would be a funny a sight (first time around).
  • How about "Xbox" for the trigger.... :) I get that they are keeping it consistent so you don't learn a new trigger phrase for each device, but it's both longer than the old "Xbox" and not device-specific.
  • I'm guessing this is only for insiders with the invite of  the new preiview? As a insider, i havent got an update since late april.
  • Be nice if they made the home responsive. Feels like I'm on a 286....
  • I wouldn't say it's as bad as a 286 , but it is slower. I thought it would improve over time.
  • This would be my number one request that they start work on after the Anniversary update goes out. Pressing the Xbox button to go home literally takes seconds to respond, or sometimes just doesn't respond at all.
  • I know it's in early stages for Cortana on Xbox but I prefer the old commands. Much shorter and more responsive, hopefully the this is due to it being early on though. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • It's to keep the activation phrase the same across devices but I agree it's a lot longer. Hey, Cortana....Xbox On is literally twice as many words.
  • All I want is a nice grid of my games to be front and center when I turn on my console. If I want all the annoying social and blatant advertising stuff then put it nearby but DON'T make it the primary focus.   Plus, I want my pre-orders to be paid for WHEN I pre-order them and know I have the necessary funds in the right account, not some wishy washy 'within 10 days of release' by which time I've forgotten mto move the money across and get hit with a dishonor fee from my bank.
  • Language independence... that was sorely needed lol.
  • Locking Language to Region was a real pain when traveling. About 20% of the Europeans (as an average over time) are in a country where they are not born. I travel a lot for work and playin Halo in French was not fun nor easy....
  • Finally language settings will have parity with 360. My biggest issue with Xbone is solved.
  • Preorder in XXI century? Day 1 patch? Game receiving critical patches fee weeks after release? Price dropping in half in just a week? Anybody doing preorder is just asking to get ripped.
  • k
  • If only they'd allow language independence on Windows Phone 10 then I could be much happier with Jen Taylor as Cortana rather than some British bimbo.
  • Add that to the feedback. Cortana now offers speech language options from within its settings, but still not all of them.
  • If you change that language to US do you get the Jen Taylor voice, but with content localised to the UK still? I haven't ever tried changing it tbh.
  • Regarding the new Language setting (w/o locking it to region): What does this effect? 1. Is it interface “only” (anyhow a huge step forward as I really hate how it is today)?
    2. Do Apps like OneGuide work IF the language is set to “British English” and the region to “Swedish” (as an example)?
    3. Does Cortana work in any preferred (and available) language independent of region? I am REALLY looking forward to this update (the removal of the Language lock)!
  • It is all the ads making the dashboard load so slow. I hardwired mine and it is much faster loading now but if I unhook it and use wireless to connect it is slow as can be. I personally think they need to use a layout similar to the PS4 or the 360 blades. The PS4 seems to load its dashboard much faster than the X1.
  • I would like to have the option to when I click on a game or app to check for updates. The PS4 has that ability and it seems odd that the X1 doesn't.
  • I've never found an update to be delayed tbh - It all tends to just work and most updates come down when I'm either sleeping or at work.
  • I wonder if my Kinect will work again after the anniversary update....... Right now, the only thing that its good for is skype
  • I updated last night, Cortana does work much better in this update.
  • On initial usage Cortana seems more reliable over the previous build - I can now turn off the console successfully and response times are quicker. Previously I struggled to get Cortana to process commands at times, still got time to improve the experience so should keep getting better still