Xbox One Alpha Insiders are getting a new 'Entertainment' twist on the Dashboard

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
last updated

Xbox One Insiders on the Alpha ring might notice a small change to their Dashboard later today. Specifically, Microsoft has announced (opens in new tab) a new "Entertainment" twist will start showing up for Alpha Insiders in between the "Community" and "Store" options later today.

From Microsoft:

When loading the dashboard on your Xbox One, Preview Alpha Insiders will notice a new Entertainment twist nestled between Community and Store. Here you'll find the latest movies and TV shows as well as content from your favorite video streaming apps.

If that sounds a little familiar, it should: that spot on the Dashboard is currently occupied by the OneGuide twist, which performs the exact same media aggregating functions. It's a small change, but it raises the question of what will happen to the OneGuide branding. Is it being retired entirely, or will it remain in some capacity?

In any case, Microsoft is asking Alpha Insiders to test the new tab and report any feedback. A new 1706 build may also be on its way later today, according to Xbox's Brad Rossetti. If the Entertainment twist doesn't show up right away, you may need to hard reset your console, Microsoft cautions.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

8 Comments
  • That actually looks pretty nice. I feel like they need to modify and port the Xbox UI over to Windows 10 as a new tablet UI
  • Yup and they also need to flesh out the TV section of the store, in USA it's fine but a lot of said USA shows are not available globally and just wind up getting pirated.
  • Just another indication that they're going to kill off OneGuide. They already removed OneGuide from the Xbox app. They already removed the movie and tv information from the OneGuide app. I miss Xbox One: Day One Edition.
  • If they kill oneguide I will riot
  • I've always been confused, oneguide branding is used for 2 things, one to show all your entertainment options on one screen and another being the TV tuner. If they remove the TV tuner I'll be angry as hell, so will two other family members. You see we didn't buy an Xbox One for games, but as a media player and all our TV viewing is done via the Xbox One, including the TV tuners which we all bought from Microsoft as additional hardware.
  • Same here. I have two whole setups with kinnects and tv tuner trying to replace media center. Looks like the Xbox is going all in on the gaming and not entertainment..
  • I really hope Microsoft performs a massive UI change with Scorpio. 'cause the current UI is absolut sh*t.
    No point in tweaking it. Every single update since the Xbox One launch has made it worse instead of better.
    Only salvation now is starting from scratch. The new Fluent Design would present a good opportunity to do that.
  • I guess it's personal preference, but other than the reduction in support for Kinect and gesture controls (not that I used them much, but they were fun), I'm happy with most of the other changes. I find it much faster to accomplish things under the latest UI than before. I still sometimes accidentally use the old habits, which obviously don't work, but when I remember to use the new approach, it's faster for me to go from TV to specific games and vice versa. I also find the general organization to be more intuitive and similar to Windows 10 on a computer.