Today, Microsoft launched the Fall Dashboard Update for Xbox 360 owners.
A newly redesigned interface, which hosts a slew of new features, will greet gamers after the update is downloaded through Xbox Live. Here's what to expect.
Based on user data, Microsoft has tweaked the Dashboard layout, packing in more tiles per tab, meshing the TV and Movies channel, and moving the Games tab further to the left. A sports channel has also been added. In order to remedy the lack of dashboard personalization in the previous update, pinning has been introduced. By pinning apps, users can customize which games, TV shows, movies, or websites appear on the home page.
New to the Xbox experience is web browsing, a feature that a vocal group of Microsoft's audience has been clamoring for. Internet Explorer will now be accessible through the 360, complete with the capability to view HTML5 videos.
In the service of tailoring the interface to each individual gamer, the Fall Update debuts recommendations and ratings, which generate ads based on previously viewed content, what friends are consuming, and trending or big profile releases. Rotten Tomatoes ratings have been included to supplement the user ratings feature.
Microsoft has renamed the "Quick Play" and "Zune Video Marketplace" tabs with "Recent" and "Xbox Video" respectively. The Recent tab predictably provides a list of content that has recently been accessed. Xbox Video still provides TV shows and movies for rental or purchase.
A wrinkle has been added to the search function, allowing users to conduct a genre search. Bing voice search's range has also expanded, now including results from the internet.
While Xbox SmartGlass is currently absent from the update, Microsoft's "Major Nelson" promises its release on the October 26 Windows 8 launch.
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