New Xbox Dashboard Featuring More Background Space Unveiled

After months of testing, Microsoft has finally unveiled what a new Xbox dashboard could look like with its latest Xbox Insider 'Home experience'. The new home screen layout, pictured above, is arriving for Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha Insider rings later this week.

Most notably, the new dashboard finally allows for a bit more breathing space for background images, with all of your recently opened tiles shrunk down to allow for more room up top.

There are other changes though - some more subtle than others. Right at the top of the screen you'll notice a new "quick access" menu featuring icons for your library, the Microsoft Store, Xbox Game Pass, search, and settings, and we like how nicely that integrates into the background image.

Finally, Microsoft says that this new Home experience includes a brand new feature relating to game art. Basically, "a responsive game art feature" has been implemented that showcases game-specific artwork when you hover over the associated dashboard tile. This looks a lot like the PlayStation setup that contains a very similar feature relating to recently played titles.

This isn't a perfect update to the dashboard layout, but it's a huge step towards fully showcasing background images and game art, so we're welcoming it all the same. Remember, this is still in its testing phase right now (the dashboard will move from Insider rings to all console users in the coming weeks), and we may see even more changes for the final version.

What do you think to this new dashboard layout? Give us your first impressions down in the comments section!

[source news.xbox.com]