Xbox One August 2020 Update: new features and changes

Microsoft ships the August 2020 Update for Xbox One with various improvements, but the new dashboard design with rounded corners will arrive in a future update.

Xbox August 2020 Update (source: Microsoft)
Xbox August 2020 Update (source: Microsoft)

Microsoft is now rolling out the August 2020 Update for Xbox One consoles with improvements for the Guide, Activity Feed, Parties and Chats, new notification inbox, and the ability to mute party members.

In this update, the company is introducing several features and changes for the dashboard that will be also available for the upcoming Xbox Series X and across the Xbox ecosystem of apps.

The Guide has been redesigned to be less clutter and easier to read. It includes a new layout that is easier to navigate between your most recent activities. Also, there’s even a new option to change the order of tabs, and at the bottom of the page, you’ll find new button for utilities like notifications, search, and audio settings.

In the new Guide, you’ll also find a new notifications inbox, which is now available through the notification bell at the bottom of the page. The inbox combines all the alerts, game invites, and message notifications into a single digestible feed.

The Parties and Chats are now into a single tab. You now have the ability to control the volume or mute each party member, and the dashboard now adds text previews for new messages. Also, the Activity Feed has been updated to include a new layout that make it easier to share content, such as video clips, posts, and screenshots.

The August 2020 Update for Xbox One is slowly rolling out now, and it’ll take some time to reach every console, but you can always check manually to find out if the update is available inside Settings.

Alongside these new improvements, Microsoft is working on other visual changes, including a dashboard that introduces rounded corner elements, more intuitive highlights when selecting items on the screen, and new fonts.

The ability to select several different themes for your profile, something that’s already available for the Xbox App on PC and through the Game Bar, and the ability to sign in on multiple devices.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows expert and the Editor-in-Chief who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He is also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 12 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows, software, and related technologies, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.