Hands On: Xbox One Fall Update Light Theme

Last month the Xbox Team at Microsoft began the preview process for the consoles Fall Update by revamping the Xbox Insider Preview Program.

Since late last year, anyone could install the Xbox Insider App on their console and enroll in the program as invites from current testers were no longer necessary for access. However, there was not any specific information available to the public that indicated exactly what was necessary to get into one of the four testing levels.

So they began this refresh of the program by providing specific program tenure and minimum Xbox Insider XP levels to gain access to one of the four flighting groups for console preview builds.

They opted to keep the earliest access level, known as Preview Alpha, as an invite only channel but the remaining three levels were open to anyone who met the tenure/XP level requirements.

Since then they have continued to issue updates to the various testing rings including the introduction of a new and highly customizable Guide for the homepage and a new Xbox Assist/Care app so console users can get assistance right from their console as needed.

Since then they have released updates with small fixes and to address a handful of bugs.

Yesterday, in a new update to Preview Alpha group members the ability to have a light theme was pushed out to users and it was activated by Microsoft earlier today.

This is the first time the Xbox One console has gained the ability to use a light theme since its release. It makes sense that the option is coming to the console as it is becoming quite the norm in Windows 10 and many apps.

I activated the light theme a short while ago and grabbed these screenshots for you to take a closer look at. Pay close attention to some of the Fluent Design touches in the new interface - especially with the glow around the highlighted entry on your console screen.

You will also see that the light theme is adding touches throughout the UI including Settings, Profiles, and the Store.

What do you think of the new light theme?

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