Microsoft is Testing a Higher Resolution Dashboard on Xbox Series X

Microsoft revealed that it is starting a public test of a higher resolution version of the Xbox Dashboard on Xbox Series X only. It’s available now to Xbox Insiders in the Alpha ring.

“We have a new Xbox Update Preview coming to the Alpha ring,” a new post to the Xbox Wire blog notes. “With today’s update, Alpha Insiders on Xbox Series X consoles connected to a 4K display can begin [testing] an increased resolution UI. This change means Home, Guide, and other areas of the UI will be displayed in a higher native resolution for increased sharpness and text readability.”

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Based on this description, it’s not clear if the Dashboard is 4K or just “an increased resolution” when compared to the current Dashboard, which could also mean 1440p (or both, I guess). The current Dashboard displays at 1080p on Xbox Series X right now, and I believe it supports even lower resolutions on Xbox Series S and Xbox One.

Presumably, this update will make its way to the general user base in the months ahead.

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Conversation 9 comments

  • hrlngrv

    Premium Member
    16 August, 2021 - 9:15 pm

    <p>That screen image looks similar to the old BASICA game gorillas.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      17 August, 2021 - 8:08 am

      <p>Yeah, I was getting an 80s arcade game vibe myself.</p>

    • maktaba

      18 August, 2021 - 2:53 am

      <p>It was QBasic.</p>

  • yoshi

    Premium Member
    17 August, 2021 - 8:09 am

    <p>I know it seems petty to care so much about the dashboard resolution, but it will make a huge difference. When I’m using my PS5 for a while and then hop back to XSX, you realize the huge difference. I hate the PS5 UI when navigating it, but it sure does look crisp and colorful. The XSX dashboard is great to navigate, but the text looks terrible and just looks bland. I’m looking forward to this update hitting the general user base.</p>

  • roundaboutskid

    17 August, 2021 - 8:54 am

    <p>How about a better and more useful interface all together? Something more like the XBOX app on the PC? Straight to the games and all other stuff out of the way? TV ("TV","TV","TV", … remember?) is not a thing on the XBOX anymore and with cloud gaming the whole console thing is soon obsolete, so the games please.</p>

  • waethorn

    17 August, 2021 - 10:07 am

    <p>High resolution is one thing, but screen scalability is more important. I wish game developers would quit doing lazy PC ports to game consoles. The text size on some of these games is like 4-5 pixels high and is unreadable on a TV of a modest size and distance from the viewer. It’s like game devs want to mandate that everybody have an 85" TV, 2 feet from your face, just to be able to read it. If Microsoft is to do this, they still need to make sure it’s still designed for the "6-foot UI". I’d bet that there are more 4K TV owners than there are 4K monitor owners. And even then, 1080p TV’s are still likely the norm for the majority of users.</p>

  • will

    Premium Member
    17 August, 2021 - 10:39 am

    <p>So I got the update yesterday, but I honestly can not see any difference. I actually had to double check the build that was installed to make sure it was correct, but I can not see any noticeable differences. Maybe if there was a way to toggle it off, not that I would ever need to do that, I could tell a difference but right now I can not. </p>

  • webdev511

    Premium Member
    17 August, 2021 - 10:46 am

    <p>Sure would be nice if I could actually GET a Series X so I could see this for myself. Resolution and frame rate are kind of a big deal as I realized pretty quickly after firing up Half-Life 2 on the 360. Yikes….</p>

  • maktaba

    18 August, 2021 - 3:44 am

    <p><br></p>

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC