The latest Xbox One update is finally here, adding new social features like party preview as well as a dedicated Avatar store for all Xbox One owners.
Headlining the update, which is rolling out now for the Xbox app and will be live for Xbox One consoles tomorrow, is the ability to see who is in a party before joining. No longer will you have to endure awkward situations of joining a room full of strangers by accident. Now, when you select a friend, in addition to being able to invite them to a party or send them a message, a new option to see who is in their party (if they're in one) will appear.
Another new social feature (or more accurately, a returning one), is the achievement leaderboard. Back under the original Xbox One dashboard, players could tab to the right to see a ranking of their friends as sorted by gamerscore earned in the last 30 days. When the new Xbox One dashboard experience rolled out toward the end of last year, the achievement leaderboard was one of the features from the original dash that got lost in translation.
This new leaderboard looks different and can be found in a different area, but it serves much the same purpose. To access it, simply click on the "My Achievements" tab of your profile, and you'll see it displayed at the top above your achievement progress in various games.
Players can (finally) re-arrange their pins as they see fit and hide titles from their "Ready To Install" list. For those who have their list flooded with no-longer functioning game betas, this is a welcome addition.
Avatars are making a comeback in this update as well. You may remember them from the Xbox 360, but they've fallen off the radar in the years since the Xbox One's launch. Microsoft is bringing them back to the forefront a bit, with a new dedicated Avatar store where players can shop for new customization options for their virtual self. The store is built into the Avatar app.
There are a number of smaller updates as well to the Xbox One's suggested friends function, and Microsoft has even improved the Xbox One Elite Controller app to give owners of the $150 luxury controller even more information about their customized set-up.
Those in the Xbox preview program have had this update for a few weeks, but now, all Xbox One owners can enjoy the changes. You can read the full rundown of all the new features here.
