Xbox began rolling out six new console features to Xbox Insiders on September 9, 2026, covering everything from startup animations to higher-quality Remote Play streaming. None of it is final yet, but it’s a good preview of what’s coming to every Xbox Series X|S console in the weeks and months ahead. Here’s what each feature actually does and where to find it once it reaches you.
Who Gets These Features Right Now
These six features are currently limited to members of the Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead rings in the Xbox Insider Program, the earliest and least stable test tiers Xbox offers. If you’re not enrolled, you won’t see any of this yet; Xbox has not given a firm date for wider release, only that it will happen “in the weeks and/or months ahead.” Features can still change or get pulled before they reach a general release, so treat what’s below as a preview rather than a guarantee.
Customizable Startup Animation
You can now choose which animation plays when your console powers on, picking from options spanning the original Xbox era through the current generation, and toggle whether it plays with sound. Find it under Settings > System > Startup. It’s a cosmetic feature with no effect on boot time or performance; whichever animation you pick just plays for the few seconds your console takes to start up.
Badge Personalization
Xbox Insiders can now choose up to five badges to feature on their profile card and individually hide specific badges from their public profile. This builds on a badge-visibility change from the previous month and is purely about controlling what other players see when they view your profile, not about earning new badges.
Local Search in My Games & Apps
A new local search tool lets you search directly within My Games & Apps, official club achievement lists, and your own achievement history, working alongside the existing filters and sort options rather than replacing them. This addresses a long-standing complaint that searching from the dashboard often surfaced irrelevant shopping results instead of the game or achievement you were actually looking for.
Higher-Quality Remote Play Streaming
Xbox Series X|S Insiders in the Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead rings can now preview Remote Play streaming at up to 1440p resolution with higher bitrates, aimed at sharper visuals and smoother gameplay when streaming from your console to a PC, phone, or TV. Remote Play uses the console you already own to stream, so this doesn’t require any subscription beyond what you already have.
To actually see the improvement, set your console’s display resolution to 1440p or 4K UHD under Settings > General > TV & display options; if your streaming quality is set to Auto, Remote Play will already try to pick the best resolution your device and network can handle, regardless of what the setting displays. During this test period, some devices may not show separate quality controls for Remote Play versus Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is expected while the feature is still in testing.
Background Downloads While Cloud Streaming
Since June, Insiders have been able to stream a game from the cloud while it installs locally. Now, that download can continue in the background even while you’re actively streaming and playing, network conditions permitting, instead of pausing. Xbox Series X|S owners will see the largest benefit since they handle local installs faster. The setting lives under Settings > Cloud gaming > Streaming preferences and can be turned off at any time if you’d rather prioritize streaming bandwidth over download speed.
Voice Clarity in Party Chat
Voice Clarity is a new audio processing feature for Xbox Series X|S that reduces everyday background noise during party chat and in most games released since 2020, making it easier to hear teammates clearly. It’s enabled by default for Insiders testing it, and you can adjust or disable it under Settings > General > Volume & audio output > Additional options if you’d prefer the unprocessed audio.
What NOT to Expect Yet
Don’t expect these features on a retail, non-Insider console yet; Xbox hasn’t committed to a release date, and Insider Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead features have historically taken anywhere from a few weeks to several months to reach everyone, with some never making it out of testing in their original form. Don’t expect the 1440p Remote Play preview to work well on a poor network connection either, since streaming quality is still capped by your bandwidth regardless of what the console supports. If a feature you’re testing behaves unexpectedly, that’s expected for an early Insider build; Xbox explicitly asks for feedback through the Insider Hub app rather than treating early bugs as final product issues.
How to Join the Xbox Insider Program
If you want early access to features like these, install the Xbox Insider Hub app from the Microsoft Store on your console, sign in with your Microsoft account, and enroll in a ring. The Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead rings get features earliest but are also the least stable, since they run pre-release console software; the Beta ring is a safer middle ground if you want some early access without as much risk of bugs affecting your daily use.
Related: Xbox August 2026 Update: 6 New Features Explained · Xbox App Won’t Open on PC: How to Fix It
FAQ
When will these Xbox features reach everyone, not just Insiders?
Xbox has only said these six features will expand beyond the Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead Insider rings in the weeks or months ahead, without a firm date. Insider features can also change or get removed before a wider release.
Do I need Xbox Game Pass to use the new Remote Play streaming quality?
No. Remote Play streams from the Xbox console you already own, so the higher-quality 1440p preview does not require Xbox Game Pass or any additional subscription.
How do I turn off Voice Clarity if I do not want it?
Go to Settings, then General, then Volume and audio output, then Additional options on your console. Voice Clarity is enabled by default for Insiders testing it, but it can be adjusted or turned off from that menu.
Is it safe to join the Alpha Skip-Ahead Insider ring for these features?
Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead are the earliest, least stable Insider rings, since they run pre-release console software that can have bugs. If you want to try new features without much risk to your daily console use, the Beta ring is a more stable middle ground.