3 Cool New Features Available For Xbox Insiders In June 2026

Microsoft's Xbox division has announced a slate of new features for Xbox Insiders. These will only be available to "select Alpha Skip-Ahead Xbox Insiders" for now, but expect them to come down the pike to the rest over the next few weeks. This follows the new head of Xbox, Asha Sharma, promising to bring improvements to Xbox consoles toward the end of April 2026.

Xbox's first new feature is to recognize the controller you have for more accurate visuals. Currently, when changing settings that deal with the controller, like remapping buttons, the system displays a generic image of a standard Xbox controller. Now, it'll detect information like the specific color pattern or whether it's an Elite 2 controller. The team hopes this will make it easier to identify which controller you're altering at a given time. It's unclear how the system will detect the colors of custom controllers bought directly from Microsoft or if it will recognize third-party Xbox controllers.

Another big change is a new set of color options, allowing players to alter the color scheme of the user interface (UI). Options include hue, saturation, and lightness, as well as the ability to enter an RGB hex code into the menu to apply a specific color. This new system will also offer to match the scheme with your account's profile picture, or "Gamer Pic." Lastly, Xbox is also adding a service status alert so that "you can stay informed without leaving your console."

As mentioned above, this is available for Alpha Skip-Ahead Xbox Insiders, which is an invite-only tier of the Insiders program. The general Xbox Insider program is more publicly available, but this tier does not have access to the new features just yet, and enrolling in it requires you to follow some steps that Microsoft has laid out. That said, you can still view what's coming to the alpha and skip-ahead groups (called rings) via Xbox's support pages.

The most recent updates include changes to power consumption, reorganization of settings, and adding "easy access points" for customization of the homepage. However, be warned about hopping into alpha or beta software, as these can have bugs. Currently, Microsoft is aware that Xbox users running Update Preview builds can't find some games in the menus and have to use the store to force a download.

These improvements have been spurred on by a change in leadership, with the Xbox brand rapidly altering how it presents itself. While dedicated Xbox users have praised several of the decisions, the new direction has been criticized as pandering by some. Outside of Xbox dropping Game Pass prices, recent additions from this new regime include setting up a Reddit-like feedback page which users can vote on to vie for Xbox's attention, and changing the logo and how the word "Xbox" is written on the page.