Xbox redesigns home screen and removes Cortana voice assistant

Update is intended at streamlining home screen

Giant screens show the Xbox logo during the Microsoft Microsoft Xbox 2019 Briefing at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, USA, 09 June 2019 (EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT)

Microsoft is changing the Xbox dashboard once again – and getting rid of what was previously one of its main features.

The company is streamlining the Home screen, with the aim of getting people into games faster and showing more content at the same time.

Instead of arranging the information around "twists" at the top of the screen, the company will instead show a series of buttons to allow people to launch into different experiences. Those will include games, the same as normal, but also other easily clickable options to open services like the Microsoft Store or Mixer.

The new version of the Home screen is rolling out now to people in Xbox's Insider programme, which allows people to use early versions earlier. But it made clear that it will change over time – and may even disappear and then come back, depending on feedback, Xbox said.

If it does survive that feedback process, the new design is likely to come to other platforms.

But perhaps the more significant change is the removal of the Cortana voice assistant from the menu. The feature was once a headline part of the Xbox, but has been removed entirely.

Before the removal – and for the time being, until the update rolls out – it was possible to talk to the Xbox directly, such as through a headset. Doing so could trigger various things to happen.

Instead, Xbox users will have to talk to another device, and have that then communicate with the Xbox. By doing so it will be shifting its focus from "on-console experiences to cloud-based assistant experiences".

"This means you can no longer talk to Cortana via your headset," Xbox explained. "However, you can use the Xbox Skill for Cortana via the Cortana app on iOS, Android, and Windows or via Harmon Kardon Invoke speaker to power your Xbox One, adjust volume, launch games and apps, capture screenshots, and more —just as you can do with Alexa-enabled devices today."

The change will come to early users this week, and then fully roll out to everyone in the autumn.

Killing off the Cortana assistant in the Xbox will also stop its voice dictation features. "Don’t worry though, our team is working to provide an alternative solution and will have more details to share soon," Xbox said.