The first change users will immediately notice is the overall look of the dashboard, which has been streamlined to incorporate Kinect functionality across all areas. Judging from the screenshot below, the interface will have a less cluttered look which should make navigation more simple. Voice recognition has also been improved to allow users to navigate through all menus swiftly, while a new search option will enable you to find anything on the console quickly.
An example of using the new search function might be to find a game. You may call out "Oblivion" and the Xbox will arrange and show all content on your hard drive that contains that word, from skins to DLC and music to movies. The search system will pull data from every area of the Xbox 360, including external applications, such as Sky TV.
Aside from implementing full Kinect control, the dashboard update will also deliver some deeper social media options. A new system will allow those who use Twitter and Facebook to post achievements to send push notifications. Microsoft says that 'Beacons' are a way to tell your Xbox Live and Facebook friends that you want to play a game on Xbox Live. "It's about making it easier for you to share and discover games and multiplayer opportunities with friends on Xbox LIVE," says Microsoft.
What hasn't been mentioned is the Cloud service that Microsoft talked about at E3, which will give players the option to store "game saves" securely in the Xbox Live cloud instead of on a portable memory unit or your console's hard drive. That is the one redeeming feature that we most want to see this year.
A release date has yet to be confirmed.
