Xbox Insider Update Brings Mutual Friends and a Leaner Power Mode

Xbox has begun automatically switching some consoles out of Sleep mode and into a setting that Microsoft says draws about 0.5 watts instead of 10 to 15, part of a new Xbox Insider preview build rolling out to select testers this week. The same build lets players see mutual friends on profiles, browse libraries with poster-sized cover art, and wishlist unreleased games straight from the Game Card.

Each feature is small by itself. Stacked together, they add up to the sixth Xbox Insider console build since late March, arriving under new Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma at a pace of roughly one every two weeks. That same speed already produced one very public complaint about a bricked console this spring.

Four Fixes Land in One Build

Xbox said the release was shaped directly by tester feedback, covering profile discovery, library presentation, wishlisting, and power settings in one go. The goal, according to Xbox’s own release notes, is making consoles feel “more personal and connected to the people and games you care about.”

• Mutual friends on profiles. Viewing someone else’s profile now surfaces shared connections, depending on their privacy settings, and shows the exact number of mutual friends you share with someone you haven’t added yet.
• Poster-style library art. My games & apps can display installed titles as larger, poster-style artwork instead of small square tiles, with new controls over which status icons stay visible.
• Wishlist from the Game Card. Players can add an unreleased title to their wishlist straight from its Game Card, before it’s even available for purchase.
• Shutdown replaces Sleep by default. Consoles currently set to Sleep are being switched automatically to the Shutdown (energy saving) option, which Microsoft says cuts power draw by up to 20 times.

Xbox also reorganized the personalization settings themselves, splitting Home and My games & apps into separate menus and scattering new shortcuts through the interface so testers don’t have to dig for them.

The rollout is Insider-only for now. Xbox fan site Pure Xbox said the features would “continue to appear for more members over time before eventually releasing to all members of the public” in the months ahead. Reaction has leaned positive so far: one Pure Xbox reader wrote that the new view lets you “choose between the typical tiles and the cover artwork as if it was a physical collection.”

A Console Update Every Two Weeks Since March

This build didn’t arrive on its own. Xbox Wire, Microsoft’s official blog for console news, has published seven separate Insider feature drops since March 25, each one aimed at a different corner of the console experience.

The pace is new for Xbox. Tech outlet BGR tied the acceleration to a change in leadership, describing a brand that has been “rapidly altering how it presents itself” since Asha Sharma took over as Xbox’s chief executive earlier this year. Sharma had promised broader console improvements by the end of April, and the weeks since have delivered achievement tools, gamertag changes, and now the mutual-friends build.

Not Every Console Switches at Once

Xbox Insiders pick a ring when they join the program, and the newest builds land first in Alpha Skip-Ahead, an invite-only tier that sits ahead of the more publicly available general Insider track, according to BGR. Wider rings pick up the same features only after Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead testers have run them for weeks.

The Shutdown default swap only touches consoles already set to Sleep mode. Consoles already running Shutdown aren’t affected by this particular change.

Shutdown Mode Traces Back to 2023

The power switch isn’t a new idea. Xbox first introduced the Shutdown (energy saving) option to Insiders in 2023, calling itself the first carbon aware console at the time. Microsoft estimated that for every two consoles switching to the setting for a year, it would save roughly the carbon equivalent of one tree grown for a decade. That same 2023 update added an Active Hours setting for Sleep-mode users, letting them define specific windows when the console should stay instantly ready instead of defaulting to always on.

The mechanics are straightforward. Sleep mode, sometimes called Instant On, keeps a console ready to boot in seconds and lets owners wake it remotely through the Xbox mobile app. It draws 10 to 15 watts even while off, Microsoft-focused outlet Thurrott reported, compared with roughly 0.5 watts for Shutdown. That tradeoff shows up as a colder boot, which tech site Neowin measured at up to 45 seconds.

The 2023 update also made Xbox, according to how-to site MakeUseOf, the first console to schedule downloads around regional grid conditions, a feature Microsoft calls carbon aware downloading. Xbox’s own full breakdown of power options lays out the tradeoffs in more detail.

Does Switching to Shutdown Kill Remote Wake?

No, not for everyone. Xbox’s release notes for this build say Insiders who already have remote features turned on in Settings are excluded from the automatic switch, so anyone actively using remote wake or Remote Play keeps Sleep mode untouched. Everyone else moves to the lower-power default, with the option to switch back manually at any time.

The distinction matters because Sleep is what makes remote wake possible in the first place. Thurrott has noted the mode is required for Xbox Remote Play on mobile, since a fully shut-down console can’t be woken over the network. Xbox spells out the exclusion in the release notes for the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring.

Some testers still want more control than a hidden toggle offers. One reader in Pure Xbox’s comments argued Microsoft should let players pick Shutdown or Sleep straight from the power-off menu instead of burying the choice inside Settings. Another was more skeptical of the whole approach. “Maybe the real fix should be to make the sleep mode use less power like shutdown,” one commenter wrote.

The April Bricking Report Still Lingers

Shipping every two weeks carries risk, and Xbox already ran into it once. In April, an Xbox Insider using the handle @1tristan reported on X that a recent update had bricked their Xbox Series S, and even asked Xbox Support whether they should just upgrade to a Series X instead, Windows Central reported.

The complaint caught the attention of Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma, who replied directly. “Looking into this,” she wrote, according to Windows Central’s report on the exchange.

Microsoft has never pretended preview builds are risk-free. The program’s own terms warn that updates may not be as stable as the general public release and can temporarily cause lost functionality.

What we know:

• Mutual friends, poster-style art, Game Card wishlisting, and the Shutdown default swap are live now for select Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead Insiders.
• The Shutdown change explicitly skips any tester who already has remote features enabled.

What’s unconfirmed:

• No firm date exists for when mutual friends, library art, or the wishlist change reach every Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One owner.
• Whether April’s bricking report was tied to the same update pipeline or an isolated incident remains unclear; Microsoft hasn’t published a follow-up beyond Sharma’s reply.

Microsoft hasn’t set a public date for wide release. Based on the cadence since March, though, the next Xbox Wire build note is likely only a couple of weeks away.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Xbox Insider Program?

The Xbox Insider Program is Microsoft’s official preview track for unreleased console software. Anyone can join through the Xbox Insider Hub app, then choose a ring, such as Beta, Alpha, or the invite-only Alpha Skip-Ahead, that determines how early and how experimental the builds they receive will be.

How Do I Switch Back to Sleep Mode?

Open Settings, then General, then Power options, and select Sleep instead of Shutdown (energy saving). The change applies right away and doesn’t require a restart, though switching back gives up the lower standby power draw Shutdown offers.

Does This Update Affect Xbox Series S Owners Differently?

Not by design. Xbox Series X, Series S, and Xbox One consoles all receive the same four changes once they’re set to Sleep mode. The Series S bricking complaint that reached Asha Sharma in April involved a separate, earlier preview build, not this month’s update.

Will Shutdown Mode Affect Overnight Updates?

No. Both Sleep and Shutdown continue downloading system, game, and app updates overnight, according to Microsoft. Gaming outlet GamesRadar has reported that downloads occasionally stall mid-transfer after a console powers down, though, leaving a partial update to finish the next time the console turns back on.

When Will These Features Reach Everyone?

Microsoft hasn’t given a firm date for this build. As a reference point, the Home-group and custom-color features previewed on March 25 reached all players by April 30, a gap of about five weeks.