A preview for the new Xbox 360 dashboard is coming. The new dashboard design, which is being called “Metro,” is in the works for release later this year. Major Nelson from Xbox Live (Larry Hryb) said in a Google+ post that he is working on setting up the new preview program for the next dashboard update, but no details or a timeline on when this is going to happen is available to share just yet.

The new Metro interface dashboard design that will make its way to the Xbox 360 at some point this fall will feature a colored tile or panel design, if you will, that creates a much cleaner layout and is very much like what we have already seen with Windows Phone 7.  The new dashboard will feature both controller and full Kinect support, as well as Bing search technology which will be coming to the Metro dashboard. The new dashboard will also feature revisions to the Achievement presentation that will allow a much greater level of social media integration and will keep your friends informed of your progress.

While the Fall Metro Dashboard Update will arrive before the end of the year, it is unknown exactly when Microsoft plans to move forward. We do know that there will be a beta preview as talked about above prior to release, but beyond that we don’t yet have a clue; whispers we hear seem to think that it could be as soon as late October, but we think November is a much safer guess.