The new Xbox dashboard arrives tomorrow – Let’s look at how it’s evolved

The Xbox One will finally see the New Xbox Experience launch tomorrow to the general public. This dashboard redesign will bring with it faster speeds, backwards compatibility and a, hopefully, better sense of organization.

[2pacalypsenow]

Man how I miss the Xbox 360 blades, imo best Console interface

[UKmilitia]

yeah i though blades was amazing,still do.

its by far my favorite dashboard ever!!!

[4Sh0w]

Blades was simple but I think the current UI is better, with so much more functionality going on, its very fast and simple enough to me but then I don't rant or rave too much over any UI, a little exploring n getting used to the setup and then their all good to me ONLY thing that makes a UI bad for me are when it's slow or laggy.

[NeckBeardBSMTDweller]

Advertisements..... on a console we paid for. Nuff said

[steve30x]

NeckBeardBSMTDweller I don't see any adverts on my Xbox one.

[FriedGoat]

getting my xbox tomorrow, should be good.

[ABizzel1]

Really... Well functionally I agree the blades were easily top 2 if not #1. But when it comes to aesthetics and diversity it's on the lower end.

If i had to rank them overall

1. Metro (easy, clean, diverse, simply, and looks good)
2. Current w. Kinect (easy, diverse, and look decent)
3. Baldes (most functional hands dow, but not the best looking or most divers)
4. Current w/o Kinect
5. NXE (just wasn't a fan of the up and down + left to right scrolling of everything)
6. Current when it's lagging (it can take forever to load anything)
7. Original Xbox (it was awful to me)

3 greats (1 of which depends on Kinect, and possibly internet speed most of the time), a mediocre, and a bad (1st time in gaming).

Overall I say not bad, and I expect the NXOE to be a good one as well, and hopefully among the best.

[MrSwankSinatra]

Metro is garbage. I don't understand how anybody can like that over-bloated/over-complicated mess of a UI.

[TheUndertaker85]

As soon as you put Metro and Kinect as the top two you pretty well lost all credibility. Not to mention you list two versions of the same dashboard, only different based on navigational tools.

There's a reason Microsoft moved away from both.

[ABizzel1]

I actually liked Metro....Guess I'm the only one.

I listed the current XBO OS, because you get 3 complete different experiences depending on if you have Kinect, if you don't, and if you have a modest internet connection.

With Kinect and a good connection, it's fine, which is what it was envisioned for.

The reason they're replacing it, is because without Kinect it's not a seamless experience at all, and since most XBO gamers obviously prefer buying the console without Kinect, it HAD to be changed, which is for the better IMO.

If you have a bad connection this OS is dreadful.

So I feel it needed to be listed 3 times because of that.

Can't believe no one liked Metro. I don't see what was wrong with it. It was clearly labeled, it look good, it was responsive, and it just worked. The only thing I could complain about were the ads, but even then some of them were worthwhile and netted me several months of free XBL over the years.

To each their own I guess.

[ocelot07]

Agreed it was so simple and easy to use.

[gangsta_red]

The blades were awesome! Seriously the easiest and eye pleasing UI to have. Not to mention being able to customize the background and actually see it.

[SuicideKing]

I really like the new xbox dash. I am in the preview so I have had it for a while and it is really fast.

[FACTUAL evidence]

Game installs are still slow as dirt from the disc and downloading from the internet.

[Perjoss]

They had a great thing going with the original blades interface, but now they love having all their little windows so they can fill them with ads :/

[htogaming]

Evolution :)

[Death]

I was so excited to see this until I realized I've been using it for quite some time. For anyone not using it, there is a bit of a learning curve but it is much faster and gets easier over time.

[user9950279]

Oh that original Xbox dash.... such a turd, lol. Although, I was able to access my FLIPPEN MP3 COLLECTION without much issue. So much for that!

@retro

agree. Xbox was there for my formative years (early teens). All those games (r63, splinter cell, mechassault, Halo CE, KOTOR) among the reasons I am such a huge gamer as well. As well as PC stuff around the same time like Starcraft and BF1942 among others.

Chaos Theory was 360, but I get what you're saying. Prob thinking Pandora Tomorrow, which on XBL was one of the best MP games ever to this day.

I loved my original Xbox, modded it to death. Wouldnt hesitate to say its my fav console of all time. Right up with NES.

But still... I want some damn MP3 support on my X1.

[retrogamer09]

Original Xbox has probably some of the best games of that decade. Halo 1 and 2, KOTOR, Elder Scrolls 3, Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, etc. Those games on top of the stuff that was emerging from the PS2 is a big part of why I'm a hardcore gamer now.

[Concertoine]

Original xbox was a beast, severely underrated. Awesome exsclusives, many from golden age Sega, and the only console to handle pc ports like Half Life 2, Deus Ex 2, Doom 3, Morrowind, etc...

[muzikjunkie80]

martinstrings

splinter cell 1, pandora tomorow and chaos theory where all on the original xbox. i have still got them here.

some of my fave games were voodoo vince, ssx tricky, slinter cell collection, doom 3, half life 2, riddick, pgr, forza, conker, brute force, top spin, links 2004 etc.

the original xbox was a beast and way ahead of its time shame microsoft lost their way as the xbox 360 and xbox one could have been the most powerful consoles due to their deep pockets but due to their huge losses on the original xbox i guess they tried to play it safe.

[retrogamer09]

Quick question for PS4 owners since I just got my PS4 like 3 months ago and this is bothering me. Is there a way to charge the PS4 over night? My dualshock 4 dies quickly and I keep having to keep my ps4 on and then charge it. Is there an easier way to get it charged when my PS4 is off? On the XB1 you can charge the play and charge kit over night while the system is off. I'm just asking so I can make up my mind about getting a charging stand or not cause the cord is not long enough to play on my couch while it's charging.

Thanks 2pacalypsenow I'm looking into that right now. You probably just saved me some money.

[Immorals]

Does it work with a phone charger plugged into mains? That's how I charge my xbox batteries

[2pacalypsenow]

There's an option for the Ps4 to keep the usb ports on when the console is on sleep mode, its under power options

[ABizzel1]

This.

Or you can use any phone charger, though I'm most definitely not a fan of the phone charger method. I used a micro USB to run my XBO controllers and they both burnt out within a year, so I don't know if it's just too much wattage for a controller to handle, but I'd never risk it again.

But sleep mode for sure.

[thrust]

Just change the battery's oh you can't :(. So they are really semi wired controllers?

[ocelot07]

You can set the PS4 to go into rest mode. The console will be off but will still download updates, download games from the store and provide power to the USB ports so you can charge the controller while the console is off.

Or if you don't want to do that. Buy a cheap USB power socket plug it into a power outlet and connect the USB to it and plug the DS4 into it.

[shabz666]

Tset it to rest mode and on power save option let the power go through USB ports. But make sure you let it run for 3 hours option coz overcharging it will kill the controller battery faster.

[Death]

As stated above, you can go into settings and enable the USB ports when in sleep mode. I opted for one of these instead, http://www.amazon.com/DualS... I bought mine last year bundled with a game and extra controller for $99. Great purchase for any PS4 owner.

[carmelo43]

stop trolling

[Nineball2112]

Edit: This is meant as a reply to retrogamer09's question #5

Just buy a charging station. Fairly cheap and you can charge 2 controllers at a time.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/3...

[Bzone24]

A moderator replying to the most off-topic comment I've ever seen in an article on n4g and not marking it as off-topic?

[Nineball2112]

LOL! I absolutely KNEW someone would post something like this when I was just trying to be helpful. Thanks for confirming what I thought.

If you'd like, I can mark both mine and your comments as off topic. I doubt it'll affect my bubble count, however. Just let me know here or in a PM!

[Bzone24]

I guess I just don't understand what is off topic if retrogamer's comment isn't off topic.

[0to100]

Ms are the best at software designs and features, its a shame that the xbone is so slow and weak, just hopped onto halo 5 mp and the graphics are hideous. Kinect and esram have ruined the xbox brand

[thrust]

You have not got one lol, halo is not about the gfx it's about how it plays more! I think it does look good aswell strange!

[Fatdrinkofwater]

0to100

You are a lier halo 5 graphics are great so clean crisp and colorful with lots of detail. To call them awful is a rediculous.

Me thinks u ben watching too much digital foundry videos on youtube. That shadow changes a little when i walk up to it OMG the game is trash!!!

What a joke

[RedTfox]

Yeah... it's great play in our imaginary consoles our imaginary games.
Pfft... troll!

[christocolus]

@0t0100

Wut? Is your post for real?? Lmao

[kenmid]

I still think my favorite was the Xbox 360 NXE.

[bluebenjamin]

OG Xbox was pretty nice had good time with NFL2K5, Splinter Cell, Brute Force man too much fun

[Codewow]

I like any dashboard the makes 1 vs 100 a backwards compatible arcade game on Xbox One.

[FN4GM]

Was a cluttered mess, now it looks like an even bigger cluttered mess with ads.

[Chris12]

One bubble troll strikes again. The new UI is so much better and faster.

[cfc83]

The new U.I doesn't seem much faster as some people put it. My kinectless xb1 has pretty much always been this responsive. It's a very good interface, though i think the shop needs improved. I don't know why some folk disliked the last U.I, it was actually very useful. This one is better to me, and team xbox have delivered as they said they would.

[GrimDragon]

I liked the 360 blade format it was simple yes but it kept things easy to manage it was super fast responsive etc. I was really pissed when they changed it later. The Sony vita interface is another great ui just like the PS3. Iam not a huge fan of the ps4 ui as I find it very messy and just cluttered with things on the main dash. But it's responsive and fast which I like. Now the X1 ui currently I despise for reasons that maybe happen to only me but I can't stand how slow it is and also just a cluttered mess though not as bad as Sony. Initially upon powering up iam sent to the dash everything appears loaded but nope it takes a minute or two to actually log me in. After which lets say I want to watch Xbox movies the app crashes or doesn't load all available movies. Same if Iam browsing games (no this has nothing to do with Internet it's fine) sometimes it just gets stuck when clicking around at stuff. I despise this ui and the new one can't come soon enough.

[GrimDragon]

Lol I spoke to soon. It seems the new ui has got some problems. Troubleshooting guide.

https://games.yahoo.com/new...

[WitWolfy]

Blades.. give us the option for blades.. For Nostalgia reasons...

[Bass_fisherman]

I have a question for you xbox one guys: can you store music into the console HDD?

[escott013]

The original Xbox interface was incredibly advanced for it's time.
The Xbox Live interface on the original was leaps and bounds ahead of any competition.
I miss it so much...
And then the Xbox 360 Blades UI was also extremely functional and unique looking. Really an eye-catcher of a UI, in my opinon.

[Bennibop]

This new ui is no better than the last, yes it is a little snappier and easy to start a chat by why are my digital games hidden away, and why is TV the second tab along? The community wall is rubbish and just a poor copy of the ps4 wall. Also custom wall paper look terrible as you cannot see other items on menu if set as transparent and its hidden if set as colour. Really not impressed.

[Morgue]

Reminds me of the Netflix & Hulu layout.

[Scatpants]

Glad they're finally releasing this. The crappy X1 UI is one of the key reasons I prefer to play most of my games on PS4. Maybe now my X1 will get more use than just exclusives.