Since we know that Microsoft is hard at work on Project NEON, an all-encompassing design refresh focusing on translucency, we've been wondering whether Xbox would see the same visual design refresh in the future. We now have an idea.
Update: We've spoken to some sources familiar with Microsoft's plans who have confirmed to us that Scorpio will see the same Project NEON design language as Windows 10. The "Motion" portion refers to elements of NEON itself, which apparently, will use Scorpio's extra power to create something visually impressive. For examples of what Project NEON looks like, head over here.
Original article:
Microsoft watcher h0x0d recently discovered a LinkedIn profile that directly references not only Project NEON, but a new "Motion" design language destined for Project Scorpio. The Xbox One is currently using the MDL2 design language, typical of Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile.
The Software Design Engineer even links to our own article on Project NEON, while discussing a new "Motion" design language for Scorpio. He also talks about how Scorpio's 6 TF of computational power will benefit Project Scorpio's visual interface.
Xbox Scorpio Prototyping
I'm currently prototyping Xbox Scorpio Motion Design language, which is targeting Holiday 2017. What are we going to do with 6 teraflops of graphical processing power? Find out next year on Christmas morning ;)
I've previously speculated that Scorpio could have the same interface as the Xbox One, but it appears that Microsoft has plans to use Scorpio's horsepower to make the dashboard look extra flashy. At this point, we can only guess what Scorpio's dashboard will look like, but the word "Motion" could offer some form of clue.
Microsoft is planning to reveal Project Scorpio in the coming months, most likely at their E3 event on June 11th.
Owing to internal Microsoft documents I've received, we expect that Project Scorpio will sport all the same UWP features that the Xbox One supports today, including background audio, and so on. But with the Windows 10 Creators Update, it's looking that both the Xbox One and Scorpio will also encompass Compact Overlay Mode to replace Snap Mode, and even file picker support for third-party apps.
Microsoft is hard at work optimizing the current Xbox One interface for testers on the Xbox Insider Program, while bringing more UWP tools into the Xbox fold. There's a chance we could learn more about Project Scorpio's feature set for developers even before E3 at Microsoft's Build conference in May. Either way, we won't be waiting much longer to find out more.
