Following MSN Weather, the next Universal App we're getting a look on the latest Xbox One preview build is Dailymotion. This new app is available to download now and Microsoft is inviting testers to go try it out.
While it's great to see another fairly large name pushing out a new app ahead of the official launch, this one isn't without its issues. Most notably it looks as though some areas of being a phone or tablet app haven't been completely ironed out.
The user interface is pretty massive looking, but this is no doubt something we'll have to get used to as more apps hit our big screens. Controller support has been added, so no cursor or anything, and hitting 'Y' from any screen will take you directly to search. A nice touch.
There's also a nifty mini-player which on a display this large is actually useful, since you can see what it's playing properly while you navigate other areas of the map. But even that isn't completely there just yet.
For one, it sometimes seems to just not work. This leaves an ugly grey box on the screen with no content in it and just gets in the way. It'd be swell if you could dismiss it, but so far we can't see a way to get rid of the mini-player without quitting and relaunching the app. There are controls which come up, but you don't seem to be able to select those either. It almost looks like it's begging you to touch it. Except you can't.
The carry over from being a touch-app continues in settings. You can turn the Live Tile on or off. But the Xbox One doesn't support Live Tiles, so it shouldn't even be there. An oversight, perhaps, but adds confusion where there shouldn't be any.
And last, but by no means least, it's just slow. Where apps like Netflix and Twitch will generally buffer quite quickly and get you into your content, this one does not. It's really slow and leaves you looking at a blocky mess for far too long.
We're excited for apps on the console, very much so, but this one seems like a stumble. What's more is that we're still not convinced that a blown-up phone UI is the way to go over the scaled up one we already get on the PC with universal apps. The TV is a difficult thing to get right, but Dailymotion hasn't come close to attempting that. Yet.
If you're on the latest preview build hit up the Store on your console to check out Dailymotion for yourselves.
