What you need to know
- Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled its refreshed new Xbox dashboard.
- The updated Home experience aims to improve the Xbox console UI.
- This update will gradually hit Xbox console over the next few weeks.
The Xbox console UI has been a point of contention amongst fans for a very long time. While Microsoft established iconic interfaces like 'The Blades' on Xbox 360, players have endured endless experiments since the launch of the Xbox One. After passionate feedback from the community and a barrage of user-created mockups, Microsoft has officially launched the new dashboard 'Home' experience for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S users. Unfortunately, not everyone has it just yet.
As part of yesterday's big announcement, the Xbox team detailed the slow and steady rollout of the new Xbox dashboard. A handful of Xbox console players immediately gained access to the enhanced Home experience. Still, many others will have to wait a few weeks for the update to hit. This isn't a new approach to dashboard launches for the Xbox platform, so don't stress too much if your console isn't showing the dramatically improved UI.
Windows Central's take
The new Xbox dashboard is so much cleaner and easier to navigate than its predecessor. Fans constantly complained about the gigantic titles and how they completely covered the gorgeous dynamic backgrounds. Thanks to a notable resizing of the home screen icons, your backdrops now have a chance to shine. Key categories like Store, My Games and Apps, and Xbox Game Pass are conveniently located at the top of the screen and no longer require fumbling through menus.
I still hope Microsoft considers a modular approach that allows console users to customize their dashboard experience further. I'd love the option to scale chosen tiles and reduce some of the advertising cluster on the main screen. Considering Microsoft likely charges good money for that prime real estate, that probably won't happen in the near future, but a man can dream. Either way, I'm excited about these changes and Microsoft's continued efforts to execute on community feedback.
