Microsoft is giving the Xbox One dashboard yet another do-over, calling its latest revamp a more streamlined user interface.
Gone are the tabs from the top of the Home screen (Microsoft calls them Twists), with the company instead favouring separate buttons to launch the gaming experiences. That means individual launch buttons for Xbox Game Pass, Mixer, Xbox Community and the Microsoft Store.
In a blog on the Xbox News blog, the company writes: “The Home on Xbox One is the first thing you see when you turn on your Xbox One, and we want to deliver an easy and seamless experience for you to navigate your console. We’ve heard your feedback and have continued to iterate on Home to get you into your gaming experiences faster and keeping more of your content front and center.”
Microsoft is also moving things around to make recently played titles more accessible. Microsoft is also looking to improve the voice experience by removing the ability to make Cortana commands via the headset.
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Instead, gamers will need to use the Xbox Skill for Cortana. That’s another sign the company is moving away from on-device processing of voice commands and shifting it into the cloud. Instead of using their headsets, gamers will need to use the Xbox Skill for Cortana and Alexa-enabled devices like Echo speakers.
Microsoft explains: “[Y]ou can use the Xbox Skill for Cortana via the Cortana app on iOS, Android, and Windows or via Harmon Kardon Invoke speaker to power your Xbox One, adjust volume, launch games and apps, capture screenshots, and more —just as you can do with Alexa-enabled devices today.”
As usual, the company is looking for feedback from the Xbox Insider community with the Alpha and Alpha Skip Ahead rings getting first dibs. It’s not yet clear when every day Xbox One gamers will get the revamped user interface, but we’ll keep you posted.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
