Is the New Xbox One Experience the one we’ve been looking for?

The new Xbox One Experience is here. The interface has been completely overhauled, but is this the new experience Xbox owners have been looking for since Xbox One’s inception?

By far this update is the biggest the console has seen since it has been released. In fact, this is probably one of the biggest console interface updates of all time, and thankfully so. Since the Xbox One released in November 2013 it has been plagued by a rather clunky, slow, and disorganized interface. It wasn’t a terrible UI, but it really wasn’t something that made using the console extremely enjoyable.

The new Xbox One Experience really goes far in solving the issues that plagued the previous version. Firstly, the interface is much faster and more fluid. Hopping from one application to another is smooth with minimal lag. One thing that was very frustrating in the previous version was snapping applications and trying to record gameplay. When double tapping the Xbox button to access these features I would be met with extreme amounts of lag. I can excitedly say that the lag has been greatly reduced with the introduction of the new sidebar that resembles the Xbox 360’s quick guide. Now, when double tapping the Xbox button on your controller a sidebar pops out which gives you access to all the features that you would use the most ( friends, party chat, record gameplay/screenshot, settings, notifications, snapping, etc). This is extremely useful when you are in the middle of a game and want to access something quickly without having to really pause the game. For example when playing Halo 5 multiplayer if I pull off something really cool that I would want to record I am not scared of getting killed while recording it because the menu is so fluid and fast.

The layout of the interface has been approved as well. On the previous interface, I found it hard at times to find exactly what I was looking for. It was rather disorganized. Now every section is nicely laid out with more verticality. The four main sections that you are presented with are Home, Community, One Guide and Store. Home is where you have all your main apps that you use, as well access to your games. The community is where you can see all the activity from your friends in one place and easily interact. One Guide has all of your video entertainment such as live TV and Youtube.

Finally, there is the store which is where you can explore and purchase games, apps, etc. Everything is just generally easier to find with this new layout, and the fluidity and speed with which you can jump back and forth between sections makes it enjoyable to use.

On top of the entirely redesigned experience, backwards compatibility has now been implemented. You are now able to play your Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One. The only caveat as of right now is only 104 titles are currently available for backwards compatibility.

Overall the New Xbox Experience is a major improvement over the initial launch experience. It is something that the Xbox One desperately needed and is something that has made using the Xbox on a day to day basis much more pleasurable.