Summary
A major update for bothXbox Series X/Sand Xbox One consoles is starting to roll out today. The Home user interface forXboxconsoles has been overhauled in the past 8 months, after the team at Microsoft first showed its plans to Xbox Insiders. The new version of the Home UI takes into consideration feedback from Xbox users that wanted more customization and faster navigation. The update won’t be available to all Xbox console users immediately but will roll out day by day to subsets of the Xbox console community.
Xbox first unveiled its planned update for the newXbox Home experience in September 2022. That version of Home was never intended to be the final version of Xbox’s plans, but rather the first of many “experiments” to see what Xbox users wanted from their home screens. Feedback was fast and forceful, as Xbox users were unsurprisingly opinionated.
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Now Xbox is ready to release its final version of the Xbox console Home update, built off of the feedback from Xbox Insiders over the past year. Key focuses for the updates include making itfast and easy to access users' Library, Store, Xbox Game Pass, Search, and Settings, adding space for personalized backgrounds, increasing game discovery, and expanding customization for pinned games and groups. New sections have also been added for Friends and Community Updates and Watch & Listen, which shows available entertainment apps and content.
There are a number of specific areas that Xbox changed in response to user feedback. Criticism was aimed toward navigation not feeling fast enough, personalization feeling limited, and the lack of space for custom backgrounds and game art. Xbox says it believes its improvements should be what users wanted to see.
Of course, while Xbox users understandably wanted to prioritize customization and navigation quickness,Xbox has its own unique goals, as well. Home is still designed with processes that float content built to drive engagement and sell users on various apps, games, and other products. The hope is that Xbox only delivers what Xbox users genuinely want to see, though finding that balance is something not easy to find.
Xbox’s Home UI has long been one of its most criticized components. The Xbox One, in particular, was seen as a major step back evencompared to the Xbox and Xbox 360. The Xbox Series X/S Home made significant steps forward, especially compared to the PlayStation 5 user interface. There’s certainly been room for improvement, though. With hope, the updatedXboxHome experience is the platform’s best offering yet.
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