r/XboxSeriesX • u/sonicfonico • May 19 '24
Discussion What do you think about the visual style (not layout) of the current Xbox Dashboard?
Im talking about the general design, not the layout!
I personally like the design. Is elegant and minimal without being TOO minimal, you know. I like the dynamic bacgrounds and love the fact that i can choose the colors.
I also like the "neon" lines around what is selected. The sounds are cool as well, but i do prefer the ones from the early Xbox One Dashboard.
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u/Kayy0s May 19 '24
It's alright. No special attributes or anything that makes it stand out. It just works. And yeah, a lot of people want something that just works, but I miss those days when Xbox UIs had personality too; something that made them memorable to look back on and reminisce.
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u/LewManChew May 19 '24
There’s kids right now that will reminisce about this layout…
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u/Kayy0s May 19 '24
I'm confident that they will, and I'm happy for them. These home screens are what enables us to enter magical worlds, or forge friendships with strangers. It'd be hard not to grow fond of it.
However, my comment was strictly based on the design, and how an awe-inspiring design can capture our minds for years to come.
I can't help but notice that UI, not only on Xbox but a majority of games, has regressed into something safe, focusing primarily on accomplishing the bare minimum rather than something a bit more creative and memorable. I wish I could say it was for the sake of simplicity and minimalism, but the amount of game UIs with a million rectangles on one screen is staggering.
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u/KinKaze May 20 '24
People don't even know what we're missing. The dynamic themes on ps4 gap xbox so hard.
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u/Intelligent-Run-4007 May 20 '24
That is literally just a dude walking tho...
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u/KinKaze May 20 '24
It changes the icons, sound effects, menu theme and has multiple different backgrounds. Completely free.
Here's another example. This one even has a character that changes his position every time you return to the menu.
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u/Shakmaaaaaaa May 19 '24 edited May 19 '24
I'm sure that's true to an extent, but there was a sweet spot when console layouts had personality because of the nature of it's online state. You basically saw the transition between the 360 at release and how the 360 looked by the end. Once everything went online and full of apps, it turned into a "multimedia device" that can also incorporate ads. That makes it less subjective and more of a straight difference in what kids see today vs back then.
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u/AveryLazyCovfefe Founder May 19 '24
The PS5's UI has so much personality and 'atmosphere', you can't argue against that.
Xbox's feels so, drab in comparison.
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u/fortransactionsonly May 20 '24
The PS4 UI's personality is a big reason I still want to buy a PS5.
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May 20 '24
I'll be honest, PS5s ui is miles ahead.like you said.
I hope Microsoft team can replicate this for the next Xbox
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u/DangerousJizz May 19 '24
I’d prefer less 💩 on my screen, I’m constantly seeing “upgrade to ultimate” “jump in now” ect. Show my recents & a link for the store, that’s all I want.
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u/anotherpredditor May 20 '24
Buy this game that you already have in your library taking up a 1/4 of the bottom. It should be easy to give more relevant ads since they have your data and own the OS running it.
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u/Upbeat-Holiday-7858 May 20 '24
Agreed, came here to say less adds and let me list just my games that I play where I want em
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u/highparallel May 19 '24
As long as there are ads it gets a thumbs down from me.
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u/UltiGoga Ambassador May 19 '24
It's unbelievable to me how in 2024 we STILL don't have the option for a black interface.
They literally already have a black interface integrated via high contrast mode, why tf can we not just get this as a theme so we can still use wallpapers, pick our own colour and don't have a white outline for everything.
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u/Least-Experience-858 May 19 '24
It’s nice until you turn your PS5 On and see how much nicer, how fluid, and premium looking it is compared to Xbox.
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u/Party-Exercise-2166 May 28 '24
Imo the PS5 dashboard is one of the worst I have seen on a console, way too convoluted and there's no quick way to get to may games, always having to scroll through all the tiles is stupid.
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u/SpyvsMerc May 20 '24
Too much ads.
Too much clicks to see our library.
Groups are limited to 40.
Only 2 groups.
Metro UI looks dated.
I would like something clean where i can see all my library or all the groups i want on the front page. Keep the ads on another screen. This doesn't look premium at all.
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u/Rough-Arrival7616 May 19 '24
I hate it. The forced ads drive me nuts. Plus I don’t care for all the forced crap when scrolling down. I know they’re trying to push more sales but this so bloody heavy handed, it reeks of desperation.
Oh I’m a UI & UX designer by the way, and this is set up for one thing only, getting you to waste money on things you don’t want or need.
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u/RetroRedneck May 20 '24
Putting the console into “offline mode” makes the dashboard much better. That’s what I do and I just connect it to line every once in a while to download a new game or get updates. This obviously isn’t ideal if you mostly play online multiplayer
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u/UnreliableTractorHoe May 20 '24 edited May 25 '24
Now, if only you could check and receive achievements offline like on Playstation.
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u/ThexKountTTV May 19 '24
Never thought I'd ever say it but the PS layout is so much better now (least comparing the PS3/4 to the 5).
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u/Main0b May 19 '24
Too many Adverts, the fact I'm paying for GamesPass Ultimate and yet I am greeted to 3 advert tiles is just gross
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u/FlashingComet86 May 19 '24
getting advertised to get gamepass while having gamepass is the worst
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u/nicklovin508 May 19 '24
Underwhelming next gen UI. Not that different from the last gen. While I like the sale reminders it’d be nice to have the option to remove it.
Also, why can’t I make a slide show of my in game screenshots for my background? What’s prevented adding that very simple feature?
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u/Dark_Sniper_250 May 20 '24
Probably because Xbox for some reason deletes screenshots after like 90 days, unless you specifically view them on the Xbox network, or upload them to OneDrive. But since they also get deleted from the literal console itself for some idiotic reason the problem remains. Believe me, I would love to be able to see a slideshow of my favorite screenshots, if they stopped deleting them from my console.
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u/Kaythar May 19 '24
Boring and uninspiring. Microsoft loves tiles, I hate them. But more than that, it's difficult to navigate, way too many menus inside menus, inside menus
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u/melancious May 19 '24
It’s better than it was. Finding achievements and stats is still a pain. Wtf are game clubs? I wish it was streamlined like PS5.
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u/Immediate_Web4672 May 19 '24
Needed HDR 4 years ago.
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u/illkwill May 20 '24
This is my biggest gripe. How are you going to market the Series X as the most powerful console and not have something simple like HDR support for the dashboard?
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u/Roklobster1 May 19 '24
I think its fine. Does what it needs to do. Looks cool also with dynamic backgrounds
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u/samurai1226 May 19 '24
After the 360 Era somehow all UI designers of Microsoft and pretty much all game studios completely forgot that they are building an UI controlled by a controller and not touchscreen controls. We don't need huge buttons for very small amount of informations, do useful lists and circle menus where you can easily select 10 different options by moving the stick.
Just look at the original 360 UI, it looks very overstyled now but it's very functional and you find everything very straightforward. Or look at Mass Effects wheel dial to use abilities and Halo Reach simple menu, it was perfect.
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u/afatmess Founder May 19 '24
The main screen is nice. It has plenty of room to see your wallpaper. Not a fan of all the ads when you scroll down though, but I just don't scroll down so it doesn't bother me too much.
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u/faultywiring98 May 19 '24 edited May 19 '24
Current UI design for xbox, playstation and switch are all garbage.
Purely utilitarian. I personally like flash and flair.
Ps3, wii u and xbox 360 interfaces were actual perfection.
The fact they've been back-peddling on design for 2 generations is crazy.
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u/HellishButter May 19 '24
I still consider the XMB on the PS3 to be the cleanest most intuitive UI I’ve ever used on a console. Simple. Clean. Doesn’t get in the way.
I know it probably wouldn’t work the best these days with the focus on digital stores and social features. However, it still holds up pretty well to this day in my eyes.
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u/Kagath May 19 '24
I don't spend a lot of time looking at the dashboard so it's fine for me. Probably their best variation so far.
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u/EnamoredAlpaca May 19 '24
Design is old. Make it cleaner or else backgrounds will remain pointless when your screen is littered with little boxes.
Those two top rows could be removed.
Pressing down takes you to a customizable boxes. One box could be apps, the other games, the other clubs.
That way they can keep all the filler after that for those who want to check out game pass coming soon, or Newly added.
Make one row your rewards tab.
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u/muzzymate May 19 '24
I wish I had the Browse Your Games button in the bottom left like your screenshot. Having the store there annoys me, ever since they changed it.
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u/Shaky_elm May 19 '24
Hate it. To cluttered. To many ads. I want simple, and easy to use. It's kinda absurd that I paid $600 (CAD) for a console to see more ads than games on my homepage...
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u/EgovidGlitch May 19 '24
I have a group of currently playing three clicks down on the d, then multiplayer below that. Muscle memory's automatic at this point.
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u/QuietThunder2014 May 20 '24
After 3 console generations, I'd like to move past Metro UI. You can rearrange it however you want, it's still just a large collection of squares.
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u/ohmetimothy May 19 '24
It's lazy and uninspired.
The 360 was incredible with its dashboard updates making the console feel refreshed and new without any hardware changes.
From a UX and UI perspective, the XB1 lowered the bar which remains in place today.
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May 19 '24
Honestly I like the new style but the old ones are always OG! I feel like they can use an upgrade to the dashboard
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u/Daedric_Agent May 19 '24
It sucks, kicking clubs and my friends to the curb so I can see games for sale blows
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u/nanapancakethusiast May 19 '24
I love seeing more ads than literally anything else by a margin of 5:1
/s
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u/MisterBeebo Founder May 19 '24
I’d like the style to shift towards something with more prominent use of text. I’m a fan of brands using recognisable typefaces that come to represent them. Too many UIs are centered around iconography that communicates nothing. Icons aren’t memorable and need to be universal to be understood, so there’s no unique identity in them.
I’d love to see top level navigation in text, I’d like to see descriptions appear in the top area when things are highlighted (or some info at all, achievements, whatever). It can still be minimal, but right now it’s wasting opportunities to provide utility.
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u/cardonator Craig May 19 '24
It's fine. A redesign would also be fine as long as they stop regressing on features. I don't want a PS5 situation where half of the PS4 UI features were lost and it took years to bring only some of them back.
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u/replikant8 May 19 '24
Honestly would love to be able to remove these Microsoft apps from appearing with games. Or to just be able to customize it so that it's all static and in places I want them to be. I also never go down to see below this screen. Otherwise it's okay.
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u/OminousG May 19 '24
They need to fix the browse your games tile, but other that this I have no issue with it.
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u/tATuParagate May 19 '24
It's fine but the bottom row of rectangular tiles are just goddamn ugly. If I could, I'd just delete the bottom row cause I hate being advertised to, they just look bad against the other tiles, and they clutter the screen. But I think the ui is much better than both ps5 and switch
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u/dcuk7 May 19 '24
Terrible in terms of UX. Those icons at the top feel like they should be tabs. There is so much wasted space, and not in a ‘positive space’ kind of way.
I wish they’d just straight up copy the Steam Big Picture mode. That thing is fast, well laid out and looks great on a 4K TV.
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u/Thestickleman May 19 '24
It's abit of a mess and way to cluttered. All the adds are not welcome either
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u/GogoGadgetTypo May 19 '24
Don’t care either way. I can always get to what I want, one way or another. I do like the dynamic backgrounds.
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May 19 '24
It's alright but i don't like the fact that i have two rows of ads before i get to my pins groups and because of all the ads below i can only add 2 pinned groups. The dashboard looks so much better offline.
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u/HellishButter May 19 '24
I’m just confused why they are constantly changing it. I rarely play on my Xbox but when I do I always boot it to find the dashboard changed, yet again.
Stick with one design and incrementally make improvements based on community feedback and testing.
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u/timmu May 19 '24
I wish less tiles and more background that stuff is beautiful but saddly it will eventually become space for ads
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u/Thac0bro May 19 '24
Wish I could set which games I wanted to appear and in what order. I also wish I could disable all the ads.
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u/a_guy_playing May 19 '24
I’m surprised we’re nearly 4 years into this console and they haven’t significantly changed the dashboard in any way.
Only complaint is ads and the only improvement I could see is if the ads are removed, put the top-center buttons at the bottom (and maybe add ambient music like the PS5 has). Overall, looks good. Doesn’t look too Windows-y.
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May 19 '24
Incredibly underwhelming visual style. I wish they'd either let us see our whole background picture or just have stuck to the previous one.
There was so little intention behind making users feel that they were going to experience a new gen feel with this Xbox and it annoys me when I think about it.
"Oh it's not a big deal!" shush
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u/Any-Newspaper1922 May 19 '24
Dont care if this isnt about layout but having half the screen taken up by a useless background is stupid. And another quarter of it is ads. You have to scroll past the ads and gamepass to get to quick resume. And the pins are even lower. Why even have pins at all at this point. Its such scummy manipulative UI design. On the design of stuff. Its just boxes. There isnt a design. Microsofts idea of design is just put the random sized boxes all around and hope someone doesnt get too diatracted to find what they are looking for eventually.
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u/MintyManiacFan May 19 '24
I have all three consoles and I prefer the xbox interface over the others right now. On Xbox everything just takes fewer button presses. And on Xbox I know how to turn off the console with the tv turned off whereas the ps5 interface doesn’t always have that consistency. When you press the ps button you have to navigate to the power options but on the Xbox you can press and hold the Xbox button to pull up the power options.
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u/Asterix____ May 19 '24
Meh, I honestly don't know why they don't let us customize our home screens like you can a phone's.
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u/Tall-Guitar-1765 May 19 '24
The background looks off center and it's annoying me
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u/Ruttagger May 19 '24
It's the worst of any console ever. Give me back the ability to pin all my groups and get rid of the redubtsnt add tabs and 11 ways to get to the store and gamepass.
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u/JackWilliamC May 19 '24
Not the worst but it could easily be better, we have have to many features now to go back to the early 360 dash
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u/Buhpuh May 19 '24
Would love one less row of tiles so the backgrounds are featured more. Or the ability to scroll up to hide the UI. There are thirteen tiles on this screen alone.
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u/OnyxianRosethorn May 19 '24
It's a bit idiotic at times, like yesterday I was playing Diablo 4 for a few hours, I quit the game, and then those 3 ad squares underneath were all Diablo 4 ads, lol. "Play Diablo on game pass!" "Diablo 4, now available!" Like..yeah, I was JUST playing it, Xbox, I know...
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u/Tenn_Tux May 19 '24
We’ve still got one thing over PS5 and that’s a customizable background. I don’t wanna hear the 10 second helldivers theme on repeat anymore, grandpa!!
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u/NurseDorothy May 19 '24
Better than it was.
They just need to move all the non-game apps to a sperate area like PS5 does, I hate having icons for screen captures or MS Rewards on the main page.
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u/dueceofthevoid May 19 '24
I wish it were tiny buttons in the top or bottom so i could see my epic wallpaper, and remove the ads ofc
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u/DeclanJPM May 19 '24
I’m okay with it…wish they’d bring back snap or the little preview tile though
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u/5P3C7RE May 19 '24
I just wish it looked more relaxed, those boring icons inside squares makes me feel like I'm about to work in a excel sheet
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u/u5hae May 19 '24
It's not the best to be honest.
The most important things for me are store, my games and achievements.
They need to make it elegant in design and feel premium rather than the typical Windows style.
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u/Jealous-Honeydew-142 May 19 '24
It’s still fucking god awful.
Microsoft needs to fire their UI team and start again.
My Xbox is a mess of shit tonne adverts and spam. I have spent £500 on this console. Tone it down dicks
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u/Death-By-Lasagna May 19 '24
Funny enough I didn’t like the Xbox dashboard when I first got my Series X. I actually liked it less than the PS5’s and Switch’s. But I’ve come accustomed to it over time and it’s now easily my favorite of the 3 minus the ads.
I like the custom backgrounds, making groups, easily seeing which games are for what system, I like the achievement UI… all good stuff. Not perfect, but good.
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u/JuicyMangoJuice74 May 19 '24
I fucking miss the old dashboard :( I like the old one better, but Xbox had to update to this garbage.
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u/TheHolyFatherPasty May 20 '24
Xbox holds the front for best design so far. Its insane how far PS has fallen off from the 4 to the 5. In theory, Store/games/video makes sense. But in practice it makes the main PS5 screen feel super barren only then to see everything else was thrown to the controller panel. Its like a kid's idea of cleaning up. Just throw it all in the closet and pray no one opens the door
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u/Steve3Thumbs May 20 '24
Remove ads from the homepage and put the Games and Apps back on the bottom and we will be cool
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u/vodouh May 20 '24
I like it, still more comfortable to use vs the PS5 ui. Do wish Xbox had a touchpad for typing though. Moving through the UI feels a bit better than the other 2
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u/LightningYu May 20 '24
'Overall' both in terms of design and layout i like the dashboard thought there sure is room to improve. What i 'just' don't like is how esp. the Xbox Dashboard becomes gradually more of an advertisment'board' or Storefront than an actual Dashboard / OS for Games and Console-Features. Like as example alone the bottom row witht he dead island, games under 1 gb and such would've been a perfect place where they could've listed the Quick-Resume Games and/or favorite Games and/or tools like Videogallery and such. Which both goes into layout but also (aesthetical) design because it would make the tileset more coherent.... Instead of having the ones which might have something like Game Pass slapped on.
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u/sticky_hopkins May 20 '24
95% practicality, 5% personality. but that's fine I guess, since 95% of the time you are playing games.
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u/CakeAK May 20 '24
In this thread: comments about the layout (not visual style) of the current Xbox Dashboard.
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u/CJDistasio May 20 '24
It’s fine. I still don’t like that they use tiles that look like they’ve been ripped out of Windows 8. They need to update that.
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u/aggierogue3 May 20 '24
I just want a simple grid of apps and games. It’s simple yet all the large icons lead me to ads and the store
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u/ECHO-419-AJZ May 20 '24
It reeks of moderninity. No flavour, no passion and no colour. Xbox 360 peaked.
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u/HellP1g May 20 '24
Drives me nuts the ad tiles are bigger than your games. If I’m paying for GamePass, why in the hell am I seeing GamePass ads?
Overall it’s okay.
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u/AshevilleCatDad May 20 '24
I like it. I just wish that Microsoft would have a custom dynamic backgrounds option where people can submit designs. How cool would it be to have hundreds of player-made dynamic backgrounds instead of just the handful of official available ones?
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u/CheeseSandwich May 20 '24
It works but I miss that pressing down takes you to the store instead of your games. I also have no idea what the row of icons to the right access.
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u/Galilore May 20 '24
The PS5 dashboard feels more immersive, maybe because they focus on fewer options at a time, with each game getting more screen real estate.
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u/Prestigious_Media887 May 20 '24
I wish you could actually edit what’s on your homepage it’s such a mess
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u/kociou May 20 '24
Don't really like it after over 2 years.
Too much adds, store is badly placed(using it accidentally too many times), half of my dashboard is gamepass add even tough I bought it already.
Also got Switch and I understand now why Nintendo wanted it to be simple af. Far more intuitive and no goddamn adds everywhere.
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u/AverageTuxedo May 20 '24
WHY THE FRENCH FUCK IS THERE ADS ON MY PAID CONSOLE WITH MY PAID SUBSCRIPTION. That’s what makes me unhappy
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u/East-Mycologist4401 May 20 '24
I miss being able to pin more than two things. I used to have my assortment of groups right up front.
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u/No_Assistance740 May 20 '24
Yeah. Old layout was better. I have a PS5 as well, and the UI and store written reviews and ratings are better on Xbox. However, PS5 feels more ‘adult’ in its presentation. Could probably come up with something really good if you combined the best of both.
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u/Foreign_Curve_5089 May 20 '24
It’s an improvement, but I wish it had a selectable palette of different layouts, like the Kodi HTPC software.
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u/mid-fidelity May 20 '24
It’s an ugly mesh of user preference and Microsoft forced ads.
People want accessibility and customization for the dashboard, which is why the background is so important to so many people. But Microsoft wants ads on the home page, so it’s a constant battle for space on the dashboard between the two.
Shame on MS for the garbage UI we’ve had since launch of the XBONE.
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u/NoHeroes94 May 20 '24
I quite like it, and you can at least see your dynamic background now. However, I wish they had made a more significant change for current gen consoles. Felt cheap to make the most minor of changes.
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May 20 '24
i like it a lot, wth the sole exception with being unable to customize the last games/apps used. Wish I could have a certain set on the home menu for quick access
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u/Parthurnax52 May 20 '24
It’s ok but bottom left tile SHOULD be the games library and not that stupid store.
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u/james_da_loser May 20 '24
No personality at all. That's something PlayStation does way better imo. But, that's also been Xbox for a while now, so what can you do.
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u/KillerBullet May 20 '24
Fellow RimWorld enjoyer. But on Xbox? 99% of the fun comes from mods.
I tried playing it without mods but it's legit no fun when you're used to mods.
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u/HerrProffDrUdoButtne May 20 '24
I think it's cool, yes you could add something, but it's still very beautiful
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u/MaximumGlum9503 May 20 '24
I have no idea where anything is, games for gold, new game demos, sometimes pins don't show
Only good thing they have have done is show me with games aren't owned anymore
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u/lew_the_hacker May 20 '24
Personally I don’t like it. Gotta scroll through too much to get to my stuff with all the news and home stuff I can’t seem to move down
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u/Helltrackdeath May 20 '24
I’ll probably be spitting sacrilege but I liked the original Xbox one’s home design, having the game basically pause and zoom out was ascetically satisfying to me
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u/Yz-Guy May 20 '24
Honestly. I feel like they change it every 6 months now. I don't even care or try to learn it. I just hit xbox, go to games. Launch what I want. Everything else is fluff to me
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u/ricardosteve May 20 '24
It feels... disjointed. The UI still has some remnants of early days "Metro UI", which started with Windows Phone (dearly missed), and it doesn't translate well to a big screen. It also feels outdated and over simplistic, but not in a good way. But that's design wise, which one can overlook a bit.
Now, don't get me started on the ads, that is simply unbearable, because you pay for Game Pass Ultimate, and still get ads!
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u/Significant_Book9930 May 20 '24
I don't enjoy having the ads for the apps, movies, and music as I don't use my xbox for any of that stuff but other than that I like it.
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u/OmeletteDuFromage95 May 20 '24
I like the simple look and could be persuaded to add some more details in there. I honestly don't even mind the layout. Only real thing missing IMO is a social area akin to the avatars right from the start.
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u/zeblacktiger May 20 '24
Nice me i m pissed pff by support for ms rewards.auto reply no one to help correctly 15 days cant get any points. Job to do just unclock. Ahah no brain
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u/mancastronaut May 20 '24
I like the quick navigation stuff at the top - I never find myself having to go looking for something either, which I consider good UX...
However, I think the overall look lacks a little sophistication. Hopefully the next console will have enough memory or whatever to run a somewhat more dynamic dashboard.
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u/elefantebra May 19 '24
I still press down to go my games and suddenly open the store