Xbox Tests Interface Changes; Users Unsatisfied
Microsoft is testing a new home screen interface for Xbox Series X and S consoles, and it is expected to be introduced in 2023. One of its most prominent features will be recommendations.
Xbox Series X and S are an evolution rather than a revolution compared to the XOne - this could be seen, for example, in the user interface (UI), whose elements had a relatively low resolution at the time of the release of the ninth-gen consoles (they were apparently ported from the old device without making any improvements). After some time they were smoothed out, but this is not the end of the changes. Indeed, Microsoft is testing a new home screen interface in XSX/S.
Source: Reddit / FuzzamShazam.
For now it can be accessed only by some members of the Xbox Insider program who belong to the circle of Alpha Skip Ahead (an internal group of users, testing future developments before everyone else). So this is an early stage of months of testing to help refine the interface so, so that it can be officially introduced in 2023.
The biggest new feature of the tested UI is recommendations based on a player's preferences, displayed - categorized - on the home screen. In addition, functions like the MS Store, search engine and settings sections will get separate tiles (currently they are displayed next to the most recently launched apps, or can be accessed by pressing the Xbox button). Their separation will benefit the "Jump Back" row, which will only display games.
Source: Reddit / L1P5T0N.
It's worth mentioning that the testers not only described the planned changes online, but also uploaded some screenshots showing them (pay special attention to the games visible in the second picture in this news - is this photoshopped?). In short, they were not to the liking of Internet users.
The overwhelming majority of them believe that Microsoft is doing too much thinking, and that it should limit the interface to the essentials - the game and app folders and the Xbox Game Pass and MS Store tabs. Some also resent the fact that by littering the home screen too much, you can't see the background.
So it looks like the company still have a lot of work to do if they want to please the fans. Whether it will live up to their expectations, we will find out in 2023.
