Gadgetory

what's up Internet Kevin here would TLD the Xbox one came out this past Friday and just like we did with the ps4 we wanted to give you guys a little tour of its interface controls as well as our thoughts on the system so far after having a weekend to mess around with it now one thing Microsoft really wanted to stress about this system is the fact that it is meant to be a multimedia device rather than just simply a gaming console how well does it accomplish this goal let's find out so the new Xbox one home interface is basically the console version of Windows 8 and can always be reached by pressing the Xbox button the main home screen is condensed into three main parts to the far left we have the pins section where you can customize a list of favorite apps for easy access in the middle we have the main home screen which includes the option to look at your profile info currently running application and the list of most recently used apps this is also where you can select snap options which we'll talk about in a bit on the far right we have the store whose main page directs you to one of four subsections looking at games movies music or other apps to download like media streaming services you'll notice that settings is no longer a part of the home screen like it wasn't 360 and there's now only accessible from the menu button now while at first glance a lot of this looks very similar to the 360s dashboard design a lot of it is organized very differently which does take some getting used to especially when you want to browse games in the store the pin section is great because it lets you customize your options though it's a bit odd that this feature is disabled when you're offline even when you're logged into an account that you've set them up on overall this set up is actually really good in handy once you've taken the time to set it up and customize but it's definitely not as user friendly at first glance and not nearly as intuitive for some of the older layouts now as far as additional services go on the console outside of just gaming there's a lot of familiar faces as well as some new ones including Netflix Hulu Plus Internet Explorer and Skype the big thing they really want to emphasize though isn't the fact that you have access to all these services but how you can make use of them simultaneously by using the system snap feature which allows you to place one app to the side of the screen alongside another this allows you to combine two things together that you might find useful like running web search while watching a movie having your TV stations in the background or you play games or if you have both systems you can play the ps4 and Xbox one at the same time not all apps are currently snappa Bowl such as playing another game on the side or running Skype though that one is plans for the future so you can have voice or video chats while watch movie or playing a game now y-you can run two apps simultaneously you can of course only directly control one of them at a time so choose between the two by either double tapping the Xbox button or using the voice command Xbox switch now voice commands are of course another big thing that Microsoft has really wanted people to adapt to using while you could use them on the 360 if you purchased a Kinect the Xbox one really emphasizes them a lot more throughout the entire use of the system's interface it's really important that if you want to use these commands you make sure to calibrate the microphone correctly and redo so whenever you move the system voice controls are performed either by using a number of shortcuts which I'll start by saying Xbox such as Xbox go home to return to the home screen or by saying out loud highlighted on-screen keywords like what movie to watch on Netflix they definitely need to make sure that you speak loud and clearly to your Xbox when you want to issue a command as well as not have that much background noise which can interrupt what you're saying and cause the Xbox to miss hear you you also need to make sure to know exactly what you want to say before opening my controls because a lot of times the system stops listening a lot sooner than you think it would not all these voice commands are exactly intuitive but once you've spent enough time messing with them you can navigate your system pretty easily without using a controller just like with the 360 Xbox one games can also have special in-game voice commands for special abilities or situations such as yelling over here in Dead Rising 3 to attract zombies attention and on that note let's talk about the one main reason most people want to buy an Xbox one in the first place it's use as a gaming system we've messed around with a couple different launch titles Dead Rising 3 Crimson Dragon and killer instinct to be specific and I have to say that so far I am personally enjoying the launch lineup for the Xbox one more than the ps4 visually nothing has been eye-popping just yet but it competes with a solid gaming PC being able to easily switch between and run multiple apps simultaneously is really nice because you can take a break from a game if you want to make a Skype call or watch a movie and resume right where you left off the system also features some handy recording options that not only let you record the last 30 seconds of gameplay you can also intentionally record clips up to 5 minutes long to upload for other Xbox users to watch and eventually you can stream through twitch as well the controller is a solid step up from the 360 triggers are just the right length controller has a good heft to it grips are comfy my only real complaint is once again the bane of all Xbox controllers it seems the d-pad while this one is a step up from the default 360 design I actually like it less than the later 360 controllers that have the adjustable d-pad height this one is really shallow and just doesn't feel comfortable in games where you might want to use the d-pad more than the stick particularly fighting games like killer instinct where I really noticed it while trying to do circle commands overall the Xbox one achieves its goal of being a multimedia device the ability to run multiple apps at once and snap them together is really useful whether you want to listen to music while playing a game or have a Skype conversation while having a movie on the side personally I'm not a huge fan of the system's interface it gets the job done but it's not nearly as intuitive as past designs and watching a lot of the system's tutorials is basically required if you really want to get a handle on properly using voice commands and special features like snapping all that said it still does a great job for gaming offering a better controller a decent launch lineup and handy additional functions like recording gameplay or running useful apps on the side well that's just some of our early on thoughts on the Xbox one after having played at this past weekend if what you saw makes you want to grab one for yourself check out the link in the description for pricing and availability while you're down there if you found this video useful make sure hit that like button to let us know because we really appreciate it if you're not a subscriber yet then make sure to become one gives you have more ps4 and Xbox one coverage on the way including our comprehensive comparison of both systems until then I'm Kevin you've been watching t LD and we'll see you next time