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How to fix the Xbox Dashboard for Scarlett

Jubenhimer

Member
It's no secret, that the Xbox One currently has the worst UI design of any major gaming platform at the moment. Even after three major revamps, this slow, clunky, labrynthy mess of a Dashboard feels more like a glorified App Store than a personal home console interface. With Scarlett on the horizon, Microsoft really needs to fix its UI problems for the next generation. And here's how I think they can do it.

1.) Bring back the Windows Tiles - I always thought Microsoft's tiles were a unique take on app icons. The Xbox One's launch Dashboard carried them over from Windows 8, and they still exist on Windows 10. It begs the question why Microsoft decided to get rid of them for future Xbox One dashboards. I'd say bring them back, make them as customizable as on Windows. Let the users arrange them in groups, and folders. Which leads me to.

2.) Make it feel personal - A major problem with the Xbox One Dashboard is that it never feels like its "your" console. The severe lack of customization and simplicity makes it feel like Microsoft's console they're just letting you use. It's cluttered with a bunch of useless ads, recommendations, and info that gets in the way of you just trying to see your damn library. Cut the bloat, just show me all the stuff I want on the home screen right away. You can save ads and what not for the Store when I poke around there, just put my content first before anything else.

3.) Keep it simple - This ties in with #2. You don't need to bloat the Dashboard with useless garbage nobody cares about. No Xbox, I don't give a shit about the fact that Jason245 played Ori and the Blind Forest for 43 hours, so don't have that be the first thing I see on the home screen. Basically, get rid of the weird store-style layout they have currently. Give me a home screen more akin to the Nintendo Switch or PS4. Where its just all the tiles of your games and apps, arranged how you want them, with all the extra stuff contained in easily accessible task buttons.

That's pretty much it. The PS4 and Nintendo Switch UI's have their share of problems, but the Xbox One dashboard is quite honestly a Joke, and it's something Microsoft despreately needs to fix for Scarlett.
 
Maybe it is, but I've never had the displeasure of learning how to use it. There is a fine balance between simple and functional. It may be functional but it ain't simple. Half the time I have no idea how certain icons or apps got there.
I'll just say this, it can be more convoluted if you want it to be, and less if you want it to be. It's not perfect but you can factually get to things faster and in less steps if you take the 10 minutes required to understand and configure the UI.
 
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Sure I press the xbox button then open my games and apps then launch a game from the list. Simple. The rest of the interface is 100% unnecessary, I've never used it hence it's a mystery to me.
 
The Xbox UI is the best design this gen. Started as the worst, ended as the best.

The switch UI is so minimalistic so you waste alot of time finding your games, same with PS4 by having just a horizontal line.
Sony added folders and it still didn't really improve anything, it's still a horizontal scrollbar. If you've got hundreds of games its a nightmare.
 

Allandor

Member
I have no problem with the UI concept, but a big problem with it's loading times.
Just trying to login with a pin (I have kids so I don't want them to login with my account an play all games) is sometimes ok, but most times it is just toooooo slow. >30s just that the pin-screen appears is to slow for something that should be loaded instantly. And sometimes the controls don't even appear and I have to retry until it works (sometimes more than a minute later … just to login).
 

nikolino840

Member
slow yes, complicated no
With rb lb you move from home gamepass store...
I have added what i use most in the home so i don't have to go in my games Page
All the social things are Hidden in the scroll menu,so All Is about games
 
D

Deleted member 740922

Unconfirmed Member
Am I completely alone in yearning for the days of the original 360 Blade interface? I felt like it did everything I wanted it to.


This was brilliant :messenger_smiling_hearts: I hated the use of tiles later on - Xbox, Windows, anywhere....tiles are shite :messenger_pouting:
xbox-360-blades-dashboard-1.png
 

Roberts

Member
I must admit it took me a while to get used to it, but after all these years and gradual improvements the whole thing feels really intuitive and easy to use. I've had Xbox One since launch and got PS4 only recently and it still takes me some time to figure out how to do this and that on it, but I would never say its UI design sucks - it is just a matter of getting to know it.
 
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Gavin Stevens

Formerly 'o'dium'
In terms of usability and finding things it’s lightyears ahead of the ps4 and switch. It’s also very fast and I get no lag, delay or anything. On PS4 I get loading and waiting all over the place.

However, it’s also barebones ugly, and has near zero personalisation options. PS4 has some really well made themes and stuff that help make the console your own.

Switch, with a little tweaking, could be brilliant. With custom backgrounds/colours and a better tile organisation, it could very well be perfect.

Calling the Xbox ui unusable is about as idiotic as it having no games. It’s perfectly fine.
 

sainraja

Member
The only thing I don't get is why it is choppy & slow. If they can fix that, it'd be fine.

For people saying it can be easy if you configure it compared to the PS4 UI, well, you can configure the PS4 UI as well. We've got pinning with Xbox and add to home and folders with the PS4 and your last played game always shows first.
 

Shmunter

Member
Windows Media Centre should be the model to strive for. Indeed xbox360 did utilise this approach just before Kinect came onto the scene a boned us all.
 
I didn't like the tiles of the old way and am really enjoying the design now.
I feel like its pretty customizable. Between adding a custom picture for your avatar, your color profile, background and light/dark theme you can set with the sunrise/sunset, it's pretty good.
 
Just needs to be snappier and tidying up a little. A much better CPU, RAM and SSD should fix that.

I wouldn’t be against something entirely new for Scarlett though.
 

Mattyp

Gold Member
Sony added folders and it still didn't really improve anything, it's still a horizontal scrollbar. If you've got hundreds of games its a nightmare.

This, it's absolutely fucking awful compared to the xbox UI.

My xbox home page has two groups, 360 & One. Dozens and dozens of games in each arranged in a netflix interface all on the main boot page all so easily accessible and easy to see. I think the complaints must be from people gaming on an O.G or maybe the S is still slow to? If so I get those complaints, but its perfect on the X.

PS4 games folder is horribly outdated, watch them copy the xbox display of games for next gen, I'll call it now.
 
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ethomaz

Banned
Works fine, it's actually more easily accessible, configurable and faster than the PS4 UI in terms of getting to things.
Configurable... yes.
Accessible and faster... utter bullshit.

It's the same kind of people who made a video where they said they can't find the settings (GameSpot), it's asinine.
That basically tells you that the UI is not doing the job... Xbox One UI is confuse and non-intuitive... that goes against the goal of any UI design.

I'll just say this, it can be more convoluted if you want it to be, and less if you want it to be. It's not perfect but you can factually get to things faster and in less steps if you take the 10 minutes required to understand and configure the UI.
Again a design fault... you don't need 10 minutes of study to learn a UI.
It needs to be easy, fast and intuitive on the go.
Users doesn't need to adequate to the UI... the UI needs to be designed to the user... it is the basics.
 
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ethomaz

Banned
This, it's absolutely fucking awful compared to the xbox UI.

My xbox home page has two groups, 360 & One. Dozens and dozens of games in each arranged in a netflix interface all on the main boot page all so easily accessible and easy to see. I think the complaints must be from people gaming on an O.G or maybe the S is still slow to? If so I get those complaints, but its perfect on the X.

PS4 games folder is horribly outdated, watch them copy the xbox display of games for next gen, I'll call it now.
You doesn't even need Folders on PS4... it works in a way everything will be always ready to use from the beginning.
It is minimalist but the job is done... you boot your console and the game you want to play is there... just hit and profit.
It is basic, easy, fast and intuitive... you don't need to mess with configs, or pins, or get used to shortcuts to make it better.

Switch is another good example of great UI.
 
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Dlacy13g

Member
The UI design of the xbox is not horrible....it is not as fast/responsive as it should be but its not "bad". When I see people complaining about the actual design of the UI and not being able to find things it's because they tend to use a different platform as their primary gaming interface and then every once in a while come to xbox. If I go to PS4 or Steam I find things difficult to use and hard to find. I don't find any of their systems "intuitive" because I don't know them very well not having tried to use them often.
 

Pagusas

Elden Member
Right now it’s ugly and designed by someone or a team who has no vision for consistency or quality. Hopefully a new team is brought in to make it clean and crisp.

It honestly feels like it was designed with giant advertising in mind, not for the user.
 
The scroll bar on the PS4 is terrible, especially for finding things you don’t frequently use. It’s like a bastardisation of XMB... without the X lol.

The Xbox is fairly clean, simplistic and in your face, it means it’s instantly ready to play. Dunno where the “it’s no secret that it’s the worst” comes from lol
 

ethomaz

Banned
This video is a year old but it still make good points about UIs.
Of course jokes and satires included too.



Remember GT5 UI? GTS is basically the complete opposite of that one :D
It is funny to see how MS "envolved" Windows UI to the point they had to back to basics because nobody in the world will ever find these tiles in Windows 8 good lol

Windows 10 added a new Control Panel that is confusing, slow and a mess plus most of the options are missing in the new crap Control Panel... but be happy because you can access the old, functional, fast and easy Control Panel that makes the experience better... well you eventually need to rely on the old Control Panel.
But hey MS thinks the new Control Panel is something that needs to exists lol

There is a pic that says a lot...

windows_devolution.jpg
 
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Achillias

Member
You need to get some glasses. Advertising for the old tile layout to get back, says a lot about you. The Xbox UI is actually the best right now when you compare it to the shit, Nintendo or Sony produced.
 

Mattyp

Gold Member
You doesn't even need Folders on PS4... it works in a way everything will be always ready to use from the beginning.
It is minimalist but the job is done... you boot your console and the game you want to play is there... just hit and profit.
It is basic, easy, fast and intuitive... you don't need to mess with configs, or pins, or get used to shortcuts to make it better.

Switch is another good example of great UI.

What are you talking about mate, having 40-50 games installed means I have to scroll vastly to the right and left to select a title.

You’ve literally just discribed the Xbox not PlayStation, everything is pined right to the front page in cover display. A vastly better display choice. No folders, no mass scrolling.

It takes the exact same amount of steps to pin a title on Xbox as it does to put in a folder on PlayStation. There’s no messing with ‘configs’ do you own an Xbox?
 

ethomaz

Banned
What are you talking about mate, having 40-50 games installed means I have to scroll vastly to the right and left to select a title.

You’ve literally just discribed the Xbox not PlayStation, everything is pined right to the front page in cover display. A vastly better display choice. No folders, no mass scrolling.

It takes the exact same amount of steps to pin a title on Xbox as it does to put in a folder on PlayStation. There’s no messing with ‘configs’ do you own an Xbox?
On PS4 the games you are playing are always near you... just need to hit the button.
You boot the console and just hit the game and profit... no pin/config needed.
It is always easy, fast and intuitive.

If you need a old game it will take less time than Pin the same old game on Xbox One... after that the Old Game shows near you just a hit of button to start.

In any case it is way faster than what you have on Xbox One.

I understand some wanted Folders and Sony added but you don't need to use it... to be fair I highly recommend to not use Folders on PS4... it is easier and faster without them... just play the games because you don't need to mess with these Folder configs or pins.
 
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I believe part of the reason for the speed issues is the fact that it's web based rather than local. That's why most of it disappears when you go offline. It also explains why different users have better/worse experiences.

On PS4 the games you are playing are always near you... just need to hit the button.
You boot the console and just hit the game and profit... no pin/config needed.
It is always easy, fast and intuitive.

If you need a old game it will take less time than Pin the same old game on Xbox One... after that the Old Game shows near you just a hit of button to start.

In any case it is way faster than what you have on Xbox One.

I understand some wanted Folders and Sony added but you don't need to use it... to be fair I highly recommend to not use Folders on PS4... it is easier and faster without them.

What if you have hundreds of games? I have around 350 installed at the moment on my Xbox.
 

Mattyp

Gold Member
On PS4 the games you are playing are always near you... just need to hit the button.
You boot the console and just hit the game and profit... no pin/config needed.
It is always easy, fast and intuitive.

If you need a old game it will take less time than Pin the same old game on Xbox One... after that the Old Game shows near you just a hit of button to start.

In any case it is way faster than what you have on Xbox One.

I understand some wanted Folders and Sony added but you don't need to use it... to be fair I highly recommend to not use Folders on PS4... it is easier and faster without them.

No it is not faster, I own and play on PlayStation I’m fully aware that the last played gets pumped to the start of the list.

This doesn’t stop that fact when you have so many games you’ll find yourself scrolling for ages to find older titles.

Pinning a game takes the same button presses as putting a game in a folder on PlayStation.

I never need to scroll to play titles on Xbox, wether I played it a month ago or a day ago. They are all displayed at once on the home screen, to say finding games on PlayStation is quicker is nuts.
 

ethomaz

Banned
I believe part of the reason for the speed issues is the fact that it's web based rather than local. That's why most of it disappears when you go offline. It also explains why different users have better/worse experiences.



What if you have hundreds of games? I have around 350 installed at the moment on my Xbox.
My 1TB HDD can't even hold 20 games lol...

But even with zillion of games it works.

- Games you play are near you... every time.
- Games you want to play but are not in the front view you go to Library or PS Store, search the name and start it one time... so it is now near you.

There is nothing complicated to do even with a lot of games.
It is automatically.

There is no need to mess with Folder, pin and additional configurations.
I can make a video to you but it is intuitive since you start the PS4 by the first time... you just need to play your games.

In a basic analogy PS4 uses Pin just like Xbox One but the Pins are done automatically by the system according with your own game usage... the last games you played are near you to start... you don't need to pin them yourself... instead you find the game and just start it... it will be automatically pinned.

Xbox One has an unnecessary layer of configuration that most players won't use.
MS could make it better with an option to Pins shows the last games you played... so the user can choose to do it manually or left automatically... that will add space for the last games your played on the front page making the daily playing time way better.

No it is not faster, I own and play on PlayStation I’m fully aware that the last played gets pumped to the start of the list.

This doesn’t stop that fact when you have so many games you’ll find yourself scrolling for ages to find older titles.

Pinning a game takes the same button presses as putting a game in a folder on PlayStation.

I never need to scroll to play titles on Xbox, wether I played it a month ago or a day ago. They are all displayed at once on the home screen, to say finding games on PlayStation is quicker is nuts.
You don't need to scroll anything... you just need to search the game just like you do to Pin it.
 
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Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
Yep, considering microsoft has decades of experience creating UI's, I'm dumbfounded at just how awful/unusable the xbox dashboard is.
It still suffers from its Kinect focused design. I hope to hell they don't try and stick with this concept for Scarlett.
 

DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
No it is not faster, I own and play on PlayStation I’m fully aware that the last played gets pumped to the start of the list.

This doesn’t stop that fact when you have so many games you’ll find yourself scrolling for ages to find older titles.

Pinning a game takes the same button presses as putting a game in a folder on PlayStation.

I never need to scroll to play titles on Xbox, wether I played it a month ago or a day ago. They are all displayed at once on the home screen, to say finding games on PlayStation is quicker is nuts.

You can make folders and organize your titles.

All games are also under Library with search function. Anyone who claims XB1 UI is not slow is a liar. Period. lol
 

ethomaz

Banned
To add a bit more.

Folders were added to PS4 but the system was build initially to not have folders so when you add Folders instead the OS shows the games you played to easy play again in order it shows the Folder the game you played... it is awful.

I tried to use Folders a lot of time but it is better and faster without it.

Of course that is how I find better for me... maybe Folders works well for others but I don't like how it shows the Folder instead the game as the last played.

I don't like that way...

386568-AA.jpg
 
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Redlight

Member
Sure I press the xbox button then open my games and apps then launch a game from the list. Simple. The rest of the interface is 100% unnecessary, I've never used it hence it's a mystery to me.
This comment would indicate that the interface is super easy for you to do what you want to do. The fact that there is a bunch of features that you choose not to use doesn't mean that they shouldn't exist.
 

Caayn

Member
Overall in terms of design language I have no major gripes with the dashboard design. Although I really wish that certain tabs could be hidden or at the very least the order could be changed, I'm not interested in Game Pass, Mixer and the community tab. The biggest gripe from a usability standpoint that I have is the speed but that's mostly when browsing the store or other network related areas.

Here's my current dashboard :)

xb1_dashboard_homeqtji0.png


The two advertisement tiles are something that I wish weren't there, they don't bother me much but I'd much rather use that space for a larger "recently used/played" icon row. The three mini icons with text right above that bar and next to the last played game are fine with me but I mostly ignore them. Sometimes they contain "fun" info, sometimes they don't,

When it comes to the mini-guide I do have plenty of issues with that. I found it to be more user friendly on the 360. I wish that we could use the mini-guide that you have when playing a 360 BC game during normal XB1 games. Nearly all my interactions with it require more clicks on the XB1 version compared to the 360 version and it feels slower even when compared to an actual 360 take the message for example:
XB1) Tab right -> Click Chats -> Select Chat -> Wait for it to load -> read message
360) Tab right -> Click message -> read message

Granted this implementation does have a better messaging system thanks to the history and I do like that games are more front and center on the XB1 version. But Microsoft please stop recommending me friends, I'm not interested in random people I've never spoken to, this is especially annoying in the Xbox App where recommended friends are given a more prominent place than actual people on my friendlist.
This was brilliant :messenger_smiling_hearts: I hated the use of tiles later on - Xbox, Windows, anywhere....tiles are shite :messenger_pouting:
This design was nice but I can't escape the feeling that it only worked because of the amount of content you had available at the time. I have serious doubts if it would work with the current amount of content.
- Games you play are near you... every time.
- Games you want to play but are not in the front view you go to Library or PS Store, search the name and start it one time... so it is not near you.
This process is exactly the same on both the PS4 and XB1. Both systems put recently played games at the start and require you to dive deeper (ie: Library) to get to other games.
 
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