Microsoft took to YouTube today with an official next-generation Xbox Series X walkthrough. The lengthy video highlights “faster load times, higher frame rates, and more dynamic game worlds,” with the main focus being on the user experience of booting up an Xbox Series X or S on launch day. While this isn’t a full-on teardown video like we got from Sony recently, today’s presentation showcases the Xbox Series X and Series S redesigned user interface, sharing features, quick resume access, and more. Head below for more details and to see it for yourself.
Official Xbox Series X walkthrough:
Xbox Series X/S launch day is fast approaching on November 10, 2020. While many of us are still waiting to score a pre-order, Microsoft has launched a brand new video showcasing the day-one user experience on its YouTube channel today. The 14-minute presentation can be found below and is described as such:
Please enjoy this full demo walkthrough of the Xbox Series X|S platform experience – including UI/UX, refreshed interface, dashboard design, and more – ahead of the November 10th next-gen launch.
The focus here is clearly all about speed, how fast you can get at your content, and the new home screen that houses it all. The redesigned home screen offers gamers a sport of quick view of all of their recently played titles along with some handy quick links to purchasable add-ons, apps, and the animated, dynamic backgrounds.
Xbox Series S/X Guide:
Next up, we get a look at the “over-game menu” or guide by hitting the Xbox button on your controller. It is described as a menu that can be pulled up at any point during gameplay — allowing players to take a quick look at notifications, other titles they were playing recently, party and chat options, messages, achievements, and more.
Quick Resume in action:
The new guide also features quick links to recently played titles via what is arguably one of the system’s most impressive features, Quick Resume. We previously detailed this feature, but we are getting a closer look at how fast and snappy the whole thing is in today’s Xbox Series X walkthrough. Not only can we immediately jump back into a recently played game from the home screen, but also from the guide. This sort of freeze-state-like function will bring you right back to where you left off, even if that’s the middle of a race in the new DIRT 5.
Xbox Series X smartphone integration and sharing:
We also get a good look at smartphone integration and the new sharing system. Today’s Xbox Series X walkthrough shows how a simple touch of the share button will automatically prepare a screenshot while holding it will take a video clip. The whole system feels a lot more streamlined and will leave all of the captured content on your Xbox account where it can then be shared to your favorite social media services and the like via your smartphone.
With all of the new smartphone integration on Xbox One, it also looks like this is how players will initially sign-in and setup up their new Microsoft consoles. The smartphone app is where you sign-in to your account, set up the machine’s Wi-Fi network, and more.
Xbox Series X Game Drive:
Lastly, we also got a quick look at Seagate’s 1TB Xbox Series X Game Drive in action. Currently the only option for officially expanding your internal storage, the pricey add-on drive performs quite well in today’s Xbox Series X walkthrough. It only took a matter of seconds before all of the games it was housing appeared in the UI and were ready to be launched. Obviously we will need a more in-depth test before we pass judgment, but things are looking good, if not overly pricey, at this point. You can learn more about Seagate’s 1TB Xbox Series X Game Drive right here.
9to5Toys’ Take:
We are just over two weeks away from the launch of the next-generation of Xbox. While many of us are still waiting for the system to go up for sale again (hopefully more will be available on day one or sooner), it is nice to see the system in action here. The new UI and sharing functions are certainly welcomed additions, but today’s Xbox Series X walkthrough just confirms the speedy Quick Resume abilities as one of Microsoft’s killer new features at this point.
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