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[Joel Was Right]

What impresses me most? The attention to detail. It's quite apparent from the moment you boot the console up that the UI was designed, and refined, for gamers in mind. For instance, the option to view the bandwidth usage of your console and be able to see a history of that usage hour-by-hour. How many times have you felt a download was taking longer than usual? Whilst the PS4 shows you a progress bar of how much data has been downloaded thus far, the Xbox One allows you to monitor the actual speed (Mbits per second).

Friends & Parties

With the PS4, you go through at least 3 different inputs (Home, Up, Find Party Icon, Create Party etc) just to create a party session. It's fine as it is, I was happy with it. But then I experienced something different with Microsoft's console. Double-tap the Home button, you have your friends list snap to your screen . As you highlight a friend, the party icon prompt appears and you need only press X to start a session with that person.

Store and Friend Activity

Although a marked improvement over the years, Sony's integration of their store is abysmal as many of you know. Their Friend Activity wall is an eye-sore of a jigsaw puzzle mixed in with ads. The Xbox One allows you to scroll through all of this pretty smoothly, and again, something that is consistent, the UI is clean and organised. The eye icons are not an eye-sore and 'liking' or commenting is actually pretty simple to do. This leads to a greater level of engagement within the community.

The Store is just there - it's not an app you have to open.

The controller

This is it. This is what I really want to talk about. The controllers of both consoles - in my opinion - epitomise the difference of perspective when it comes to designing games consoles. Whilst Mark Cerny is a godsend when it comes to introducing/explaining the hardware of Sony's machine, Microsoft made just as much a fuss in drooling over their new controller.

The grips on the side of the controller as well on the new, smaller thumb sticks give it the impression of being a better made device than Sony's offering. Whilst I - like many others - found the rubber peeling off the DS4 sticks frustrating, the One's controller made me smile as I felt the triggers vibrate. Seriously, the triggers vibrate. And upon notifications, you feel another vibration from...somewhere. I haven't pinned it down yet but it's really subtle.

The PS4 does a lot of things well. I still have mine. But wow, this Xbox One console feels like another generation ahead of Sony when it comes to it's UI.

 

[blackjaw]

Don't know man, I always hated the stacked boxes and ads for games all over the place

The controller is money though

 

[Cheat Code]

The NXOE UI is probably the worst UI ever committed to a console.

 

[Brewmont]

It's my preferred console for a reason.

 

[harz-marz]

The Xbox One UI/dashboard is horrific and slow. The controller is amazing. Games of course are great, especially the exclusives. Happy with my One S overall.

 

[Parakeetman]

One thing i found out with my xbox one when my gold subscription ran out is you cant use the party chat feature wtf.

Since on my non ps plus account i still can.

Yeah too many menus on the sony side is never a good thing so agree there.

The controller is great too but then again dpad aside so was the 360s.

 

[VanWinkle]

Wow, I think you're in the minority there. Most people, myself included, find the PS4 UI to be quite a bit better than the XB1's. Glad you like it though.

 

[Pankratous]

Pretty sure most people agree (myself included) the Xbox One dash/UI is horrific.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

The controller is great but I hate the OS and its UI.

Still, I've really been enjoying my XB1 lately. 360 BC has been the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[Hoo-doo]

It's certainly good to have contrasting opinions, I guess.

The Xbox UI designed and refined for gamers in mind? I feel the opposite, really.

 

[Jumeira]

Yeah, core gaming features are streamlined and quick. They do need to work on the responsiveness when doing other tasks. But the quick menu they introduced last year is a God send

 

[LastCupOfSorrow]

How could anyone be cool with ads everywhere after paying a premium to use their online services?

I guess this is why I have not watched TV in the past decade either...

 

[SlickShoes]

The UI is abysmal, the party and chat system is way worse than it was on 360, the store is a big list of items that is horrible to find what you want, everything being apps you have to open is abysmal and a step back.

It's a horrible mess of what Windows 8 was trying to be and where MS are trying to go now.

 

[nOoblet16]

I was blown away by how unintuitive the OS navigation was...everything is an app and there are apps within apps. Plus there is a delay in opening pretty much anything...including going back to the home screen from Gamescom and opening profile tab.

 

[Izuna]

Wow, I think you're in the minority there. Most people, myself included, find the PS4 UI to be quite a bit better than the XB1's. Glad you like it though.

I really dislike the PS4 UI, but I am not a fan of the current Xbone dash either. 360 is where its at.

 

[nailbombxx]

I too am impressed by the quality of Microsoft's Xbox One, The Complete All-in-One Games and Entertainment System™.

 

[GeordieMark]

I like the dash too and I think the Xbone has a few advantages over the PS4, but the sluggishness let's it down badly. Same with downloads. Sure it's cool to view DL speeds in realtime, but it only serves to show how much bloody slow they are.

I too am impressed by the quality of Microsoft's Xbox One, The Complete All-in-One Games and Entertainment System™.

Are we still doing this? Really? It was funny about 2 years ago.

 

[Brewmont]

I've never understood the dislike for the UI. I learned it on Day 1 just like the PS4, both are easy to use.

 

[Correctomundo]

I've never had a problem with the layout of the UI. I just wish it were quicker. I don't like the laggy feeling on everything and the slow loading.

Controller is almost perfect. Give me a better Dpad for my fighting games and we can retire everything else.

Still, I'm more than happy with my One.

 

[DonkeyKong]

Tend to agree, I had both but after I finished uncharted 4 i sold my PS4 and decided to stick with the Xbox ecosystem, personally I prefer the Xbox controller

 

[Dee Dah Dave]

The UI is certainly more feature packed than the PS4's offering, but it's more slow and clunky because of it.

I hope there's another re-design when the Scorpio comes out. Or at least it gets more hardware resources dedicated to it to speed it up.

The controller is light years ahead of Sony's once again shitty Dualshock. And the Elite is God-tier.

 

[Joel Was Right]

I like the dash too and I think the Xbone has a few advantages over the PS4, but the sluggishness let's it down badly. Same with downloads. Sure it's cool to view DL speeds in realtime, but it only serves to show how much bloody slow they are.

True. Going through the menus is not as quick. Having said that, with a large game running, my PS4 crawls when I navigate through the menus.

 

[N30RYU]

The UI is so great they made it slow on purpose so you have plenty of time to witness it.

 

[Ushojax]

The current Xbone UI is the worst of any console I've ever owned. Every screen is plastered with dozens of small tiles and nothing feels organised, just layers of slow-loading apps. Just a complete disaster when you add in the install process as well. It's also incredibly sluggish.

 

[GarciaHotspur]

You are blown away by The UI ?

Everybody said it's terrible

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Happy to see this post, way too much hate on the X1 dash out there. I've never had a problem with it - aside from occasional sluggishness.

 

[Sony]

I think it comes down to prefrence. There will be posts in this thread saying no Xbox UI is better than PS4 because of ABC and posts saying PS4 UI is better because of XYZ.

I personally like the flat minimalism of the Xbox more compared to the chromatic/shiny minimalism of PS4. I think the biggest difference between the two UI's, for people that are familiar with the Xperia phones is that PS4's uit looks like Sony PC Companion and the Xbox UI looks like Xperia Companion.

It's a matter of prefrence. I personally prefer the Xbox UI.

 

[Black Mantis]

Yeah, I was thinking this last night, as it was the 1st time I've been able to use it for 2 weeks, due to my power supply dying. Obviously you need to learn where things are and how they work (like any OS), but once you do it's very easy to use imo. Don't get the complaints, apart from the speed, which can get very slow depending on what you're doing (store, ready to install for example).

 

[Fleet_of_Foot]

I like my Xbox. That said, here's a story.

Last night I was playing BF1 on my Xbox, thanks to EA Access. That's an awesome feature the PS4 doesn't have. Anyway, I did something cool in the game (dropped a grenade perfectly at a guys foot as he ran over it, cartwheeling him into the air and getting me a kill) and wanted to share it.

Making video clips and sharing them on PS4 is really easy. This was the first time I tried to do it on Xbox. I messed around with the UI for 5 full minutes before giving up. Is it always recording like PS4? It it easy to edit like PS4? I'll never know because I never was even able to figure it out. The UI is slow and confusing.

 

[GarthVaderUK]

I wasn't a fan of the launch UI, but it's come a long way since then and I don't have any real issues with it now.

Edit: and yes, the latest controller is superb.

 

[Spman2099]

The Xbox One controller is great, but I definitely prefer the DS4.

I think people harp on the Xbox One UI a little too much. I don't think it is nearly as bad as some imply.

 

[Theorry]

Never understood the sluggish thing. I can invite friends, start up party's etc way faster then on my PS4.

 

[kitsuneyo]

Are we still doing this? Really? It was funny about 2 years ago.

OP's post does kind of read like an advertorial designed to counter all the negativity about the slow OS. I'm not saying it is that.

 

[danowat]

Never understood the sluggish thing. I can invite friends, start up party's etc way faster then on my PS4.

Me either, it's odd, I remember the xbox360 UI being sluggish, but my XBO UI is very snappy and quick.

 

[Family Fry]

I like my Xbox. That said, here's a story.

Last night I was playing BF1 on my Xbox, thanks to EA Access. That's an awesome feature the PS4 doesn't have. Anyway, I did something cool in the game (dropped a grenade perfectly at a guys foot as he ran over it, cartwheeling him into the air and getting me a kill) and wanted to share it.

Making video clips and sharing them on PS4 is really easy. This was the first time I tried to do it on Xbox. I messed around with the UI for 5 full minutes before giving up. Is it always recording like PS4? It it easy to edit like PS4? I'll never know because I never was even able to figure it out. The UI is slow and confusing.

Double tap guide button and press X to record a clip, Y to take screenshot. I believe it will record previous 30 seconds by default but you can increase this upto 5mins in gamedvr settings.

Having a dedicated share button for PS4 was a great idea, often wish you could customise the Xbox one elite pad like you can the chat pad (X1/X2 buttons), I would personally have record/screenshot on the rear triggers.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Comparing one garbage setup to another.

 

[pswii60]

I just find the XBO UI so cluttered and unintuitive compared to PS4's simplicity. XBO also relies a lot more on a fast internet connection, something I'm still waiting for where I live.

 

[zma1013]

The Xbox One UI looks like it was designed by Picasso, just random shapes and colors and features splatterred all over the place with seemingly no rhyme or reason to any of it. It's easily the worst of the current gaming console UI's.

The controller is great though although I personally still prefer the PS4 and 360 controllers to it.

 

[nOoblet16]

I like my Xbox. That said, here's a story.

Last night I was playing BF1 on my Xbox, thanks to EA Access. That's an awesome feature the PS4 doesn't have. Anyway, I did something cool in the game (dropped a grenade perfectly at a guys foot as he ran over it, cartwheeling him into the air and getting me a kill) and wanted to share it.

Making video clips and sharing them on PS4 is really easy. This was the first time I tried to do it on Xbox. I messed around with the UI for 5 full minutes before giving up. Is it always recording like PS4? It it easy to edit like PS4? I'll never know because I never was even able to figure it out. The UI is slow and confusing.

You have to press the home button twice and then press X to record last gameplay, the length can be changed from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. The pressing the home button twice is absolute god awful because of the laggy UI, often times you'll just go to the home menu rather than the sub menu that gives you the option to record.

The other option is to use Liner's Xbox Record that command but even that is bad when you are using speakers instead of headphones.


Also no editing feature like share play.

 

[Lichter]

The NXOE UI is probably the worst UI ever committed to a console.

Just take 5 minutes to learn how to use it and you'll see that it really isn't that bad. In my case I find that it's one of the greatest thing of the console, and probably the best console UI ever.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

Finally, some logic around here. The hate thrown at the Xbox One UI is totally unwarranted. You can easily tell who doesn't bother to take a few mins looking around and paying attention, or they just want to trash the art design with the boxes, etc.

Make sure you use the pins too, they're great. Go to your games library, then press start on the game icon, pin to home, and bam.. It's now on your home screen for quick access. You can press Y on the pins to move them around.

 

[black070]

Find the Xbox UI to be a pain in all honesty, the controller is aces though.

Finally, some logic around here. The hate thrown at the Xbox One UI is totally unwarranted. You can easily tell who doesn't bother to take a few mins looking around and paying attention, or they just want to trash the art design with the boxes, etc.

Lol.

 

[Ivan 3414]

I've never understood the complaints about the One's UI. It can be a little slow but it's aesthetically and functionally leaps and bounds beyond the PS4's convolution.

 

[Doffen]

The Xbox One UI looks like it was designed by Picasso, just random shapes and colors and features splatterred all over the place with seemingly no rhyme or reason to any of it. It's easily the worst of the current gaming console UI's.

The controller is great though although I personally still prefer the PS4 and 360 controllers to it.

Clearly you don't appreciate fine art.

 

[danowat]

While we are on the subject of UI's, when I want to install something from my PS4 library, why is there no way to see how big the file is?

 

[Spuck-uk]

OP reads like an advertising feature.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

OP reads like an advertising feature.

It definitely does lol

Lol.

ty.

 

[boneyjangles]

I'm ready to be blown away by the Scorpio. But to me the Xbox One has no advantage over PS4 that I wouldn't class as marginal. Same with PS4's advantages vs Xbox One. It's a marginal power difference.

 

[tapedeck]

The shortcut menu recently built into the Xbox One UI makes a massive difference in how fast and easy it is to use. But before that yes it was terrible.

 

[panty]

Weird. Totally the opposite for me, PS4 is on a different league when it comes to UI or usability.