After 3 years, Microsoft is finally making moves away from Kinect-based functionality on the dashboard. In their latest news update, Xbox Platform Engineer Mike Ybarra says the Xbox One dashboards will be optimized for better multitasking and ease of access...
"Every Xbox One will see an update coming to the Guide that will make it faster to complete common tasks. Through one press of the Xbox button on your controller, you’ll be able to pull up the newly enhanced Guide as an overlay on the left side of your screen no matter what you’re doing. In addition, we’re rebuilding the most popular multitasking experiences for speed and ease of access. For example, you’ll be able to start recording your GameDVR clips, adjust your recording length, and access your captures directly in the Guide. We’ll also add a new Achievement tracking overlay, Gamerscore Leaderboard, a new Cortana design, and controls for background music, making these features easier to use."
It's been a long time coming! While I use my Kinect quite frequently to navigate the dashboard of my Xbox One to perform actions, I can totally see why no one wants to buy one. It's essentially become a microphone to help you do stuff faster...and it's not priced as such! I know many Xbox owners who would be happy to see a dashboard similar to the Xbox 360, is that a popular opinion around here too?
There's no solid date for the update, but we can speculate it'll be here sometime early in 2017.
