Much improved, the Xbox One has hit its stride
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The good Microsoft’s Xbox One offers impressive graphics and a solid list of exclusive 2015 titles. The Microsoft console currently edges ahead of the PS4 with a better selection of media apps. The console’s fall-2015 dashboard update is a noticeable improvement. The console has backward compatibility with around 100 Xbox 360 titles, and that list is poised to grow.
The bad The Xbox One’s new interface is still more convoluted than the PS4’s. In general, the PS4 delivers slightly better installation times, graphics and performance on cross-platform games. The Xbox One also lags behind the PS4 in its selection of indie games. The Kinect’s legacy is still a blemish.
The bottom line While the PS4 remains our overall preferred choice in the game console race, the Xbox One’s significant course corrections and solid exclusives make it a compelling alternative.
CNET REVIEW
With E3 2015 safely in the rearview mirror and the Xbox One’s second anniversary fast approaching, we’re diving back in the home console pond to take the temperature of the current landscape of videogame consoles.
Without a doubt, the Xbox One has gone through the more significant metamorphosis of the two big consoles since their release in November 2013 - the other being the PlayStation 4. Even before its launch, Microsoft had begun changing the messaging philosophy of the platform, going from a console that heavily relied on DRM to an unshackled experience where owners can trade in and play used games. That was followed up by making the Kinect motion sensor no longer a required part of the system ( the no-Kinect bundle is now the default entry-level model) .
Meanwhile, a lot has been fine-tuned under the Xbox One’s hood - particularly the firmware’s functionality ( not actual hardware tweaks) , which, from a performance and ease-of-use standpoint, is still playing second to Sony’s impressively smooth interface. A massive interface update dubbed the "New Xbox One Experience" was released in November 2015 that has improved some of the dashboard’s logistics and aesthetics, but it’s still hanging on to some lingering frustrations. But more on that later.