Xbox One Fan Makes Kinect-Less UI for Console

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Following Microsoft’s announcement of shipping a Kinect-less Xbox One, Tumblr user Dennis “fwdpxl” Estanislao decided to take it upon himself to resigned the Xbox One’s user interface so that it would both work with and without the console’s peripheral, using his favorites features from the Xbox One and the Xbox 360 as inspiration.

“With the Xbox One now being available without Kinect for $399,” fwdpxl’s introduction began, “I’ve wondered how the Xbox One will function and navigate without having the powerful voice commands (which I LOVE).  

So… being the gamer, UX/UI Designer and Xbox fanboy that I am (I have two Xbox Ones… not sure if I should be proud of this or not) I decided to take it upon myself to take a stab at an interface that takes some of my favorite features from the 360 and Xbox One and kept it mind a UI that would work with both Kinect and without Kinect,” he continued.

“While not perfect by any means, I think it’s a step in the right direction that addresses some of the issues I have with UI,” he added.

Fwdpxl’s resigned covers the Xbox One’s dashboard, the console’s quick hub, a new an improved friends list and a new message interface. Instead of going for the horizontal layout that the Xbox One’s user interface is known, Fwdpxl opted for a vertical layout. His reasoning behind this is to “keep the focus on the player and their friends pinned to the left side regardless on what screen you were on. ”

His changes to the hub keeps Microsoft’s recognizable tile aesthetic, and it would provide you with quick glance of your frequently used options. “The center Xbox icon would appear and the other boxes around it would flip out, in a smooth transition that is akin to the slick transitions already implemented in the current UI,” fwdpxl explained.

“While I know this doesn’t solve all the problems (nor is it perfect) and with this approach,” fwdpxl’s closing thoughts began, “the whole Xbox UI experience needs to be thought through a little more, I think this (for me anyways) addresses the UX concerns I have with the Xbox as well as creating a UI that works with or without the Kinect.”

“I’m a huge Xbox fan and I know the folks up there are hard at work on continuing to improve the Xbox experience,” fwdpxl continued, “but I hope somehow this finds the Xbox team and spark some new ideas.  I wish nothing but the best for the smart folks up there and I look forward to the bright future the Xbox One has.”

You can read fwdpxl’s full rundown of his user interface redesign via the source link below. In the meantime, check out the screenshots of his concept.

[ Tumblr ]