So that NXOE update has officially launched to the public and there are many changes making their way into this update. The New Experience as Microsoft dubs it is just that, there is a new UI, we have new features for both games and the controller, stability improvements with bug fixes and backwards compatibility which is good news for those with who wanted to switch without loosing there 360 library but there are some drawbacks. I myself have been rocking the new experience since it debuted for the preview members in August as one of the early people who opted in to it.

The New UI

The biggest change in the update is the change of the overall interface expanding across the Main Menu, Community, OneGuide, Store and then the small changes on the Snap menus and certain apps like the Settings have also been changed to introduce some of the new features. First we have the new UI which I thinks looks really nice but this one will be different since everyone gets there own opinion in life. From here we see some of the biggest changes come to light, on the left side of the main tile lies the snap menu which can be accessed by navigating left on the screen in addition to double tapping the xbox button on your controller. Below the Main tile you have the most recently used apps and games and to the right you have the usual advertisements for games, apps and also the Game with Gold Deals. Moving on to the roght of the recent games will be a little “tip of the day” tile (this is what I call it) which in the time I’ve been using the new experience has always displayed tips and shortcuts for the new experience. Scrolling down on the below the recents is where your pinned games and apps rely.

The other changes reside in the Community which is the activity feed of the previous interface, it has an easy way to share something to Xbox Live and below this bar you will see what your friends have been up to from adding other friends, gaining achievements and sharing there game screenshots/captures.

Next to the community we have the OneGuide section, here you will see deals on shows and movies and if you navigate down then you will see apps you use and slections for you to jump right into, I make use of this just for watching random anime since that is the only use I have for (I don’t have cable) and in certain occasions when I plug in my laptop when doing homework.

Finally we have the Store which got some new looks as well, Major game releases will usually take up the big tiles followed by the new releases and other games on the store. You also have the new Store App, Movies/TV and Music sections that show up when you navigate to the store.

The New Snap Menu

Following the new UI changes there are changes that came to the Xbox Snap feature. The biggest change in the new snap is that when you first bring it up it’s on the left side the screen and instead of it resizing what ever is in the background it actually hovers above it. The new menu opens up immediately to Friends menu where you can look at what your friends are doing and invite them to games or parties, speaking of which a new shortcut that has been added is that you can press the X button while hovering over a friend and instantly invite them to a party without having to open there profile in snapped view. Above the snapped friends menu resides the Profile menu from which you can sign in or out and access the profile app as well.

Below the Friends menu is the Party menu which also has a new feature which is that people can write into it in addition to talking, followed by the Messages and the Notification menus which are self explanatory, then we have the Settings menu which in addition to being a shortcut for the settings app also has a shortcut to turn off your console or restart the console; another shortcut that has been added is that you can use the LT and RT to go to the top or almost bottom of the menu the reason for almost is because it only goes down to the Settings menu and does not go to the Snap menu. Finally we have the Snap menu which has changed and I dislike one of the changes, the biggest change is that it is now always in alphabetical order instead of organizing your most snapped apps at the top.

The New Settings Menu

The new settings app has been redesigned to be more consistent with the new UI.

While not many changes occur in the Settings themselves one really cool feature is in there, that is the ability to remap your controller buttons even if you don’t own the Elite Controller. This new feature means that your controller firmware will need to be updated and the feature itself can be accessed two ways, the long way is Settings > Kinect & devices > Devices & accessories >User’s Controller > Button Mapping  and then short way is to go to Settings > Ease of Access > Button Mapping and in this menu you can do anything from swapping the Analog Sticks and Triggers to swapping every button with the exception of the Xbox/Menu/View buttons.

The Backwards Compatibility 

One of the features that many owners were looking forward to is the Backwards Compatibility update which is now official and available to the public, the list itself debuted 104 games total.

There are big games and small games but in addition to this is the fact that they plan to continue updating it on a monthly basis:

Xbox One Backward Compatibility is here. Now you can play a growing number of your Xbox 360 games on Xbox One at no additional cost.

With new games added to the roster every month, now you can play both generations of games on one console. Experience the greatest games lineup in Xbox history — exclusively on Xbox One.

The implementation will allow you to download your digital games which can be found in the Ready to Install section of the My Games and Apps app and if you have a physical version of a game that is already backwards compatible then you just pop it in and it will download the digital version of the game and as long as the game is in the disc drive then you can play it no problem.

You can find the currently supported games here and there is also a section for the upcoming games.

Now is the time

In my opinion if there was ever a time to buy an Xbox One this would be it, there are a few exclusives coming out next year, in addition to this we have the new experience and even backwards compatibility which is currently small but will increase over the next couple of months. If anything I think this will help with the competition, I am planning on getting a PS4 next year and hopefully this can help Sony look at giving us more than just “Stability Updates”.

What about you, excited about any of the new features or is there a game that you are looking forward to?