Xbox One UI Leaks, unsurprisingly resembles Windows 8

Microsoft seem to be lagging behind Sony in more than just popularity when it comes to their next generation gaming console, as a leaked video of the Xbox One Dashboard reveals an unfinished and buggy UI waiting to be completed.

There’s been a lot of finger pointing over the last few weeks as Sony and Microsoft have offered gameplay demos of their next-gen consoles at gaming events. Many gamers walk away from the experience wondering why Microsoft is still using PCs to show off their great new games, while Sony has been proudly showing off their console and making sure everyone knows the experience being offered up is exactly what they can expect on launch day.

Now it appears that the reason Microsoft hasn’t been eager to show off their UI is that the Dashboard experience isn’t quite finished yet.

The Xbox One UI, if this leak is in fact a glimpse at the final Dashboard, is pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a company that has worked so hard to pull their three platforms into uniformity. The single pane of active and inactive tiles arranged in three different sizes based on importance has been Microsoft’s design for a little while now.

Windows 8.1, Windows Phone, and now the Xbox One all share this design. A quick glance may cause you to think that there’s not a lot of differences here, compared to the Xbox 360. The blades have been fully retired now so there’s no top nav to quickly jump from category to category, which is unsurprising given Microsoft’s focus on pinned apps and the expectation that everyone will want to use their voices.

During the quick demo, the man behind the controller expresses surprise that Ryse launched the first time, and refers to the UI as buggy more than once. The game does load, which allows him to demonstrate the multitasking capabilities of the UI that were partially shown off during the Microsoft presentation. You can jump around and use the browser, flip to the TV, and likely use the video editing tools we’ve heard about but not seen yet.

It’s very flat, and very straightforward, which will appeal to those who weren’t the biggest fan of the flowing social network style layout of the PS4. Hopefully Microsoft has their software under control by November 22, and we don’t have any embarrassing stumbles at the finish line.