I've been using Microsoft's new Xbox Series X for 2 weeks. These are my 11 biggest takeaways thus far. (MSFT)

Ben Gilbert/Insider

Seven years after the ill-fated launch of the Xbox One, Microsoft is about to launch a new video game console that far better represents the vision of the Xbox.

I've spent the last two weeks using the $500, next-gen Xbox Series X — the more powerful of two new Xbox consoles that are scheduled to launch on November 10. 

Here are my 11 biggest takeaways, good and bad, from life with the new Xbox thus far:

Though I wish I had a bit more space for heat to escape out of the console's vent at the top, the Xbox Series X console easily fits into the extremely common Ikea bookshelf I use as a TV stand/media center. It looks like a piece of modern electronics, and stands out far less than the Nintendo Switch sitting nearby. 

Menus are snappy, and jumping from game to streaming app to game is a breeze. When you need to load a game or an app, they tend to load very fast.

If you're at all familiar with the operating system on the Xbox One, you'll be immediately familiar with the next-gen Xbox OS — it's more or less identical, but significantly faster. Jumping from the Home screen to the Xbox Store to a game is a near-instant process. It feels more like switching between apps on a smartphone than switching between software on a game console.

Game loads on the Series X are very fast. And load times within games — say, if you're killed by demons in "DOOM Eternal" or get beat up by some jerk in "Yakuza: Like a Dragon" — are even faster. 

Not since game consoles switched to wireless controllers have I felt such a major change. Load times still exist, but they're minimized to such a point as to render loading screens comical.

Think of Quick Resume kind of like a game save, but one that doesn't need to be loaded: You turn on the console, select the game you want to play, and jump back in right where you last were. This works for several games at once, and includes games from previous generations as well as new games made for next-gen consoles.

The PlayStation 4's controller set a precedent with its "Share" button: an input dedicated to capturing screenshots and video of gameplay.

Nintendo added the same functionality to its Switch console when it launched in March 2017, and now Microsoft has copied the functionality with the next-gen Xbox gamepad. And it's a good thing for users, as there's finally a very easy way to snag an instant screenshot, or to save the last few minutes of video. 

See Also:

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