Unboxing Xbox One

Our own Major Nelson has created a special surprise and we couldn’t be more pumped to share this video with you. It’s kind of like opening that Christmas gift you’ve been eyeing under the tree, or the birthday surprise you’ve been awaiting. That’s right – we present to you – the unboxing of Xbox One.

While working on this video, we uncovered several cool facts about Xbox One and the components that ship in the box. Below are my top favorites…make sure you keep reading below for other insider details from Albert Penello, our director of product planning for Xbox One.

1. In the video, we are unveiling the Xbox One Day One edition – which includes a special Day One package, specially branded DAY ONE 2013 controller with chrome D-pad, and a Day One digital achievement. This will be available in limited quantities.
   
   
2. The Xbox One console, Kinect sensor – even the HDMI cable and the power supply - have a “liquid black” finish, with a focus on a consistent 16:9 design ratio across all components. This attention to detail was intentional and a great example of how every component in the box was especially designed for Xbox One. You can hear more about our attention to design details from ourdesign team here.
   
   
3. The Xbox One console is state of the art - a 500GB hard drive, slot load Blu-ray drive, IR blaster port, HDMI input and output connectors, a S/PDIF interface, new Kinect sensor port, three USB 3.0 Super Speed ports, Wired and Wireless network support and a Kensington Security Slot. Of course, what’s most important is what the console can do – if you haven’t checked out the latest product details on Xbox.com, you should.
   
   
4. The all new Kinect has improved gesture and voice control, 1080p color HD camera for video with Skype and a greater field of view. On-board sensors improve fidelity of the depth-sensing and low-light visibility, along with a four microphone array and IR blasting capability.
   
   
5. The Xbox One controller offers over 40 design improvements, including a redesigned D-pad for accuracy, redesigned thumb sticks for better grip and control, new menu and view buttons, redesigned triggers and bumpers for accuracy and comfort, as well as exclusive impulse triggers for haptic feedback.
   
   
6. The new integrated battery compartment on the Xbox One controller blends seamlessly into the back, offering better comfort. You can play wirelessly with standard AA or rechargeable AA batteries, or via the standard micro USB port for wired gameplay. The micro USB cable will charge the batteries if you are using the Xbox One Play & Charge Kit (it will not charge generic rechargeable AA batteries).
   
   
7. The chat on Xbox One offers 3x the sampling rate of the Xbox 360. The quality of the Xbox One Chat Headset speaker and microphone have been upgraded to take advantage of the much improved audio quality. It’s also super lightweight-only 44g-with a padded earpiece that can be worn on either your left or right ear, and a bendable, rotating mic boom. You can control mute and volume without taking your hands off the controller.
   
   
8. Of course, a HDMI cable, a power supply and a Quick Start Guide are included as well. 

Here’s a few other insider details – straight from Albert Penello, our director of product planning for Xbox One:

When we say 4K HDMI cable, we mean it. The HDMI cable we’re including is an actual Category 2 HDMI cable, rated for 1080P, 3D and 4K, according to the HDMI 1.4 spec.

The built-in wireless on Xbox 360 just supported single-band A/B/G/N @ 2.4ghz. The Xbox One wireless radio is A/B/G/N, but supports dual-band 2.4ghz and 5ghz frequencies.

The console shown in the video is one of the first production units – less than 20 exist in the world (and yes, this box has the 853mhz GPU).

When you plug a micro-USB cable into the controller for wired gameplay, the internal radio is actually shut off, transmitting data through the wire. You can even use the controller without batteries in this mode.

Keep reading Xbox Wire for more details on Xbox One.