PS4 vs. Xbox One (2013): Which Console Wins?

By Sherri L. Smith
published

The launch smoke has cleared and gamers have officially entered the era of next-generation gaming. In one corner, you have the $499 Xbox One, a gaming console that wants to be the center of your living room experience. Complete with live TV integration,

User Interface

The PS4’s interface is more visually appealing than the PS3’s XMB presentation. The home screen features five default tabs, including What's New, Internet Browser, The Playroom, Live From PlayStation and Downloads. New tabs are added as games and apps are installed. The tabs are arranged horizontally and are navigated from left to right. Icons on the homescreen are larger than last time around, displaying the app’s name with a brief description.

MORE: Top 10 Xbox One Launch Titles

Xbox One’s interface is a mashup of the tiles from Windows Phone and Windows 8 with the old 360 interface. The result is a presentation that is clean, colorful and intuitive. We were disappointed, however, to discover that the interface doesn’t feature any animated Live Tiles.

Our favorite part of the interface by far is the Snap feature, which allows users to open two apps simultaneously and view them side by side. A great use of this feature was playing “Dead Rising 3” alongside an Internet Explorer browser set to gamefaqs.com.

Winner: Xbox One

Overall, we like the revamped user interface on the PS4 with its bigger images and straightforward interface that’s easy to use and master. However, the Xbox One presents a cleaner and more visually engaging interface with nearly effortless multitasking.

Sherri L. Smith
Sherri L. Smith

Sherri L. Smith has been cranking out product reviews for Laptopmag.com since 2011. In that time, she's reviewed more than her share of laptops, tablets, smartphones and everything in between. The resident gamer and audio junkie, Sherri was previously a managing editor for Black Web 2.0 and contributed to BET.Com and Popgadget.

53 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Lin Zhao
    This article doesn't mention the specs difference on GPU at all, and it's one of the most important factors to rate a gaming console. PS4's GPU is about 50% more powerful. As a result Xbox One needs to run COD Ghost and bf4 at a lower resolution than PS4.
    Reply
  • xxsk8er101xx
    And the reason why the PS4 is faster is because it uses GDDR5 vRAM verses xbox one's DDR3 RAM. The extra bandwidth in the GDDR5 for PS4 makes the overall system faster. The controller is better on the PS4 - I have it and I like it better. I could care less about the camera/kinect thing. I completely disagree on entertainment as I have a TV for that. The only thing I agree with is the games. There aren't that many games out as promised for the PS4.

    Other than that the PS4 is better. Games will come out for it especially now that they are off the cell architecture and on a standard x86 architecture that everyone knows. You'll see games flooding in.
    Reply
  • xxsk8er101xx
    And the reason why the PS4 is faster is because it uses GDDR5 vRAM verses xbox one's DDR3 RAM. The extra bandwidth in the GDDR5 for PS4 makes the overall system faster. The controller is better on the PS4 - I have it and I like it better. I could care less about the camera/kinect thing. I completely disagree on entertainment as I have a TV for that. The only thing I agree with is the games. There aren't that many games out as promised for the PS4.

    Other than that the PS4 is better. Games will come out for it especially now that they are off the cell architecture and on a standard x86 architecture that everyone knows. You'll see games flooding in.
    Reply
  • jryder
    I agree. The two systems are very close in terms of power, but the Xbox One offers minority report like Kinnect 2.0 with voice commands and Cable integration. The small difference in GPU power is basically irrelevant to me. No console can compete with a modern PC in terms of graphics power. Arguing about which console is slightly more powerful is like arguing about who is the smallest dwarf.
    Reply
  • scottinks
    This is one of the worst comparison article I've seen in a long time.
    Reply
  • Brian Ghattas
    How much is Microsoft paying you for this example of propaganda, Sherri?
    Reply
  • kiniku
    Two great new consoles that cater to different folks. For those that don't already have smarter TV's the One is a great choice. For those that have all that elsewhere, TV or receiver and want more of a gaming focused product the PS4 is a great option.

    I find it interesting the change of direction of both Microsoft and Sony. The 360 a more x86 design and also a low cost to entry device that sold add ons where the PS4 was a more the complete definitive home media device with its introduction of Blue Ray media and its streaming capabilities. Now they go off in opposite directions. Was there possibly collaboration between the two? Who knows.

    But as it stands now they both designed distinctively different consoles that will cater to the different needs of consumers. A win for everyone.
    Reply
  • Matt Vandermolen
    something something butthurt PS fanboys.
    Reply
  • honsonic
    toms hardware as a regular reader to your webpage I am greatly disappointed in this article, you have inaccurate information to favor the xbox one. performance wise on paper ps4 beats the xbox one and by far the plus account is way better than live (the benefits are clear, compile the list of benefits and see for yourself). as a gamer i don't a crap with the kinect. i will buy a console primary for my gaming. guys just go to reddit, tomshardware have being bought by MS
    Reply
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    if you need a job try this site JOBS61 (dot)¢øm. Dan does it at home and makes $25.95 hourly just sitting and typing stuff all day...No experience needed too
    Reply