Xbox Series X Hidden Button Spotted: IR Receiver for Old Remotes?

Urian B., Tech Times 22 October 2020, 10:10 pm

The minimalist design of the given Xbox Series X actually hides a small piece of particular tech that makes sure gamers are still keeping their old media remote working all the way into the future. Although futuristic, this button still pays homage to the past.

Hidden Xbox Series X button revealed?

The Xbox Live director of programming known as Larry Hryb or "Major Nelson" shared a particularly small detail of the upcoming Xbox Series X console on his personal Twitter account. The post pointed out that the very same button that gamers will use to be able to quickly bind different Xbox Series X controllers along with other accessories straight to the console will also have a particularly clever second purpose. This purpose is said to allow the button to be a low-key receiver for certain infrared remotes.

The Xbox One Media Remote is said to continue to work along with the upcoming Xbox Series X and Series S as part of the whole commitment that gamers can bring the known existing accessories forward with them. The whole design team craftily hid the known IR receiver somewhere inside the bind button according to theTweet posted by Larry Hryb.

Xbox One Media Remotes will continue to work with Xbox Series X|S as part of our commitment that you can bring your existing accessories forward with you. The design team hid the IR receiver inside the bind button #PowerYourDreams pic.twitter.com/vNQ2FJsgRh — Larry Hryb (@majornelson) October 22, 2020

Gamers will be able to spot this button if they pay closer attention

An article by GamesRadar states that if gamers take a much closer look, they will be able to tell that the known Bind button actually has that known telltale semi-transparent back finish. This is said to be a clever way to double up on the actual use for that single button while still preserving as much of the real estate for the bigger box look as possible. This is also especially handy in order to keep the aesthetic still intact for the Xbox Series S, since it is an all-white console.

The article admittedly states that they still worry just a little bit about the whole skin oil from repeatedly pressing the button potentially messing along with the receiver's own signal, but it's still not really like most users will result to press the known bind button repeatedly that often.

Microsoft kept its promise to allow usage of previous accessories

The article stated that it was, however, mostly a relief that Microsoft decided to walk the talk with regards to its previous pledge for the next console to be able to support the wide range of Xbox accessories all coming from the previous generations.

With this said, the article notes that there will most likely be a whole lot of new stuff that will be on display and up for grabs for the upcoming next generation. This will include what particularly seems like the official Xbox Series X media remote coming from a particular peripheral manufacturer PDP.