Feature: Xbox’s Internet Browser Is So Good, It’s Changed The Way I Watch TV

Back in 2021, it was announced that Xbox consoles would finally be getting a proper version of the modern Microsoft Edge internet browser, with the previous version having stagnated on the Xbox One over multiple years. By September it was officially available to the public, and the number of improvements that it introduced were significant.

We covered a bunch of them here at Pure Xbox – such as the long-awaited addition of mouse and keyboard support, the ability to set web images as dashboard backgrounds, and even the option to play all kinds of games via the browser itself – including classic titles from yesteryear as well as the most modern of titles via NVIDIA GeForce Now.

In my experience though, it’s actually my TV habits that have been most impacted by the new Xbox internet browser over the past few years. And I’m not talking illegal stuff — I wouldn’t recommend anyone watching illegal content on their Xbox in any circumstance — instead, it’s official TV services that don’t have an app on Xbox for whatever reason.

I’m a big sports guy, and the one thing I love more than anything else (well, that’s debatable!) is All Elite Wrestling. Here in the UK, you’ve got two options for AEW – watch a delayed, less-than-ideal version on the ITVX app, or subscribe to Triller TV and get a fantastic, up-to-date experience complete with pay-per-view options as well.

By using the Xbox internet browser, Triller TV is a perfect experience. Everything displays exactly as it would on a normal PC browser, meaning that I spend multiple hours watching AEW on the Microsoft Edge app every week. There was a time last year when the app would run out of memory every 30 minutes or so while using Triller TV, which admittedly was a pain, but an update ended up resolving this for good. I never get any issues like this anymore.

How about the NHL as well? I’m a big hockey fan despite being UK born-and-bred, and there are two options for the league here in the UK – Premier Sports and NHL.TV. Both have their pros and cons (Premier Sports obviously covers more sports, while NHL.TV is a dedicated service), but neither have an app that you can use on Xbox.

I recently signed back up to NHL.TV and discovered that it worked on Xbox’s Microsoft Edge browser – something that didn’t seem to be the case last season. However, it was giving me choppy playback when going into full-screen mode, and this was remedied by turning on “graphics acceleration” in the settings. Just like that, I’m set up for the 2024/2025 hockey season – ready for the Vancouver Canucks to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup!

The point I’m making here is that things have really changed even in the past year when it comes to the Xbox internet browser. It’s not perfect — there are still TV and gaming services that don’t work on it for whatever reason — but if you’re like me, it’s become an absolute game-changer for watching certain types of live and on-demand content. If you do run into any issues, there’s a chance you might be able to resolve them anyway by just poking around in the settings.

It feels like nobody ever talks about the Microsoft Edge browser on Xbox, and that’s definitely a shame! The team at Xbox deserve a lot of credit for the work they’ve done on it over the past few years, and I look forward to many more years of making heavy use of it on a weekly basis. Are you in the same boat as me, or do you disagree? Let me know!

What have your experiences been with the Xbox internet browser? Tell us in the comments down below.