Best Xbox One accessories
These days the Xbox One is a fairly stripped-back console. You don't get the Kinect sensor by default anymore. Microsoft dropped the idea of shipping it with every console to really butt heads with the Sony PS4.
However, there's a lot more to the Xbox One accessories scene than than the Kinect sensor, available separately for a whopping £130 if you're tempted. You can add to its storage to install more games. There are loads of other controllers that change how you interact with the system.
And, for pure practicality, there are adapters that let you use old accessories with the Xbox One, which could save you a lot of money. Here's our pick of the best Xbox One accessories.
- See also: Best PS4 accessories
Samsung M3 USB 3.0 external HDD
For gaming without compromise, you simply need one of these external HDDs
Price: around £64.99 (2TB)
Buy: Amazon | eBuyer
Back when the Xbox One and PS4 launched, the Microsoft console ended up looking like the stuffy, up-tight alternative to Sony's open and all-embracing PS4. However, look at how their hard drives work and you can only conclude the Xbox One is really more flexible in some respects. If you plug a USB 3.0 external hard drive into one of the Xbox One's ports you can use it just like the internal HDD. That means you can install games onto it, use it as DVR storage and so on.
As the Xbox One's 500GB hard drive won't last long when game installs tend to be in the tens of gigabytes, an external HDD will soon become a no-brainer upgrade. What to consider next is whether you want a generally-cheaper 3.5-inch hard drive or a smaller, often slightly slower 2.5-inch one. One of the most popular drives at present is the Samsung M3 2TB model, although there are absolutely loads to choose from.
Thrustmaster TX Racing Wheel Ferrari Edition
Because racing games just aren't the same without a force feedback wheel
Price: around £239.99
Buy: Amazon | Argos
There aren't many serious racing wheels for Xbox One yet. The two stand-outs are the Thrustmaster TX Ferrari Edition and the Mad Catz Pro Racing Force Pro. Both are high-quality wheels that will hugely improve immersion in racing games, but in our experience the stronger force feedback motors of the Thrustmaster Ferrari Edition make it the one to watch out for.
If you're new to force feedback racing wheels, we can't overstate how much they can transform a proper racing game. With the right developer programming they can give you a sense of realism that lets you tailor your driving based on feel. You don't just watch for the back-end losing grip, you can feel it before that happens through the wheel, thanks to the action of the force feedback motors.
Xbox One media remote
The best (cheapest) way to make your Xbox One feel like a grown-up streamer
Price: around £17.99
Buy: John Lewis | Amazon | Microsoft | Argos
With services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video and catch-up services like BBC iPlayer on-board, some people won't need to use anything other than an Xbox One for lounge entertainment. However, not everyone wants to use a gamepad to control what they watch.
Thankfully, Microsoft makes a dedicated Xbox One Media Remote. Unlike the PS4, the Xbox One can handle standard IR remote signals, letting it use pretty low-cost remotes like this one.
Turtle Beach Stealth 500X
Get all the benefits of a surround sound system without the mess
Price: around £187
Buy: Amazon | Argos | Currys
For a console meant to be one of the hottest bits of tech around, the Xbox One's approach to gaming headsets is a bit… old school. Using the official stereo headset, you need to plug an adapter into the bottom of the Xbox One controller. It's practical, but it's also a bit… 1996. The Turtle Beach Stealth 500X was among the first full wireless Xbox One headsets released.
It uses a control box that plugs into your console, letting the headset itself give you the extra freedom of wireless. At £200 it may not be cheap, but wireless isn't the end of its high-end skills. The Stealth 500x also offers DTS surround sound, mimicking not just a pair of speakers but a whole host of them, and the dangly microphone arm is removable. This means you can use them as a regular pair of headphones, thanks also to the 3.5mm socket on the bottom.
Xbox Live Gold 12 Month Membership
Live Gold isn't just about multiplayer anymore, get on-board
Price: around £35
Buy: Amazon | Tesco
To compete with the Sony PS Plus service, Live Gold now includes Games with Gold. This gets you a couple of free Xbox One games plus an Xbox 360 game every month. You'll generally get a mix of full retail games and indie titles, which might cost you £10-20 on the online store.
Nowadays, Xbox Live Gold seems like a real bargain. It costs £40 a year if you buy it direct from Microsoft, but you can generally find a 12-month code online for £35.
Logitech Harmony Smart Keyboard
Best for people who want to treat their Xbox One a bit like a computer
Price: around £133
Buy: Amazon
Not everyone needs the Logitech Harmony Smart Keyboard, but it is one of the cleverest keyboard accessories we've seen, not least because it works with virtually everything. It'll let you type addresses on your laptop, your Xbox and your Roku streaming stick alike. It's all down to the Hub that comes with the smart keyboard.
This translates the keyboards signals into IR, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi commands, covering pretty much every base (bar the PS4, which isn't supported). If 95% of your time is going to be spent playing games and using Netflix on your Xbox, maybe you don't need a keyboard. However, if you want to use your console to browse the web too, this keyboard turns it from a nightmarish chore into a pleasure.
Xbox One Digital TV tuner
A great, low-cost way to consume all your media through your Xbox One
Price: around £24.99
Buy: Amazon | Argos | Microsoft
In the UK it looked for a good while like we wouldn't get much of the smart TV functionality people in the US get to enjoy. Even before the console's release Microsoft was bragging about how great it'd be for the cable TV services we don't get here. However, in late 2014 Microsoft released a cheap TV tuner box that gives the Xbox One Freeview TV skills.
It sticks into your console via USB, then plugs into an aerial at the other end. Its closest rival is actually the PS3's Play TV add-on. It's for people who want to use the Xbox One for every home entertainment need, and more-or-less forget their TV's controller. The OneGuide EPG lets you check out what's on a week into the future, pause live TV, and it supports HD channels as well as murky old SD-quality ones. The one big disappointment is a lack of recording via the EPG
Read: Xbox One Digital TV Tuner review
Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter
An ingenious way to let you use your own headset or headphones
Price: around £20
Buy: John Lewis | Selfridges | Argos
As much as plugging the official Xbox One headset into the controller seems a bit mechanical, we're over the moon that Microsoft also makes a stereo headset adapter. This, once again, plugs into the gamepad, but lets you plug in just about any headset or pair of headphones. Don't forget that latter bit: headphones. Using a console with headphones can often be a right old pain, generally requiring a great long 3-5m cable that plugs into your TV or AV receiver.
Not so with this accessory, which nabs the audio from the wireless signal send to the controller. Pretty clever, eh? We like the idea of using it for a nice set of standard headphones, but it's really designed to let you use a headset you've been using since the last generation. Alternatively, you could buy a new Xbox One-native headset. So the question is: how much do you love your current one?
CronusMax
A smart way to avoid having to buy any more controllers
Price: around £50
Buy: Amazon
Now here's an interesting one. The CronusMax is a USB dongle that lets you use gamepads from any platform on just about any other platform. An obvious one might be to use a PS3/PS4 DualShock controller on Xbox One. Why? We like to think of the CronusMax as a neat cross-platform solution for people who like to indulge in a bit of couch co-op every now and then, but not to the extent that it justifies buying multiple controllers for every platform they own. It's pretty unusual, but it works.
Hori Real Arcade Pro One
The best way to get your skills in check for Street Fighter V
Price: around £130
Buy: Amazon | Microsoft
Love Street Fighter IV? Can't get enough of Mortal Kombat? Well at present the Xbox One is still waiting for its killer one-on-one fighting game (Killer Instinct didn't quite cut it), but you can already get your hands on a top-notch fightstick. The Hori Real Arcade Pro One gets you the feel of the arcade, and its Hori Hayabusa stick and Kuro buttons can compete with the ones you'd see on an actual Street Fighter machine too.
It has one big rival at present, the Mad Catz Arcade Fightstick Tournament Edition 2. It uses Sanwa parts, the kind actually found in arcade machines, but it's also around £50 more expensive and hard to get hold of at the time of writing. For now at least, Hori gets our vote. Now we just need Capcom to get its backside in gear and release Street Fighter V already (it's due in 2016).
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