MICROSOFT has two new consoles coming out, and some gamers still aren’t sure which to splash their cash on.
The Xbox Series X and Series S are now just months away from release – we sum up the key differences between them below.
What are the Xbox Series X and Series S?
The Xbox Series X and Series S are the latest consoles from Microsoft.
They’re the follow ups to the Xbox One X and Xbox One S respectively.
The Series X is all about power and performance, and is said to be so fast that it virtually eliminates loading times.
The Series S is a fair bit cheaper, but that price tag comes at the cost of some of its bigger brother’s bleeding edge specs.
Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S – specs and features
The Xbox Series X is all about power and performance.
Microsoft recently confirmed that the console would deliver a mammoth 12 teraflops of performance.
That’s a whopping eight times more than the original Xbox One.
Teraflops refers to the number of operations a processor can handle at a given time.
The new Xbox will be able to have 12trillion “operations” every single second.
For context, that’s twice as powerful as the Xbox One X.
Microsoft is also pledging to reduce waiting times for gaming generally.
Games should load more quickly due to a faster, 16GB of RAM storage to play with.
The Xbox series S, on the other hand, is an all-digital console with no disc tray – keeping costs down.
Sony has already offered up much the same with its new PS5, which comes in non-digital and digital variants.
Microsoft’s cheaper model still stands vertically, but looks to be about half the width.
And rather than being all-black like the Series X, the Series S has a white design with a large dark circle on its front.
In terms of specs, the Series S runs games at four teraflops, down from the 12 offered by the Series X.
In layman’s terms, this means it won’t process graphics quite as well. While the Series X can run games at 4K, the S is locked at 1440p.
Loading times will also be a little longer on the Series S due to its 10GB of processing storage vs the Series X’s 16GB.
In terms of storage, the 512GB packed into the Series S is about half that of the whopping 1TB offered by the Series X.
The difference most gamers will care about, though, is the price…
Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S – release date and prices
In terms of a release date, both consoles launch November 10 worldwide.
Pre-orders went live on September 22, though most stores sold out within minutes. Expect retailers to restock in the coming weeks.
The disc-free Series S costs £249/$299, while the Xbox Series X comes in at £449/$499.
So how does that compare to the new Xbox’s biggest rival, the PlayStation 5?
Sony has revealed the PS5 release date falls on November 12, but not everywhere.
That date only stands for the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.
In the UK, you won’t be able to get it until November 19.
The PS5 proper costs £449.99/$499.99, while the digital edition comes in at £359/$399.
Xbox Series X games – what to expect
Thankfully, the same games will be available on both consoles.
Microsoft is already working on lining up brand new games that will be ready to play for launch.
Here’s a selection of games you’ll be able to enjoy, though not all at launch:
- Assassins Creed Valhalla
- Bright Memory Infinite
- DIRT5
- Scorn
- Chorus
- Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
- Call of the Sea
- The Ascent
- The Medium
- Scarlet Nexus
- Second extinction: Reclaim Earth
- Yakuza: Like A Dragon
- Madden 21
Microsoft is also making old Xbox games backwards-compatible, describing it as “four generations of gaming”.
You’ll be able to play original Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games on the new consoles.
And these games should be boosted by steadier framerates, faster loading times and improved resolution.
In other gaming news, Sony revealed the price and release date of its PlayStation 5.
PS5 listings have already begun to pop up on sites like eBay for as much as £250 above the asking price.
And, PS4 gamers can try the new Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War this weekend.
Are you excited for the Series X? Let us know in the comments…
