The new Microsoft Xbox One S is better than the original in every major way - and worse in one small one
This handsome little devil is the $399 Xbox One S, with 2 terabytes of hard drive space. It'll play all the Xbox One games you might already own, but the differences between the original console and this newer, sleeker model are like night and day.
Which might explain why they went with white, versus the original 2013's console's black finish. That's the Xbox One S on top of the original, and as you can see, it's a lot smaller.
Microsoft claims it's 40% smaller. I didn't do any complex geometry to prove it, but it seems about right. Looks how much smaller and slimmer it is.
Microsoft took this slimness thing down a step further. Where the original Xbox One needed this monstrosity of a power brick...
The Xbox One S only needs a modest little power cord. That whole big brick thing was built directly into the unit. It's a little power cord, like you'd find on, I don't know, a power drill. That's a major improvement for anybody with limited entertainment center space.
And it comes with a little stand so you can put it upright! It's a nice touch, and gives people a little more flexibility.
The Xbox One S controller (white, below) looks pretty much the same as the original Xbox One controller (black, above). Looks can be deceiving, though.
It's hard to tell from the picture, but it has a little bit of texture around where your palms go. That means more friction, so it's less likely to slip. There's a better grip on the thumbsticks, too. Also, it now uses Bluetooth to connect to the Xbox, which means that it gets longer range.
The fact that it uses Bluetooth brings an additional bonus: It now means that the Xbox One S controller will work on any PC, tablet, or phone. Even if you don't get the Xbox One S itself, the new controllers are sold separately for $59.99.
There is one big thing that the Xbox One S can do that the original Xbox One can't. If you have a TV that's capable of the incredibly-high-definition 4K video standard, or think you might get one soon, the Xbox One S is the Xbox for you.
The Xbox One S also supports "HDR," or High Dynamic Range, which basically ensures you're seeing extremely accurate colors that have a higher range. So instead of a ray of sunlight appearing washed out and white, you're able to notice the orange and yellow hues instead.
To be clear, if you want to take advantage of HDR, you need two things. First, a 4K TV that's capable of it...
...and a movie or game that supports both 4K and HDR. There are lots of movies, including "Star Trek" and "Deadpool" available now in so-called "Ultra-HD" format that support both. Netflix already supports 4K for some videos, and HDR movies and TV shows will start to arrive on the service by year's end.
And big-ticket 2016 releases like "Gears of War 4," "Forza Horizon 3," and "Scalebound" will all support HDR at launch, making for bigger, more beautiful games.
But if, like me, your TV is not the latest and greatest model, you won't notice any difference. If you're planning on upgrading, great. If not, the original Xbox One offers the same exact experience.
That said, all Xbox One consoles old and new just got a new software update that streamlines most of the experience and makes it easier to get around. It's a nice complement to a sleeker system.
One other nice thing, not exclusive to the Xbox One S: Because the Xbox One saves all your game data to the cloud, it only took a few seconds of syncing before I could pick up my saved game in "Doom" right where I left off. It made switching consoles a breeze.
The version I reviewed here is the $399, 2TB "launch edition." If that's not to your liking, Microsoft has also announced a $349 bundle with a 1TB hard drive and a download of "Madden NFL '17," to be launched later in August. There's also a $299/$349 Halo bundle coming soon, too, with 500GB or 1TB of storage respectively.
If you're REALLY budget-conscious though, also know that you can pick up the original-model Xbox One for $249 now, and lots of retailers are throwing in extra games as they clear out their inventory.
Also know that no matter which configuration you pick, all Xbox One consoles play a large-and-growing library of the classic Xbox 360 games you might already own, for no extra charge beyond the games themselves.
On a final note, there's bad news for those few Xbox One owners really attached to their Xbox One Kinect motion and voice sensors...
...there's no place to plug in the Kinect on the back of the Xbox One S. Microsoft is offering free adapters in case you absolutely need it, but it's one huge sign that Xbox has largely left Kinect behind.
That thing aside, I'd recommend the new Xbox One S to anybody who's looking to get into this whole "Xbox" thing. It's smaller, sleeker, and better in just about every important way. Plus, it's good future-proofing in case, say, you buy a new TV this holiday shopping season.
In the meanwhile, Microsoft is already hard at work on the secretive Project Scorpio, which it bills as "the most powerful console ever." But that won't be out until at least Holiday 2017, so the Xbox One S will be the cutting edge for a little while to come.
Popular Right Now
Popular Keywords
Advertisement