This year at E3, Microsoft announced that they were working on two new consoles, one designed to be a slimmer version of the Xbox One and another looking to be a step up in power and the next step towards greater gaming. In this preview I look at both machines and see what we can expect from them once they’re out.
Xbox One S – Due August 2016
Like all system cycles, there will be the obligatory reduction in size that seems to happen a few years after the initial launch. Coming in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB versions, the Xbox One S will also have some slight, but significant, hardware upgrades.
In terms of size of the unit, it looks to be 40% smaller than the original Xbox One and uses an internal power supply, meaning you won’t need the giant external power block, which also makes cable management slightly easier. It comes in a very stylish Robot White finish, can be stood vertically if you have the stand for it (available with the 2TB version) and now has the USB ports (of which there are now 3) and controller connect button on the front of the unit for easier accessibility. There is no direct Kinect connection and in its place there is an IR blaster (for control of other IR home devices), and the controller now comes with Bluetooth so you can easily connect it up to your PC.
The main upgrade with the Xbox One S is, of course, its ability to play 4K/Ultra HD. Not only will it be able to stream content in 4K, but it will also come with a 4K Blu-ray player built in. It will also be HDR compatible for both games and films, be able to show 4K at 60Hz via its HDMI 2.0a connection and will also be able to upscale games to 4K. This makes the Xbox One S not just a smaller version of the console, but actually makes it a pretty worthwhile purchase if you have a 4K TV. The 2TB launch version will be priced at £349, making it cheaper than most 4K Blu-ray players, and with all the extra things you get, it’s worth thinking about even if you already own an Xbox One.
Xbox One Project Scorpio – Due 2017
As of right now, a lot of what Project Scorpio will turn out to be is under wraps, but they have released just enough information to get your tech mind running wild.
Project Scorpio runs as well as a high-end PC utilising an 8-core CPU and a graphics card with 6TFLOPs (trillion floating point operations per second), and will have over 320GB/s of memory bandwidth. Utilising these top tier parts, the Project Scorpio looks to be the next step in consoles and should have the ability and horsepower to make gaming at native 4K at 60Hz and VR gaming accessible to everyone.
There’s a lot of speculation on overall parts and what we’ll actually see when it comes out in late 2017, but for me this shows an admittance by Microsoft that the original Xbox One isn’t the machine they wanted it to be, and that the Scorpio will look to rectify this by being better, whilst still allowing you to use all your Xbox One games and accessories. Of course, this is all speculative right now and so we’ll have to wait and see how Project Scorpio pans out.
If you own a games console and want to make the most out of it or would like to know how to get ready for the imminent future of 4K gaming, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with your local Richer Sounds store by either popping in or giving them a call.
Author: Hal, Plymouth store
