Xbox Series S (is best Xbox series in 2021)

 

there's never been a console like the

Xbox series s
not to be confused with the series x
this much smaller and much
cheaper next generation Xbox doesn't
just sacrifice
an optical drive it's significantly less
powerful than its bigger sibling and
aims for upscaled 1440p resolution
instead of true 4k
the results are mixed depending on how
you plan to play
the s might make a ton of sense and it's
only three hundred dollars instead of
five hundred dollars for the x
but for anybody who's serious about
gaming on Xbox
its shortcomings may leave you kicking
yourself for not springing
for the series x instead
the series s's hardware is similar to
the series x's renal 2 architecture
but its CPU is clocked down and it has
less ram
in short it's a 4 teraflop console
versus the series x's 12.1
think of it like a base model car with a
v6
and very few options compared to the
fully loaded v12
that is the series x the difference
between the s and the x is
well black and white it's significantly
smaller
even smaller than the Xbox one s but
there's no disk drive so there's no way
to install disk based games or watch
blur-rays
I wouldn't call it ugly but its shape
and appearance is slightly awkward in
sort of an adorable way the large black
air vent on the top makes it resemble a
speaker more than a console
on the front there's the offset power
button and one
Use 3.2 port on the back it has all the
same ports as the series x
the HDMI out port two more use ports an
ethernet port a storage expansion slot
and of course
power thankfully there's no brick of
course
sharing ports with the series x means
there's none of the Xbox one's tv
pass-through or
optical audio here either for a
controller it uses the exact same one
that the series x does and it's
compatible with just about all of the
Xbox one's accessories
setup and transferring games from an old
Xbox is easy
especially with the slick smartphone app
at first glance the series s seems
capable enough though it's clearly a
step down from the series x in
image quality I connected the series s
to the same
log b9 4k onled tv I used with the series
x
and to my eyes the upscaled image
quality was noticeably muddy compared to
the crisp clean
native 4k of the series x as always
you get what you pay for there it
actually looked better connected to a
1440p
gaming monitor with no upscaling
however I was pleased to see that gears
5 versus multiplayer
and the falconer are able to run at 120
frames per second
if you're willing to take a hidden
resolution just like on the series x
i did see some minor screen tearing and
mild frame rate choppiness in the
falconer at 120 frames
and in gears 5's versus at 120 frames as
well as the 60 frame per second
campaign i spotted noticeable dips here
and there
it wasn't anything major but it's a
worrying warning sign that a brand new
console
is already missing a few steps through
all of that the series s maintained the
same whisper quiet noise level as the
series x
registering just 38 decibels in dirt 5
while its temperature topped out at 55
degrees Celsius in the same game
on the series x it was 40 decibels and
42.5 degrees Celsius respectively
both outclassed the Xbox one x which
blasts out
62 decibels and 56 degrees Celsius
the interface is basically identical to
what we've had on Xbox one for years now
so it's an unexciting upgrade there but
it's dependable and fully featured
the main advantage the series s has over
the comparably powerful
Xbox one x is that its loading times are
identical to the series x
and that is to say very very quick
and that includes the wonderful quick
resume feature that allows you to resume
right where you left off in any of the
last
several games you've played it's all
just as life-changing on the series s
the downside though is that you've only
got a woefully small
364 gigabytes of usable space to install
games and apps on and that can go quick
I was at
96 capacity with a total of eight games
five beefy blockbusters and three
smaller indie games
that's even with micro soft's smart
delivery system that lets developers
tailor their games specifically to the
series s
gears 5 for instance is only 55.1 gigs
compared to 71.9
gigs on the series x because the s
doesn't need the full 4k
textures your mileage may vary of course
if you play a lot of smaller indie games
off of game pass
you can still load up a bunch of them
sure you can expand the storage using
the slot on the back
but the one terabyte Seagate expansion
card is
a horrible buy with the series s if
you're willing to spend
another 220 on one of those you'd be
much better off just buying a series x
instead
to be clear you can use a use 3.0 drive
as a pack mule to stash games you aren't
currently playing to avoid having to
re-download them later
in fact I recommend that you do by the
way you can also play your back catalog
of Xbox one and Xbox 360 games
straight from that external use drive
but
you won't gain any of the loading time
benefits that way
all in all the series s offers plenty of
present day value considering it only
costs 300
it's limited to 1440p resolution and has
a claustrophobically small storage space
but it's tiny and quiet with snappy load
times
and can play games at up to 120 frames
per second
if your tv can support it I'm mostly
concerned about its long-term viability
games are only going to get more
demanding going forward
so the series s isn't something I'd
recommend as your main gaming platform
but that doesn't mean it doesn't have
its place the series s
is an excellent second console like if
you want something for a kid who plays
on a smaller screen or if for example
you have a ps5 but want to occasionally
dip into the smorgasbord that is Xbox
game pass
as long as you're clear on what the
series s's strengths and limitations are
it's a unique budget-friendly way to
take your first steps into the new
console generation
for more on the next generation of
Xboxes check out our review of the Xbox
series
x and our unboxing of the series s
and for all of your next-gen gaming
needs keep it right here on ign
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