{"id":8676,"date":"2020-09-09T15:22:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T15:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviancetechnologies.com\/blog\/maybe-the-xbox-series-s-is-all-you-need\/"},"modified":"2020-09-09T15:22:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T15:22:00","slug":"maybe-the-xbox-series-s-is-all-you-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviancetechnologies.com\/blog\/maybe-the-xbox-series-s-is-all-you-need\/","title":{"rendered":"Maybe the Xbox Series S is all you need"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n

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Maybe the Xbox Series S is all you need<\/h2>\n

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\n Microsoft\/Screenshot by CNET
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Surprising virtually no one, Microsoft has announced that the upcoming Xbox Series S game console will cost $299<\/span>\u00a0(\u00a3249, AU$499), and that the more-hyped\u00a0Xbox Series X<\/span>\u00a0will be $499<\/span> (\u00a3449, AU$749). Now that we have a better idea of the specs and differences between each system, it certainly looks to me like the smaller, somewhat less capable little brother<\/span>\u00a0is the better deal of the two.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The key thing for me has always been that the Xbox Series X<\/span> and PS5<\/span> boxes, as seen in teaser material so far, are physically huge. Gigantic, really. Meanwhile, the evolution of many other tech devices goes the other way. Roku boxes became Roku sticks, which shrank down to just a bit of software built into other devices, like your TV.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Phones get bigger, I suppose, but there was a time when we all competed to have the smallest phone possible (yes, that was pre-iPhone). Even now, folding phones are trying to build bigger screens into physically smaller devices so perhaps the small-footprint phone will make a comeback. Don’t ask me about 10-nanometer semiconductor manufacturing replacing 14-nanometer unless you want to be here for a while.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, what makes the Xbox Series X, which we still haven’t seen that much of, worth an extra $200? That platform can’t be radically different, after all — they need to play the same games, and in a reasonably similar way, like the Xbox One versus Xbox One X or PlayStation 4 compared to the PS4 Pro.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Having covered every console launch since the Sega Dreamcast<\/span>, I’d say storage capacity, for example 512GB versus 1TB or something similar — that’s worth $100. It’s not actually worth $100, just in the same way Apple marks up a MacBook by $100 for each bump in storage capacity. \tAnd the ability to output at 4K (or maybe 8K), versus 1080 or 1440 output. That’s another line item you could conceivably charge $100 for, especially if Series X can output most games at at least 4K\/60 frames per second, which is something even the most powerful gaming PCs can’t always do. CPU and GPU power appear to be the same between the two versions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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