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Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Xbox Series S: everything we know about the cheaper Xbox Series X alternative

The Xbox Series S (previously dubbed 'Project Lockhart') has finally been confirmed by Microsoft. Priced at $299.99 / £249.99, the cheaper, digital-only alternative to the Xbox Series X means Microsoft will be releasing not one but two next-gen consoles this year.

The console has been rumored for quite some time, with various leaks pointing to the existence of a cheaper device. In fact, it was another leak that showed off the console's design which eventually forced Microsoft's hand.

This disc-less, next-gen Xbox is substantially more powerful than the (now discontinued) Xbox One S All-Digital console, and allegedly comes with both a solid-state hard drive and a faster CPU than any game console on the market – with developers reportedly likening its performance to that of the PS4 Pro.

While Microsoft hasn't confirmed specs just yet, its official marketing material claims to offer "next gen performance in the smallest Xbox ever". 

Interested to know more? Here's everything we know about the Xbox Series S.

Xbox Series S release date

Xbox Series X controller

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox Series S (Project Lockhart) is indeed real, and that its digital-only next-gen console will arrive on November 10, 2020.

Back in April, Windows Central claimed the digital next-gen console had already entered home testing, allowing Xbox employees to get their hands on the system, with the publication suggesting that we could hear more about the console sometime soon. 

More recently, two separate sources said Microsoft was likely to do a full reveal of the console in August. However, that sadly never came to fruition. A report by Eurogamer, which echoed the findings of an earlier VentureBeat story, claimed that the Xbox Series X was first scheduled to be revealed in June before being pushed back to a separate event in August. 

The Xbox Series S could release alongside the Xbox Series X later this year - similar to how Sony is releasing both a PS5 standard edition and PS5 Digital Edition together. 

Xbox Series S price

Xbox Series X

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft has quashed the endless speculation over the Xbox Series S price, revealing that the console will retail for $299.99 / £249.99 via its official Twitter account. This falls in line with the Xbox Series S being a lower-cost alternative to the Xbox Series X, although we're still waiting to hear the Xbox Series X price.

If we use the Xbox Series X's predicted price of $499 / £499 / AU$760 as a baseline, the Xbox Series S undercuts it significantly by $200. The Xbox One S's RRP was $100 less than that of the Xbox One X at launch, while the Xbox One S All-Digital's launch RRP was $200 less than the Xbox One X's. The Xbox Series S will be a tempting proposition for those looking to experience next-gen games without breaking the bank, then.

Xbox Series S: specs

Xbox Series S specs

(Image credit: Twitter/@_h0x0d)

Microsoft has revealed exactly what its cheaper Xbox can do in the console's official launch trailer, which you can watch below.

The Xbox Series S is up to 60% smaller than the Xbox Series X, making it the smallest Xbox ever made. Games will target a resolution of 1440p instead of 4K on Xbox Series X, and will be capable of 120fps. 

There's also support for ray tracing, 4K media playback, 4K game upscaling, variable rate shading and variable refresh rates - same as on Xbox Series X. The console is all-digital, meaning there's no disc drive, and has a custom NVME 512GB SSD.

If you're worried about running out of disk space, Microsoft is also releasing a 1TB expansion card. The card can be plugged into the back of the Xbox Series X, but we're not sure if its compatible with the Xbox Series S just yet, although we'd be shocked if it wasn't. An external hard drive can also be used to store Xbox One games and backwards-compatible titles. 

Xbox Series S: a digital gateway

Xbox Game Pass

(Image credit: Xbox)

The Xbox Series S will primarily act as a digital gateway for both Microsoft’s game-streaming service, Project xCloud, and its ever-growing Xbox Game Pass service.

Project xCloud aims to leverage Microsoft’s existing data centers across the globe, literally loading up servers with the component parts of multiple Xbox One consoles, and using these to run the games streamed directly to your mobile device of choice. 

This means that gamers will be able to play the likes of Halo Infinite, Forza and other classic console and PC big hitters on their phones, tablets or Windows 10 computers.

Meanwhile, Xbox Game Pass is essentially a Netflix for games, allowing subscribers to access lots of Xbox games digitally. The service has grown massively since its launch in 2017, boasting over 10 million subscribers. 

Services such as Project xCloud and Xbox Game Pass prove that physical discs aren't always necessary, with Microsoft offering plenty of content for those who choose to go digital-only. Xbox Series S will undoubtedly take this initiative into the next generation, proving that these services alone can support a next-gen console.

Xbox Series S news and rumors

Xbox One S All-Digital Edition

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Xbox consoles discontinued
 Microsoft has now discontinued both the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition and the Xbox One X ahead of the launch of Xbox Series X. 

Xbox Series S appears in Microsoft technical documents
 A Twitter user discovered references to Xbox Series S (codenamed 'Project Lockhart') in the latest patch notes for Microsoft’s Game Development Kit.

In the June patch notes uncovered by Twitter user TitleOS, we can see one reference to LockhartProfiling beside AnacondaProfiling for Xbox Scarlett Dev Kits and a second reference that has a glaring typo ('Lockhard' [sic]). 

The language in the update was verified as accurate by Windows Central.

Without the complete context here, AnacondaProfiling appears to be referring to the hardware configuration of the Xbox Series X, and leads us to assume that the LockhartProfiling must be the lower-cost Xbox Series S.

Xbox Series S

(Image credit: rustam_shaimov / Shutterstock.com)

Kotaku's report
 According to Kotaku, Project Lockhart will be disc-less console – a trait that it will carry forward from the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition – but Kotaku's sources believe it will be substantially more powerful than Microsoft’s current disc-less box, and will come with both a solid-state hard drive and a faster CPU than any current game console.

The report goes on to say that Microsoft told developers to shoot for a 1440p resolution and 60 frames-per-second frame rate with Project Lockhart and 4K/60 with Xbox Series X, and those same developers have likened the performance of the lower-end console to the PS4 Pro. 

Microsoft confirms family of consoles
 The Xbox Series X will not be the only console in Microsoft's next generation lineup. While we assumed that the next generation console is called 'Xbox Series X', Microsoft has clarified that, in fact, the family of consoles will be called 'Xbox' and that 'Series X' is just one of the consoles within the family.

Rumors first emerged
 Back in 2018, rumors emerged that Microsoft was working on Project Scarlett, the company's plan for the next-generation of consoles. Project Scarlett was rumored to encompass two pieces of hardware: Anaconda and Lockhart (via Thurrott). 

Anaconda was rumored to be a successor to the Xbox One X (what we know know to be Xbox Series X) while Lockhart was rumored to be a successor to the Xbox One S (and a lower-cost alternative to Anaconda).

In June 2019, however, Microsoft announced only a single, high-end console, leading some to believe Project Lockhart had been cancelled. We now know, though, that this was not the case. 



from TechRadar - All the latest technology news https://ift.tt/3iknf5j
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