Is it worth buying? Well, Let’s talk about that. 

Xbox series S is the more affordable version of the Next-Gen gaming console from Microsoft and successor to the Xbox One S, but, this time it’s all digital. So, no optical drive, and if you are someone who loves buying a physical copy of the game then series X would be perfect for you. It will definitely attract some of the crowd, who is not looking for an expensive console and still want to have Next-Gen gaming experience. 

We cannot compare this to Xbox series X, because both the consoles are targeting a different customer base, and $299 is not too harsh on anybody’s bank account. It does not sound as pleasing as the series X on the specs sheet but according to the company, the console is still quite capable and can run all the games which are available for the Xbox series X, but the only difference is that you can play 4K 60fps on series X as opposed to 1440 @60fps on series S. So, if the resolution is deciding factor for you then series X is undoubtedly a winner. 

Tech Specs: 

Image: Microsoft, Internals of Series S
PROCESSOR CPU. 8X Cores @ 3.6 GHz (3.4 GHz w/SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU 
GPU. 4 TFLOPS, 20 CUs @1.565 GHz 
MEMORY & STORAGE Memory. 10GB GDDR6 128 bit-wide bus 
Memory Bandwidth. 8GB @ 224 GB/s, 2GB @ 56 GB/s. 
Internal Storage. 512GB Custom NVME SSD 
I/O Throughput. 2.4 GB/s (Raw), 4.8 GB/s (Compressed, with custom hardware decompression block) 
Expandable Storage. Support for 1TB Seagate Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S matches internal storage exactly (sold separately). Support for USB 3.1 external HDD (sold separately). 
VIDEO CAPABILITIES Gaming Resolution. 1440p 
Performance Target. Up to 120 FPS 
HDMI Features. Auto Low Latency Mode. HDMI Variable Refresh Rate. AMD FreeSync. 
SOUND CAPABILITIES L-PCM, up to 7.1 
Dolby Digital 5.1 
DTS 5.1 
Dolby TrueHD with Atmos 
PORTS & CONNECTIVITY HDMI. 1x HDMI 2.1 port 
USB. 3x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports 
Wireless. 802.11ac dual-band 
Ethernet. 802.3 10/100/1000 
Image: Microsoft

The difference in Series S and X.

There is a big power difference between the Series X and Series S, But the company says it should not hinder the experience on the Series S as it’s running the games on 1440p resolution and it does not need the same graphical power as the series X, series X has 12.15 teraflops of graphical power and series S has 4 teraflops and it sounds terrible if we compare the two “Why Microsoft”? 

It’s not just that It has 10 GB RAM as opposed to 16GB on series X, and they did the same for the storage, series S has 500 GB of internal storage, and X has 1TB, but the storage is expandable for both the consoles, you can put in a 1TB Seagate storage expansion card. Regular external drives designed for Xbox will still work. 

What are the similarities? 

  • Both the consoles support ray tracing, HDR, variable refresh rate. 
  • I/o and the Controller is the same for both consoles. 
  • both the systems are backward compatible with the Xbox One titles, and the controllers. 
  • Even though you cannot play games on 4K resolution on Series S, but you will still be able to play 4K media content on both the devices. Well, that surely is a plus, isn’t it? Thanks, Microsoft. 
  • All the titles available for the series X will be playable on Series S with l’il bit less resolution, but I don’t think you will notice a huge difference as long as you are playing games on a massive screen. 

So, Is it worth buying? 

Definitely, if you are someone who does not care about the resolution and you are okay with 500GB internal storage, then go for it. 

Microsoft says that specs on the series S are enough to run all the titles smoothly and provide you a smooth experience as it’s running the games on 1440p. So, low graphical power, RAM size, and RAM speeds should not affect the performance at all, but it’s all a hearsay so far. A full hands-on is required to believe that. 

But, if you are on a tight budget and you need something compact to fit in your media stand, then it is a respectable choice. $299 does not seem like a big price to step into Next-Gen gaming, and Covid-19 could bring in the numbers for Series S because of it’s low and easy on the pocket price.