So, I bought a Xbox One S...
...while nothing major to report, I thought to give it a little write up!Back in early 2014, I purchased the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, within one day of each other! You can read my initial impressions from back then, here. For the first year and a half of owning them, my main console has ended up being the PS4 for multi-platform releases. Much due to the slightly more powerful hardware, resulting in a 900p vs 1080p resolution gap.
My XB1, was at that time, mostly used for the exclusives on the system. While I enjoyed the early PS4 releases, like Infamous Second Son and The Last Of Us Remastered, the consistent releases of quality exclusives and more interesting titles for my taste on the XB1, turned it into the most used console over time.
In addition to excellent titles, like Forza Motorsport 6, Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizon 3, Halo 5: Guardians and Gears of War 4 to mention some of the best exclusives on XB1, other factors like the backwards compatibility and the superior controller played a main role in the XB1 being the most played hardware. The backwards compatibility now features lots of major titles from the Xbox 360 era, and they even run better!
So, after last years E3 reveal of the slimmed down Xbox One S and a very reasonable price cut was given for it here in Norway, I just couldn't resist to purchase a XB1S. Aesthetic upgrade only, yes, but it now has a UHD Blu-Ray player built-in!
From a design point of view, the new white and sleek box is minimalist, yet beautiful. Perhaps one of the sleekest looking consoles of all time. It doesn't look bulky as it's anonymous father, the original XB1. Sure, the design is still very square, but it looks far superior designed and less bulky.
I like the small round holes covering the big round ventilation hole for cooling fan on the top. The tiny, etched, holes covering the front of the console look great too. Gone is the scratchable, dust collecting and fingerprint friendly shiny plastic half of the console. The console just subtly blends into your white TV furniture, looking like a media box or Blu-Ray player in size and form.
I like how all the pressure sensitive buttons on the console have been replaced for proper mechanical ones too. The console can now be placed vertically for those that prefer it standing on a desk for instance. The main hardware functional design choice of having one large fan for cooling and thus noise reduction has been retained. Bigger and slower fans make less noise than small and fast rotating ones.
Although in theory the original XB1 probably will be slightly less noisy when working at full power, simply due to the larger box, external power supply and spacious, I didn't notice any difference. The XB1S is extremely quiet, nowhere near my jet engine sounding PS4 in comparison.
A major complaint about the original XB1 was it's rather large size compared to the smaller PS4. This issue has luckily been fixed and not only is the box much smaller with this S model, but the huge power brick has now been fully integrated into the main box. Plus, the power cord is now a generic, and easily replaced, figure of eight plug.
If you're a Kinect owner by the way, going from XB1 to XB1S: keep the serial number for all three devices and order a special Kinect USB cable that Microsoft offers for free on their website. You see, The XB1S no longer has a dedicated Kinect connection and thus a special Kinect plug to USB cable is required. It also, disappointingly, needs an extra power outlet as the original XB1 powered the Kinect itself.
What I really appreciate, other than the actual slimming of size, is the added hardware functionalities. Quite significant ones as such. Rather than making it a cheaper model with less features, much like Sony does with it's slim models, XB1S offers a larger hard drive for the same price, going from 500GB to 1TB.
The most significant upgrade though, is the really cool UHD disk drive, which replaces the Blu-Ray one. Allowing you, very cheaply, having access to watch UHD movies. A great bonus, as standalone UHD players are still very expensive. The XB1S will also allow you to watch Netflix content at 4K and supports HDR too.
HDR is not only restricted to movies and TV shows though, but allows games to utilise it's potential! This new tech allows for an increase from around 50% representation of real life colours to 70%, and really increases the differences in dark and light environments on screen. Dark become darker, light areas even brighter. This tech needs a TV or monitor that supports HDR of course!
HDR requires a small hardware boost in the CPU to make it work. As such, the XB1S will give you ever so slightly higher framerates in games that fall below their target. Nothing you'll notice significantly, but it's a nice touch.
Physically there's an added IR blaster at the front of the console for easier use of various remote controllers, allowing the console to be used easier as a media player.
Above you can see a size comparison with the original XB1 I did. As you can see, the XB1S is considerable smaller. The total amount of shelf space, considering the huge power supply being integrated, makes the reduction in total size significant.
That's really all there is to say about this new hardware purchase! If you're in the market for buying a XB1, this XB1S is a no-brainer, as the S model will be the only one available from now in the shops.
Above you can see a size comparison with the original XB1 I did. As you can see, the XB1S is considerable smaller. The total amount of shelf space, considering the huge power supply being integrated, makes the reduction in total size significant.
That's really all there is to say about this new hardware purchase! If you're in the market for buying a XB1, this XB1S is a no-brainer, as the S model will be the only one available from now in the shops.
If you're in the market for a used one though, you have to consider two main things, apart from a cheaper price for the older model. Firstly, do you want a small physical size of your console, for me personally it wasn't such a major issue with the original XB1. Just remember that power supply brick is annoying!
Secondly, if 4K Netflix content and UHD movies are something you'll use, it will require a 4K TV. Plus, if you want the added HDR functionality, you'll need a newer type of 4K TV that support it.
Overall, it's nice to see Microsoft making the XB1 go from a plain and large black box, to something sleek and cool looking with a smaller footprint. It fits stylishly into TV furniture, the S in XB1S stands for sexy!