Xbox Series S
Next-gen performance in the smallest Xbox ever
*Important Information: Use with digital games only;console does not play physical discs.
120 FPS: Requires supported content and display; use on Xbox Series S as content becomes available.
Xbox Game Pass: Game catalogue varies over time (xbox.com/gamepass). See xbox.com/gamepass and ea.com/ ea-play/terms and ea.com/ea-play for details.
4K streaming: with select apps, see xbox.com. Some apps require app provider-specific subscriptions and/or other requirements.
Dolby: Dolby Vision HDR on Xbox requires a compatible display. Dolby Atmos for Headphones requires an additional purchase from Microsoft Store.
Halo Infinite: coming 8th December 2021.
Forza Horizon 5: coming 9th November 2021.
Xbox Family Settings app: Child account must be logged into the Microsoft account with Xbox profile used in the family for settings to apply. Xbox Family Settings app requires iOS 10 or higher or Android 5 or higher.
The EA logo is protected by trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. STAR WARS & TM 2019 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.
AIRBUS and other Airbus product and service marks are protected trademarks of Airbus. All rights reserved. Officially licensed by Airbus. Cessna names, emblems, body designs, and logos are trademarks and intellectual property of Textron Innovations Inc. and are used under license to Microsoft Corporation. The Cub Crafters names, emblems, body designs and logos are trademarks and intellectual property of Cub Crafters and are used under license to Microsoft Corporation.
| Dimensions: | 29 x 12.5 x 36 cm; 3.21 Kilograms |
| Model: | RRS-00007 |
| Batteries Included: | 2 AA batteries required. (included) |
| Dimensions: | 29 x 12.5 x 36 cm; 3.21 Kilograms |
| Origin: | China |
Brought for me boy for his 10th birthday he’s so happy and was really easy to set up and transfer his profile onto
Definitely a great investment for the next couple or so years
Amazing power for the price
Plays games perfectly
Silent
Able to take with you in a rucksack round your mates house.
60fps gaming on this is so good
Just easy to setup. Games download so much quicker with the ssd. And it’s an awesome good looking machine.
Couldn’t be happier. Fast, nice design, small and quiet – with Game Pass, it’s a bargai
I’ve been loving using the Xbox Series S, in combination with Game Pass it offers unrivalled value for money. Performance is really good for the price point. I also like the fact it’s so small and easily fits in my TV + media unit.
I personally love it The only complain I have is that I can’t play the games I have on disc that’s mostly my fault tho I forgot the series S was digital but I have no complaints
*******. UPDATE 02/06/22 ***********
Have been using the Xbox series X for a while now and have had no issue thus far. The resolution is good and the sound like wise. My previous console was an Xbox X ( not series X) so I was already used to a high video and audio output but the HDMI sequencer chip on the main board is faulty so I can no longer connect it to my TV ( I have to stream it to a computer for it to work).
I do miss my blue ray player but the quick resume that the series S offers is amazing and the new version of GTA 5 looks really good.
With quick resume I can launch GTA5 in seconds and fallout 4 is almost instant.
There are lots of games for the series X/S.
In my opinion this Xbox is well worth the cost.
I will be getting the Xbox series X when I can afford to.
Really good cos I couldn’t afford the other. Runs extremely well and very lightweight for moving round. You may need to invest in extra memory if you play on lots of games but can run a few big games just off the memory available
What a great console, small easy to set up unit.
Holds about 5 high rated games and runs them very well.
Racing or FPS game graphics are superb.
You’ll have to subscribe to Xbox I got the ultimate package for 10.99 a month lots of games to choose from.
You can even stream the games to a mobile device and play them away from home. (Although quite a dip in graphics)
All in for 250 it’s a win win…
Very good console and the loading times are vastly improved, since booting up my xbox one x I have realised just how slow it is compared to this.
Microsoft flight simulator plays nicely on this.
I will say that GTA Online still takes its time to load but that’s probably an issue with their servers.
Graphics good, load times good, small and quiet. Only downer for me is the low storage capacity and price of expansion cards. Happy with it though.
I mostly use my PS5 so as a second console to play the Microsoft exclusive games this is absolutely perfect. Having played it for a little while though I like it just as much as my PS5. It is super quite and if you have game pass it makes it even better value. Only slight negative is quite small hard disk space, you end up with about 364GB of usable storage. So I would recommend using a external hard drive for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 games.
I’ve been a playstation fan forever, I never thought I’d get an Xbox, but I decided to get one anyway as I love all things tech and there’s certain games that are exclusive to Xbox so I thought I’d give it a go and I’m glad that I did because I absolutely adore this console. It’s super fast, quiet and just fun to own. It’s not as powerful as my PS5 obviously but if you want power then you’d obviously spend the extra money and get the series X. But if you wanted a cheaper alternative to the ps5/ Series X then I absolutely recommend the series S!
Now I am no hardcore gamer – apparently if I was I should buy the PS5 – if I could find one!!
What I am is a parent who likes to play games with his lad once in a while without requiring a second PC setup.
The XBox Series S has been extensively reviewed just about everywhere so I will keep it simple and say, for the money (249 at time of writing) it is amazing.
If you have a previous version of the Xbox with Xbox Live, then all those games will be available to you on the new one.
As you know, this does not have a disc drive, so alas, any games you own physical copies of will be less than useful.
We stopped buying discs a while back and all the digital purchases previously made were available. They just needed downloading on to this machine.
One thing to remember is that 500gb of onboard memory is not as much as you might think.
Buying the official memory expansion pack is comically expensive (don’t do it) but using a good external SSD works very well. I use a Samsung 1TB (1,000gb) external drive (reviewed separately) and it is a perfect means of getting a good level of storage for your games.
The interface is standard Microsoft XBox so everything is completely familiar.
If you connect this to a nice 4k TV then the results are just beautiful No other way to describe it!
In summary, if you have the XBox One and have wondered about upgrading, then the answer is – Just Do It (as I believe another company says!).
Thanks for reading and I hope you found the review useful. 🙂
I upgraded from the Xbox one original and what a difference. Games load super fast and graphics are much better. It’s basically a 2k gaming machine that upscales and it look amazing. The only downfall the the internal memory but I bought a 2tb external harddrive for 40 and that runs all old games off it and X/s games I just transfer them as and when I need them.
Don’t hesitate just buy i
All your monitor are 4K then buy the gen X, otherwise the S it is a fantastic product for the price.
If you are considering the Console as a media platform, the one and only HDMI port is a narrow pattern to full fill the reach audio that is coming with the console.
I bought the series S primarily for online game play. So far played hard whilst using a 1080p enabled monitor (although the S supports up to 1440p). There are marginal graphics details (lower quality) compared to my series X whilst in 1080p. I’ve also bought external 1TB ssd with the S so I can hold/play few games without having to re-download content all the time. So if you are on a budget and want to experience the next generation Xbox console this device is for you. Ah also it is very compact if space is an issue as well – but it can get hot (not loud) whilst mid play.
It’s small, heavier than I expected which in my view is a positive because it stays put and doesn’t move around. It is nearly inaudible. It boots in seconds.
I’m trying to find a negative which is difficult given the console performs exactly how it said it would. If I have to find a gripe with the Series S I’d say that if you’ve gamed on a good graphics card, or on a Series X or PS5 you’ll see limitations in its graphical prowess.
Overall I’ll probably end up buying more of these small consoles.
After playing on this console for a good 4 months, the console has managed to stay in pretty good shape with no major issues as of yet. And to top it off (ps I’m not one to throw my controllers around) both the controllers that I’ve been using regularly haven’t had any malfunctions. Great product for the price, highly recommend!
As I have a Series X I got a Series S console for my boys to replace there old PS4 which had seen better days. What is great is I can share my Game Pass with them and we can all play at once. Which is limited to 2 consoles at once. I’ve put my old Game Drive on the Series S which I’ve put all the last gen games on to save room on the Series S
Pro’s
It’s a great console for the money. Game Pass is worth the money when you take how much the new Halo is to buy and all the other new games released each year.
Con’s
Only let down is the size of the built in memory but there are work rounds and with cloud play coming to Game Pass I can forgive them for the price.
I got the Series S, as there seemed little chance of getting the Series X. The Series S plays games very well indeed, Forza 5 looks and plays amazing. I installed Microsoft Flight Sim and it plays great. This is a great console, it appears slick, powerful and has some great games.
However there are a few limitations to consider.
The first consideration, is it does not play games in 4K, it outputs in 1440, which on my 4K TV look just fine (up-scaled to 4K), but it might be a deal breaker for you.
The second consideration, is the lack of a disk drive. If most of your games are digital, you are OK, but if all of your games are disk based, you will not play them on this console. I have 307 digital games, plus into the hundreds on Gold and Game Pass Ultimate, so I have hundreds of digital games. I have figured out that I have 12 games on disk I cannot play (many of my disk based games are on Ultimate), so not a disaster.
The third consideration is storage space. You get just over 300GB of usable storage – which is about 5 games! This can be beefed up with a 1TB XBox SSD custom drive for the Series X/S games and a portable USB3 drive for XBox One and XBox 360 and the original XBox games, you cannot use a USB drive for Series X/S games. The cost of expanding this storage is worth considering, as this will make it an expensive purchase. To buy a 4TB USB3 drive and 1TB XBox Series X/S drive, it cost me more than the purchase price of the Series S console cost me!
The final consideration and the one that I find a real pain, is the badly designed controller. The revised D pad is dreadful. Up, down and right work just fine, but left is hit or miss as to whether it will work. This can make playing games difficult and is a real down-grade from the XBox One.
In summary, a great, but limited console, with a dreadful controller.
Edit
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It will probably come as no surprise that the controller was actually defective (appeared to be assembled incorrectly) and the console had to be returned. Amazon were not able to swap the controller. I did contact Microsoft direct, who were willing to swap the new (defective) controller for a reconditioned one, but indicated I should really send the console back, as that was the only route to get a new controller. Upped to 4 stars, as with a working controller, it would be much improved.
As we all know getting hold of a PS5 or Xbox Series X is still difficult to get hold of after a year. Which is just crazy. However you can still enjoy the Next Gen console with Xbox Series S. It’s a brilliant little console and runs very well loading times are great as well and best of all you get to enjoy the Xbox game pass. I have had no issues with the Xbox Series S. Only thing you will notice is its storage space which is over 500GB. However take into account console software etc your actually left with about 300GB. So to fully appreciate this console you will need an Storage expansion card etc. Apart from that it’s been a joy to use excellent budget console if you want to enjoy Next Gen gaming.
I’ve been trying without success to get a ps5 or series x for the past year and was hesitant to buy this for a number of reasons but decided to take a chance. I’m loving it so far load times are super fast console itself runs quiet but gets a little hot at the vent. I’m currently playing cyberpunk on it and it’s like a different game compared to ps4 pro and it’s still to be updated for next gen. The price is excellent for the performance though would have loved slightly more storage space as you will run out very fast and need to get an external hdd or pay the ridiculous price for official ssd storage.
Finally! Somebody that really knows how a gaming console should be played! Thank you Phill Spencer on designing this beautiful small and simple masterpiece! So many games I like to play and less entertainment! I hope they’ll be no faults with Series S in a couple of years to come – my original xbox is the only consoles that’s still plays since new!
I rated the Xbox series S four stars because of the lack of trusting Microsoft, and I think it’s about time they ditch duracell batteries! I also seriously hope that Microsoft do not make another mistake in rushing into making a console again over sony.
Well done Microsoft on your success so far.
I had been second guessing whether or not to buy the Series S or wait for the series X to come back in stock. In the bed I went for the Series S as the majority of my library comprises of digital owned games.
For the negatives. To be honest, for me personally it is only one that I’ve found so far and that’s the built in SSD size. I would highly advise anyone looking to buy this model to go for a special addition where there is usually a higher than normal size SSD. I ended up having to splash out for the additional Xbox owned 1TB SSD and so far am happy with the level of space available for games.
The pros. With the addition of the SSD hard drive the speed of the console is unreal! You turn the box on and you’re on the desktop within seconds. You load a game and you’re ready to play within seconds. The loading screens are almost nonexistent and you find yourself amazed at just how quickly you can continue playing without any stoppages. It’s fantastic!
For anyone second guessing whether to upgrade or not, trust me when I say the speed this little machine pushes out and the minimized loading times are enough of a perk to decide to go ahead. I know I did and I couldn’t be happier!
What I like is that I could play the games coming out now and later in the future. The bad thing is that it’s so slow on these new games that this shouldn’t have been made. Also, not enough GB, only 512, you’ll fill up your storage very quickly which is why they made the extension at least 200 pounds so you are paying 450 just wait till next year when scalpers are done and Microsoft actually gets a steady supply of series x’s out.
Decided to buy the Xbox series s I am glad I did,I have been using an Xbox one this series s is lightning fast ,load times are a lot quicker,
Graphics are excellent of course there is no disc drive but I don’t think I will miss that..
Once the games are installed on the internal drive as I have said load times are impressively speedy,but downloading games from the Microsoft store depends on your internet speed.
A extra expansion card for more storage would be a nice purchase but at the moment they are expensive,what I do is use my Xbox sea gate external drive 2tb for general storage and transfer the XS optimised games over to the internal ssd drive as the transer times to and from the external drives are quite quick.. hope this helps
Storage is limited but expandable via the official card, games can also be stored on an external HDD/SSD. I only tend to have half a dozen games on the go at any one time, so the storage space is fine for me.
As for performance – it’s a very capable little machine. I’m using mine on a 4K TV and games look great. Typical resolution for games is 1080p – 1440p running at 60fps. Game Pass is quite simply the best deal in gaming. You can get 12 months for the price of a single AAA game on a certain competitor. You will get ALL of Microsoft’s own games on day one, plus many more besides in Game Pass. It’s truly fantastic value. In the last 2 weeks alone I’ve been able to play the frankly amazing Forza Horizon 5 and now the new Halo Infinite multiplayer, with the campaign to come on Dec 8th.
The Series S runs whisper quiet and I actually laughed when I first opened the box- I knew it was small but it’s only when you see it in the flesh you realise how small! Think along the lines of a large box of tissues and you’re there. Loading times are vastly quicker than on previous Xboxes.
Great machine, worth every penny. Love it.
Storage is limited but expandable via the official card, games can also be stored on an external HDD/SSD. I only tend to have half a dozen games on the go at any one time, so the storage space is fine for me.
As for performance – it’s a very capable little machine. I’m using mine on a 4K TV and games look great. Typical resolution for games is 1080p – 1440p running at 60fps. Game Pass is quite simply the best deal in gaming. You can get 12 months for the price of a single AAA game on a certain competitor. You will get ALL of Microsoft’s own games on day one, plus many more besides in Game Pass. It’s truly fantastic value. In the last 2 weeks alone I’ve been able to play the frankly amazing Forza Horizon 5 and now the new Halo Infinite multiplayer, with the campaign to come on Dec 8th.
The Series S runs whisper quiet and I actually laughed when I first opened the box- I knew it was small but it’s only when you see it in the flesh you realise how small! Think along the lines of a large box of tissues and you’re there. Loading times are vastly quicker than on previous Xboxes.
Great machine, worth every penny. Love it.
I had my heart set on a series X but at the moment they’re exceedingly difficult to find so I opted for a series S as stop gap, having owned this console for almost a year (and buying a 2nd unit for the bedroom) I do wonder if not being able to find a series X was a blessing in disguise!?
In a nutshell I’m more than happy with these machines and the value they offer along with gamepass is amazing!
Worth buying for Forza Horizon 5 alone imo.
First of all, the size of the console is a massive benefit compared to the Xbox one. This console is quiet and compact. When playing a Xbox s games like likes of Destiny 2 or back for blood, you can see a difference in functionality even on a hd tv.
The only small gripe, no discs allowed but, this is because i didnt check before buying – this does not affect my view of the console though.
Comes with a controller and batteries along with two cables (the power and hdmi) which are no longer large power blocks or oversized.
It has a small slot to plug in a external hard drive (i recommend getting one) if you want loads of space in memory but overall i love this console. Eventually I would like to turn to the mini fridge but this console fits the bill at the moment and only requires two cables to work with a tv which is absolutely brilliant.
Great buy very quick delivery i am very surprised at how many games you can get with the Xbox games pass theirs so many good games i don’t know how the make the profit back enjoy the old games again and the new games with playstation their isn’t that flexibility to play old games it’s quite limited on playstation .anyway the Xbox is very good very quick loading times. Was disappointed by the delivery guy knocks on the door says i got a parcel for you and just drops it on my door step luckily it wasn’t damaged but should of taken more care than just dropping someone’s item like that they should know that their is valuable items bring shipped for delivery.
Bought this to replace my Xbox one x. I’m glad that the series x isn’t available, because I would have wasted my money. I don’t have any games on disc so I didn’t need the bluray drive and I don’t have a 4k TV. it happily used the 5tb external drive that I have, so no problems there. The only potential issue is that the series x/s games have to be installed onto the internal drive, but I only have a few x/s games and they fit on the internal storage fine. The rest I installed to the external. Happy days. The new system blows the one x into the weeds. Even loading from the slower external storage. If you don’t want the bluray, or 4k, then this is the best choice. I wish they did a black one as it looks a bit out of place, but I guess I can skin it.
This peace of kit for professional gaming is really good. Definitely better then xbox one, but if you like to enjoy graphics this I don’t feel the best option. For example playing bop cold war for couple new match’s when it finds new one, you can see its lower graphic for some reason, maybe because graphic is heated or whatever reason. Maybe because its 1440p 120Hz. Hard to say now but i will do research on this anyways. When i play on PC, graphics are amazing on 144Hz monitor. So this means I need xbox X version.! Get it already, stop waste time on non sense.
Great console, the only thing id say is the internal memory is not very good. You can buy an external hard drive to store your standard xbox one games. You can buy the memory card that plugs in the back inside the console, but for the price of one of them plus the price of the series s you would be better buying the series x. Im a casual gamer and it is perfect for me. Graphics etc i have no complaints. For the casual gamer who doesnt spend 24/7 sat at a console i would highly recommend this model.
I’m so happy with the result, out the box it was so easy to set up and i managed to get my old account back with all my previously bought games and many of them now enhanced.
For 250 this is an absolute bargain and a must buy, especially if you own only a playstation or switch console.
As someone who lucked out getting a ps5 in March, I find myself using my Series S much more often. It is super-snappy with load times, and Game Pass is a much better deal than Playstation Plus or PS Now in my opinion. There aren’t many new games warranting either console, but I am a bit of a technophile and wanted to check them out. The games optimised for the Series X/S run really well, usually in 60 fps and 1080p (4k native on Series X I think).
I also love the UI compared with my PS5, being able to sort folders and apply my own backgrounds is nice. It feels a lot more intuitive and customisable once you learn the basics. Lately I’ve been playing Spiritfarer, Minecraft and Full Throttle a fair bit. The Series S is great value for the price, and if you’re unable to land a ps5 nor Series X then I highly recommend it. Just remember it has no disc drive, so the games are purely digital. That will be a deal-breaker for some older gamers, and it would probably have been for me if I didn’t have the ps5 disc version. The design is slick and I really like how small the unit is too. Anyway, enough unpaid gushing for Microsoft, it’s a great little boi… let’s just hope Halo Infinite isn’t trash.
Update: Halo Infinite isn’t trash peepoHappy.
As someone who lucked out getting a ps5 in March, I find myself using my Series S much more often. It is super-snappy with load times, and Game Pass is a much better deal than Playstation Plus or PS Now in my opinion. There aren’t many new games warranting either console, but I am a bit of a technophile and wanted to check them out. The games optimised for the Series X/S run really well, usually in 60 fps and 1080p (4k native on Series X I think).
I also love the UI compared with my PS5, being able to sort folders and apply my own backgrounds is nice. It feels a lot more intuitive and customisable once you learn the basics. Lately I’ve been playing Spiritfarer, Minecraft and Full Throttle a fair bit. The Series S is great value for the price, and if you’re unable to land a ps5 nor Series X then I highly recommend it. Just remember it has no disc drive, so the games are purely digital. That will be a deal-breaker for some older gamers, and it would probably have been for me if I didn’t have the ps5 disc version. The design is slick and I really like how small the unit is too. Anyway, enough unpaid gushing for Microsoft, it’s a great little boi… let’s just hope Halo Infinite isn’t trash.
Before I buy this console, I have a Nintendo Switch which is great and we can take it anywhere to play, but the games are expensive. With the XBox Series S, signing the game pass, you spend 10 a month and we can play a lot of amazing games… it’s much cheaper! I loved it! The competition will have to reinvent itself… congratulations Microsoft. But I need an external hard drive… and the proper one from Seagate is expensive. I hope the next version of this console comes with 1tb or more of storage. I will give 5 stars in this review, because I got carried away with the games and the quality of the console, but the correct would be 4 stars due to having less than 400gb for game storage, yes, because the system takes up more than 100gb.
Excellent console, it arrived on time, well packaged and was a great price.
I thought I’d regret buying it instead of waiting for the Series X but I haven’t.
It’s a tiny console compared to its predecessors so it can fit pretty much anywhere, there’s also no annoying power pack there just a power cable with the plug. For those worried about it not having a disk drive…. DON’T!
You can still get all the games you want on the Microsoft store at the same price, sometimes it can be a little more expensive but there’s plenty of places that sell the digital download codes and sometimes they’re cheaper than buying a disk.
It does exactly what the Series X does its just a few specs that are different, but you still get the same gaming experience.
Worth every penny.
-3 usb slots
-controller (with batteries)
-power cable
-HDMI cable
– you can buy a separate external hard drive for extra storage
As much as I envy the power of the Series X and what it can do on a TV screen, the Series S itself is so much more attractive stood next to the TV. A wonderfully compact, stylish and totally silent design. It’s the home console everyone wishes Nintendo would make.
There’s no disc drive, of course, and that to some is a deal breaker but I bought this exclusively as a Game Pass player so no discs required. Storage is an issue and without upgrading you’ll need to delete and swap titles on a regular basis. I haven’t needed to buy the larger SSD yet, however.
The only issue I have is that it’s sold as a 1440p machine but because 1440p scales badly on my 4k TV, they might as well have made it a 1080p machine as far as I’m concerned. For a few games I’ve had to restrict it to 1080p in the system settings, which I still think looks great. But then you can’t use HDR in 1080p. This is just weird and will hopefully be addressed in a future software update. Although I am writing this nearly a year into the comsole’s life. You know what, I was going to go for five stars but I’m taking one off for that.
No stars lost anywhere else. Great console, great controller, great gateway to Microsoft’s great Game Pass service. And above all else, a great price. In terms of worries about it not being future proof, mid generation upgrades are an inevitability in today’s console market so it will probably be Series X owners wanting to upgrade before us Series S owners care.
Overall the Series S can produce a next gen experience but at a lower resolution than the Series X or PS5. Ray Tracing can also be absent in some instances but none of the consoles are assured of managing that without hits to performance. Unless you’ve got a huge TV, it’s less of a gap than you’d think. The speed of the SSD is a dream and features like Quick Resume make this a gem of a machine.
The Xbox Series S is just a fantastic little console. The reduced loading times are worth it’s weight in gold for me. As an achievement hunter, many game’s achievements require a lot of patience and grinding repetitively doing the same thing over and over. I am talking about in-game loading times, not the initial booting up of the game. I.e. entering a lobby, loading a level or map etc is way faster than my Xbox One S! The console does get quite hot though which I think is normal?
The only downsides is that the 60fps boost is not available in some games when it is for the series X. Shadow Warrior 2 is an example. And that the console does NOT have a DirectPort connection to hook it up to decent monitors. You need an OLED display with HDMI 2.1 ports on it to get the best out of the console.
I got this as I was starting to play my Xbox One more again, after playing through exclusives on the PS4, and found that it was getting a bit old and noisier.
The Series X was not in stock but I don’t have a massive amount of physical games and thought, hey, worst case I’ll sell the S and upgrade later on. But… I am very happy with the Series S as it delivers on a next gen console promise but with the odd compromise. But honestly the pros outweigh the cons consistently. I love how quickly the games load now… Guilty pleasure of playing Skyrim through again on this new console and having no loading screens? Absolutely love it. Decided to get the Optimised Valhalla and it’s thrown me away how gorgeous the game is and how well it runs. Almost forgotten what a loading screen is.
Load times are much faster.
I compared the graphics from Assassin’s Creed games, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey which came out on Xbox One and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla which had an optimised option and the difference was very impressive, better lighting, more detailed face models.
Also comparing Destiny 2 on Xbox One to Xbox Series S there is a big improvement in graphics.
The size of the console is smaller than I expected, it’s much smaller than the Xbox One.
I do plan to get the Xbox Series X as it is a more powerful consuls but while there is a shortage and not many games using the full potential of the new consoles it is definitely worth getting the Series X.
Having said that even if you only wanted to get one console, comparing the graphics from Xbox Series S to Series X was minimal, there were a couple less trees, less grass etc. Not noticeable until you compare the two.
ordered on Friday arrived next day . I wanted a series x couldn’t get one so decided to give the series s a try . I’m not disappointed at all ! played fifa on it and it looks amazing . set up was easy though the xbox app. all received boxed well . Power supply was a uk one no issues there unlike other reviews I have read . Nice little console worth the money would recommend.update review 26.11.21 . playing forza 5 . gears . outriders . have series s couple of months or more still loving it ..with game pass it’s a great bargain .
I read on forums about how you wouldn’t really see a performance increase with games such as Warzone and it was all nonsense. Huge frame rate increase and smoother gameplay. Forza Horizon 4 loads in a ridiculously fast time compared to the One S! So if you’re looking at a budget powerhouse just buy it!
Only quibble I have is that you have 360 something gb useable so it’s not ideal, maybe save up for the expansion if you can or an external SSD!
Ok look I know this review is probably going to be buried so I’ll put a couple pointers in case you happen to skim over it:
-We have this to sit alongside a PS5. It’s PERFECT as a side console if you want access to another library
-We use it for Gamepass. Yes the series X is better but no issues or really even obvious gameplay limitations on the S
-Look at that price. You’re getting next gen for <250
TLDR; may not be the best option as your "main" place to game if you're really into it but at that price point it's ideal as a side console or easy access to next gen/gamepass
So I’ve been waiting to get a series X but my one s had finally packed up so I had to buy a series S while waiting for an X to eventually become available… I was really hesitant to get the S for a few reasons. But Holy moly am I impressed. The graphics are miles better than the one s. Loading is so much better. I had already bought a 4k TV ready for the X so I can see the graphic changes from one s to series s. It’s a brilliant little xbox. Smaller than I thought it was going to be too.
It’s great for people who are casual gamers. The only downside for me is the space. I will eventually be upgrading to X but that’s just because I am a full on gamer. So want the extra storage and power. So if you are a casual gamer or like me your xbox has packed up and you need an xbox quick, definitely get a series s!
I was shocked how small the Xbox Series S is compared to its older brethren when I opened the box but true to form Microsoft have made an amazing piece of gaming hardware, from it’s look to boot speed all are a major jump from previous generations, in fact there’s only one issue, but for that it’s major issue it’s SSD size at only 500gb of which only approx 380 GB is usable this is not a system for the serious gamer, I thought I’d possibly get away with it as I only play one game all be it everyday, but this year all of a sudden there’s going to be 3to4 games that I’m wanting to play and given that new AAA games are mostly 100GB or more I now have a big problem especially as Microsoft so fit to design memory expansion that’s custom made by Seagate at an eyewatering 200 for a TB, if you want true next gen load speed, graphics, sound you will have to buy one, now normal external HD will work as long as their usb 3 or above but you won’t be able to play enhanced for series X/S games from them.
But aside from the memory issue I can’t fault the series S and would highly recommend it for a casual gamer, or younger family
Great console ok its slightly slower than the x but does pritty much the same as the x. plus its cheaper and smaller. I would say tho if you want to play all your new and old games on this console i would also purchase the 1T ssd drive for the xbox series x, the one thats dedicated forthe x and s .DO NOT BUY a external to run your anew XS games on they will not run the console will say you have to instal on main drive because the external drive ant fast enuf this is why you must buy the over priced 200 for you s because 500g dont cut it when i have 56 games so what i did was buy an ssd external for my old games and that dam over priced 1T dedicated drive for my new xs games. Still not enuff space for me but it will do till they bring out another and bigger version witch will cost properly double more than the console 2T 400
Ok so we know the Series S isn’t as powerful as the Series X (Duh!), with that aside it is a fantastic little console with little being the operative word here as it’s actually smaller the the Xbox One S.
Still performs very well indeed, super fast loading times and awesome (sometimes jaw dropping) graphics.
I use this with game pass ultimate and it’s worth every penny, all the games that have been optimised for series X/S all look fantastic and the graphical upgrades really stand out. Whether you are looking for increased FPS, faster loading times or you are a graphics junkie like me that just wants to look at the true beauty of some of the games in Ray tracing mode, this is the console to do it on.
Highly recommend this purchase, very happy customer!!
Here are some key points, for those who don’t want to read the whole review:
Positives
– The price. Ridiculous value for money, really. Even without the shortage on GPU’s, I don’t think 250 could buy you a card with better performance than the series S. Leave alone the crazy fast SSD.
– The exterior design. This is a powerful machine, capable of some serious performance, somehow contained in a tiny rectangular box that fits everywhere. It can also stand horizontally or vertically without requiring a base, while looking extremely cute in both scenarios. Simple, easy, sensible.
– Cooling. No matter what game you throw at it, there is no part of the console that feels hot to touch. The hot air comes out of that big black circle, without touching anything on its way out (like cables, ports etc).
– All new Xbox features. Cloud gaming, Console streaming, Smart delivery automatic improvements on older games… Quick Resume is the feature that we all wanted but did not know.
– Game Pass. The gaming subscription service adds so much value to the Xbox platform.
Negatives
– Questionable future. So far it has been keeping up with the series X, at least for 1080/1440p gaming with some acceptable reductions in image quality, but until when?
– Unpolished UI on the main menu. I can almost always notice sound effects breaking and small lags when browsing the menus fast.
– More or less 385GB are available for games, significantly smaller than the series X.
– Previous generation titles that have not been optimized yet, run their Xbox one S version by default rather than the Xbox one X. This means you get the crappier version pretty much, even though the console could handle the best one as well.
– No Blu Ray. I don’t care about that one, but it is the only way to have access to the used games market.
Just by going through the pros/cons list, one can easily see that great value for money does not mean the best possible choice always. I’m pretty sure that the extra 200 required for the series X (or a ps5) are totally worth it and it is the safest bet for many gamers.
But there are many ways to choose the series S as well. Some people live in tiny apartments or rooms, some don’t own a 4K monitor. Some prefer playing older titles, indies and will be extremely happy with the way the modern triple A’s will run on the series S. Some just want a console to play with their kids and have fun without breaking the bank. Some just want to get a taste of game pass at the lowest price possible.
No matter what the reason, the series S is an excellent machine that feels like and truly is a next gen console. You will get the full Microsoft gaming console experience and tons of entertainment and that is an astonishing achievement from the Xbox department.
Here are some key points, for those who don’t want to read the whole review:
Positives
– The price. Ridiculous value for money, really. Even without the shortage on GPU’s, I don’t think 250 could buy you a card with better performance than the series S. Leave alone the crazy fast SSD.
– The exterior design. This is a powerful machine, capable of some serious performance, somehow contained in a tiny rectangular box that fits everywhere. It can also stand horizontally or vertically without requiring a base, while looking extremely cute in both scenarios. Simple, easy, sensible.
– Cooling. No matter what game you throw at it, there is no part of the console that feels hot to touch. The hot air comes out of that big black circle, without touching anything on its way out (like cables, ports etc).
– All new Xbox features. Cloud gaming, Console streaming, Smart delivery automatic improvements on older games… Quick Resume is the feature that we all wanted but did not know.
– Game Pass. The gaming subscription service adds so much value to the Xbox platform.
Negatives
– Questionable future. So far it has been keeping up with the series X, at least for 1080/1440p gaming with some acceptable reductions in image quality, but until when?
– Unpolished UI on the main menu. I can almost always notice sound effects breaking and small lags when browsing the menus fast.
– More or less 385GB are available for games, significantly smaller than the series X.
– Previous generation titles that have not been optimized yet, run their Xbox one S version by default rather than the Xbox one X. This means you get the crappier version pretty much, even though the console could handle the best one as well.
– No Blu Ray. I don’t care about that one, but it is the only way to have access to the used games market.
Just by going through the pros/cons list, one can easily see that great value for money does not mean the best possible choice always. I’m pretty sure that the extra 200 required for the series X (or a ps5) are totally worth it and it is the safest bet for many gamers.
But there are many ways to choose the series S as well. Some people live in tiny apartments or rooms, some don’t own a 4K monitor. Some prefer playing older titles, indies and will be extremely happy with the way the modern triple A’s will run on the series S. Some just want a console to play with their kids and have fun without breaking the bank. Some just want to get a taste of game pass at the lowest price possible.
No matter what the reason, the series S is an excellent machine that feels like and truly is a next gen console. You will get the full Microsoft gaming console experience and tons of entertainment and that is an astonishing achievement from the Xbox department.
This a great little system, however it does have a couple of small issues. The first thing I noticed opening the box, in comparison to the One S, this thing is tiny, easily half the size and weight. It runs well, navigating it is a lot quicker than the last gen which is nice. First issue I noticed however is it heats up very quickly, I ran Watch Dogs: Legion for around 2 and a half hours and the system was really hot, despite being next to an open window with nothing covering it. Secondly is storage space, I knew there wouldn’t be a lot of space on it, but in action it’s different. I have 6 games installed and have basically maxed out the storage space bar about 30gb which with the size of games these days is pretty much nothing. Overall a great system though and would definitely recommend.
I got this Xbox as my 1st ever console, I been gaming on PC since I got into gaming. I was expecting graphic and performance to be weak but this machine is little beast. It runs all my games so smoothly I could not even tell I was on console. The controller is so good to hold and use for hours, however the included battery are that good and cannot be charged I would recommend you to get one yourself.
The game pass ultimate was the best thing I found about this console, as someone moving to new ecosystem I had no games to play for 1st few days until I found game pass ultimate! For low price of 10,99 I can play so many different games which is total steal considering that Xbox lice cost 7 alone + you have to buy each game for 40+ nowadays
Honestly love it so much, having been super reluctant to buy next gen consoles after being so attached to my switch I finally caved after seeing this model and how much smaller it is. Super handy that there’s no disc drive so I’m not taking up more space in storage and Microsoft have so many good sales now that it’s not an issue only using digital media. Works really well, is super fast. No red ring of death. Lovely.
Don’t trust the front picture on Amazon for some reason they choose a picture that makes the plastics look cheap. This thing does not look or feel cheap in person.
Little beast. True the next gen games aren’t there yet, but they’re coming.
Quick resume is a game changer and going over to my ps5 with no quick resume in multiple games is difficult.
The back compat frame rate boosts and resolution boosts are absolutely world class and amazing. Microsoft are emulation experts.
Game pass enough said.
Absolutely incredible value for such a power packed little 1080p machine. Runs completely silent. And it’s fast as hell. Definitely recommend. Perfect companion to my series X
What can i say this thing is just a bargain 250 for a really good experience I can play rainbow six at 1080 120 if I want to games such as forza horizon 4 look awesome at 1080 everything is super snappy to load it’s overall just a great value and doesn’t feel like a compromise. The controller is pretty good the xbox one controller was almost perfect imo and they perfected it (the ps5 does have more features but isn’t as comfortable imo). It’s also really quiet like I can’t hear it at all. Overall it’s treat value especially when you get game pass on it for a little over 10 a month. Only complaint is I wish it had a nvme ssd option for adding extra storage instead of the 200 cards which is really expensive even a gen 4 ssd isn’t anywhere near that much.
Brilliant little powerhouse, I also have the series X and bought this for the spare room. There’s very little difference in the graphics and gameplay unless you play on a huge screen. I play this through a gaming monitor and it’s awesome. Combine this with game pass and you have the perfect gaming set up. IMO digital gaming is the way forward as physical disc’s just act as keys and you still have to download the game anyway. Ok physical can be cheaper but with game pass and the sales on gold it’s a win win.
Whisper quiet even on performance-heavy games, don’t really notice the lack of native 4K nor the lack of a disc drive. The speed is incredible. For reference it could take over a minute to load a Halo level on the OG Xbox and even the 360, and this thing can do a remastered 1080p 60FPS version in 3-4 seconds. Quick-resume is also a fantastic feature, allowing you to skip all those menus and logos when firing up a game you play a lot, even from a just-plugged-in state! It was sort of done on the Xbox One but it really marks itself as a genuine feature here.
One gripe is the lack of internal memory at under 400GB, though that kind of thing is expected for the price. You can use external HDDs and SSDs with it BUT you can only play older games off of them, any games that are labelled ‘Optimised for Series S/X’ can be stored on such drives but can ONLY be run off the internal memory or on the official Seagate expansion drive which has its own proprietary port on the back of the console (and which at the moment costs about the difference between this and the Series X, so bare that in mind if you’re weighing up the two).
Beyond having S/X specific upgrades though, even now there are pretty much no exclusive games, which is a drawback but one I’m confident MS are going to fix in the near future. It’s something to think about if you’re looking to upgrade from a One though.
One thing I will say is that I think this is designed to be more of a Games Pass machine. Something to store a few games on while you’re playing them and then you delete them to download a bunch of new ones, with a few permanent favourites like Halo or Skyrim. Rather than something to keep your entire back catalogue of games on and only downloading a few new ones here and there when you can shell out 50+. But I think that is the trajectory of the gaming industry generally, moving towards a Netflix model rather than a DVD cabinet one.
Such a good console and so small compared to its big brother the Series X and even the previous One and One X. AND THE PRICE! My Lord, the price is a steal!
Whisper quiet even on performance-heavy games, don’t really notice the lack of native 4K nor the lack of a disc drive. The speed is incredible. For reference it could take over a minute to load a Halo level on the OG Xbox and even the 360, and this thing can do a remastered 1080p 60FPS version in 3-4 seconds. Quick-resume is also a fantastic feature, allowing you to skip all those menus and logos when firing up a game you play a lot, even from a just-plugged-in state! It was sort of done on the Xbox One but it really marks itself as a genuine feature here.
One gripe is the lack of internal memory at under 400GB, though that kind of thing is expected for the price. You can use external HDDs and SSDs with it BUT you can only play older games off of them, any games that are labelled ‘Optimised for Series S/X’ can be stored on such drives but can ONLY be run off the internal memory or on the official Seagate expansion drive which has its own proprietary port on the back of the console (and which at the moment costs about the difference between this and the Series X, so bare that in mind if you’re weighing up the two).
Beyond having S/X specific upgrades though, even now there are pretty much no exclusive games, which is a drawback but one I’m confident MS are going to fix in the near future. It’s something to think about if you’re looking to upgrade from a One though.
One thing I will say is that I think this is designed to be more of a Games Pass machine. Something to store a few games on while you’re playing them and then you delete them to download a bunch of new ones, with a few permanent favourites like Halo or Skyrim. Rather than something to keep your entire back catalogue of games on and only downloading a few new ones here and there when you can shell out 50+. But I think that is the trajectory of the gaming industry generally, moving towards a Netflix model rather than a DVD cabinet one.
I will admit, I was surprised how small the console is, but it is digital only and the lack of optical drive would explain the lack of bulk.
Fired it up, and got set up quickly. Very simple set up process, and within minutes I was online, and had access to my digital Xbox Library.
Only draw back was the delivery itself. Driver “forgot” to bring my door (he only brought another box that contained a surge protector), and when I called after him since he’d already walked away, he said “No, no other parcel”, then checked his phone and begrudgingly said “Oh there was another one” and waited until I asked “Well, can you get it from your van and deliver it to me?” before doing so. The box was loose, as if someone had opened one side of the box to see what was inside, which was alarming. He asked me for my OTP, handed the box over and left. Not even a hint of an apology at any stage.
I mention this on the review, just to encourage people to remain vigilant. I honestly think had I not chased and challenged him, I would not have my Xbox right now.
Series s is a really good step into next gen gaming at a faction of the price. It loads super fast and is super quiet. The only downsides in found is the storage capacity isn’t Great for an only digital console and I’ve had to use my own external harddrive to keep some of my games. The other thing I have noticed is that you need a good internet connection to keep the Xbox in sync with your online account and game saves. I’ve has issues where it won’t connect to the internet or log me in if the internet speed isn’t great.
Great console, if subscribing to game pass ultimate alongside this (which I think is almost the main point of this console) there’s a lot of gaming for a reasonable cost.
Knocking a star off for the limited storage and the ‘necessary’ additional hardware to expand the storage is ludicrously priced – almost the same price as another xbox.
I had a PS4 last generation and never really got on with it. I wanted access to game pass so I had planned to get a Series X. I could not find one anywhere so bought a Series S instead. It is actually a great little console, small silent and powerful. It is a big improvement over PS4, faster load times and better visuals. I have not any any issues, no crashes as others have reported. It is just a really nice device.
Pros: Game pass, size, silent, quick resume, controller, the price
Cons: It is not a Series X, not much else
The console is great and my son absolutely loves i
Gamepass is a great deal, especially if you use the Gold to Gamepass conversion trick. I have had a great time discovering games I normally wouldn’t have bothered with. Whilst Xbox is severely lacking in new first-party exclusives, the ever changing Gamepass library provides endless entertainment.
Not only that but Microsoft are adding features to the Series S like FPS boost which makes older games play a lot more smoothly. I’ve just gone back to Battlefield 4 and the difference from the original 30 FPS version is night and day. Also, if like me you haven’t owned an Xbox since the 360 and bought a lot of titles back then, thanks to the impressive backwards compatibility on the Series S, you’ll find that your game library is already quite substantial.
It’s also worth mentioning the very fast load times, beautiful graphics with S/X optimised games (don’t notice much difference with my PS5 on my 4K TV in optimised games) and the awesome Quick Resume, which lets you jump straight back in where you left a game even if you’ve played several other games since.
In years to come there will be first-party exclusives and they’ll be coming straight to Gamepass on the Series S. I bought the Series S because of this – a future-proofing accompaniment to my PS5. I honestly didn’t think I’d get that much use out of it for quite a while – but there biggest compliment I can pay it is that I’ve played it just as much as my PS5, if not more.
A good hard-drive btw is the Segate 4tb, it’ll last for ages and ultimately be perfect for the future with games only getting larger.
I was indecisive about what Next Gen console to buy. I love PlayStation, but I love Xbox too, primarily thanks to Game Pass. In the end, I mainly wanted to experience faster loading and Quick Resume. Had one been available, I’d have probably gone for the Series X, as I have a big 4K TV. However, only the Series S was available, so I thought ‘sod it, I’ll make do with one of those for now.’
But the thing is, it doesn’t feel like I’m ‘making do’ at all. I care more about frame rates than resolution and the Series S has this covered. Load times are so fast and Quick Resume is just wonderful. I do not regret buying the Series S at all. In fact, I’m pretty glad the Series X wasn’t available… I’ve saved myself 200 quid!
I’ll upgrade when the games that truly push the new consoles start to appear. Until then, the Series S is the console of the people! Every home should have one.
got it for my husband.
He and our son use to play xbox all the time together. They use to play all the time when our son was at home but since our son left home my husband has not played as he had no console so now my husband can play it with our son & I can only hear my husband rather than both of them. So that’s a plus.
The only draw back is how small the 512GB super fast PCIE4 internal drive is, you only have 360GB to install games on. So if you plan on having lots of games you will have to buy the Expansion SSD from Seagate, older games can be installed on a USB stick to keep the super fast storage for modern games that need it.
If you have a problem with the Series X or S (or PS5) with screen flickering when it switches from HDR modes in video apps then you must update your TVs software to the latest versions. I did have the issue when playing Netflix etc but updating the software on both LG and Samsung TVs fixed it.
Don’t forget if new to Xbox, buy some recharging batteries for the controller, they are not included.
But the series S is basically a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X that is much smaller, quieter has double the CPU power of older models and a much newer GPU that does raytracing and better upscaling to 4k. Its probably the best value games hardware I have bought in 40 years.
Don’t forget you can use cheap USB memory sticks, HDDs or external SSDs to store non optomised for Series S X games no issue. The internal storage should only be used for titles optomised for Series X S as they won’t run from any other storage than the internal drive or Seagate expansion card.
The external Seagate superfast expansion card was idiot proof to install and transfer games to. I imagine over time they will decrease in price and increase in storage size as well. So don’t let the 360 GBs of usable space put you off the Series S at all.
Managed to get one of these for 249.99 here and it’s exceeded all my expectations. Forza Horizon 4 on this machine has blown my mind it’s that good. Gave the Witcher 3 a quick spin and again it looks incredible. Any reviews saying there are no difference with old gen versions should be taken with a pinch of salt. The only downside to this machine is lack of storage but that’s easy to work around, I’m happy with just two or 3 games on the system ( actually got 12 on it with 70 megs spare) as I like old classics like Super Meat Boy. Final plus point, the console looks amazing and is ultra compact!
This console has incredible performance for such a neatly packaged little machine at a really competitive price point! It’s totally silent, I’ve not heard the fans kick in once! It’s really fast and has great graphics at 1440p.
My only criticism would be the meagre 512GB SSD. In its formatted state before any games are installed you’ll only have around 380GB of usable storage which fills up quickly with games like ‘Call of Duty: Cold War’ being around 180GB. There is a 1TB expansion card that you can get from Seagate but it’s overpriced at 220.
It’s the plugs you use for razors and toothbrush chargers and doesn’t come with a converter. Otherwise absolutely Amazing very small does have its weight but controller is amazing and one other problem is any games like Fortnite and Rocket League and ark and AC Valhalla and more can only be stored on the internal but an HDD does work for most games like Apex and AC odyssey. Overall Worth the Money just have an Old Xbox One S or X Plug.
The Xbox Series S is a great entry into next gen gaming at a budget price. You’re getting a console which is substantially lower spec than it’s bigger brother, The Series X, which boasts a 4 tera flop GPU as opposed to the 12 Tflops inside the Series X…however the CPU matches the Series X. What does this mean? This means you are still getting the speed of what next gen has to offer with an internal SSD using Xbox’s “Velocity architecture”. Less loading times, more play. I won’t bore you if you’ve already read up on the spec of this system. To put it simply, this compliments my Series X. It is SUPER quiet, it’s just as fast….yeah the graphics are a downgrade as is the resolution. But for the price of this console it’s genuinely a bargain and certainly something to consider if you’re not a hardcore gamer. Yes it’s digital only but with the Gamepass offering, it’s genuinely so much value your getting for what your actually paying. And it’s box is SMALL! It’s the Series X’s teenage brother! Long story short, I love the Series S and my Series X, I think both consoles are great pieces of tech (provided you get your hands on one)
This xbox packs some serious power for such a small console. It’s also extremely quiet and stays relatively cool. For those people who say they can’t see the difference between this and an Xbox S, don’t know anything about technology. In order to see a difference you’re gonna need a tv/monitor capable of 1440p at 120hz. The original xbox only runs at 60hz and that extra 60 frames makes this experience buttery smooth. The graphics look amazing and honestly I can’t tell the difference between playing on this and my 1.5k gaming pc. At 250 this is such a steal.
I haven’t used my other consoles since getting this. It’s up and running in seconds and allows you to switch between games really quickly. It really is for use with Game Pass – the ability to download and play a game from the library is a real plus. It is small, silent, and looks great. It’s on my desk next to my laptop so I can switch between work and play. It feels as big as the power brick for the 360. Great how things have evolved.
Out of all of the next gen consoles, the Xbox Series S was initially the least likely out of the lot I would buy first. But now that I have one, I can happily say that I have no regrets buying it at all.
It’s the perfect size for a busy setup and really affordable as a new console. The games look sharp, despite them running on 2K max. But the loading times are snappy and the framerate is super smooth 100% of the time as it’s locked at 60fps at the very least.
The only downsides I can think of is a small amount of internal storage for games and the disk drive for it is non-existent. Thankfully, it’s compatible with an external hard drive. However, you can only play games if you move them from the external hard drive onto the console’s internal storage.
If you are on the market for an affordable new console that won’t break the bank, the Xbox Series S could be the console you want and you can’t go wrong with this choice neither. I highly recommend it!
For backwards comp.; it is 1080p 30-120 fps machine.
For upcoming AAA titles: 1080p (900p) 24-30 fps machine.(Probably)
I did my research and watched YT videos showing fps values for this console. It was and is not 1080p 60fps machine. Medium, Control, Quantum and even Alien Isolation are not showing smooth gameplay experience. For example you can’t play ONE X version of those games. Which is equal to One s equavalent of games will be playable in this console. It is what you get for price. If you have money to spare, just go for Series X.
Probably most of upcoming titles will be 30 fps 1080p(Most will be upscaled from 900p).
Despite those facts, which are all false advertised, i am not unpleasant about my purchase. I was expecting this. Plus Game Pass Ultimate has unbeatable price for now.
If it looked and ran great on the One S, it’ll look the same here but run better. Any last-gen games are going to benefit from stable frame rates, but it won’t turn a 30fps locked game into a 60/120fps locked game. They’ll also benefit from drastically improved loading times, which alone is a worthy upgrade. It’s unfortunate that you can’t run the One X versions of games on here due to how the backwards compatibility layer works, meaning for those coming from the One S this won’t feel like much of a graphical upgrade, and will be a downgrade for those coming from the One X. The even bigger caveat is that this also applies to BC of older gen (360/OG) games, which don’t get to benefit from the same 4K upscaling and graphical improvements the X models do.
But what about Series optimised games? The new stuff? Well, there isn’t a lot of it right now and likely for the for the next year after launch. What is there, really does show an improvement both graphically and performance-wise over the One S. Forza Horizon 4 for example is 1080p/60fps on the Series S and it plays great! As developers get accustomed to the new toolkits they’ll be able to pump out even more impressive performance out of this small box, but for now it’s not too shabby. This is a secondary console to my PS5, so I’m playing it on the same 55″ 4K TV and while it’s less sharp up close, from couch distance it still looks pretty good to my eye. I don’t feel like I’m missing out by not having the Series X when playing optimised games, but the older games being the One S versions really does make me reconsider my purchase decision knowing that many S titles will run at below 1080p resolutions which don’t upscale nicely to 4K and come out muddy.
512gb storage isn’t great, and roughly only 360gb of that is usable. Still, I managed to fit a dozen games on there ranging from some 360 titles to some Series S optimised ones. As games don’t need the 4K textures on the S, they’re usually not too big in size. Some games are 100+gb, particularly multiplayer titles, so if you’re someone who regularly swaps between games you may find the storage limiting. You can move games off to an external drive just for safe keeping, freeing up internal space, but you can only play older gen games off it. Any new games will require to be installed on the internal storage. At 200+ for a 1TB expansion card, you’re better off just buying the Series X to begin with. The small storage space works for me, but it may not work for you.
The console is small. Not much wider and taller than a Switch, which is pretty impressive. It also runs whisper quiet, and without a disc drive there’s no spinning disc noises either. The large fan does a pretty good job of keeping it cool, and to make it even more impressive, the power supply is integrated into the console! Seriously, well done Microsoft. I do wish it had a disc drive, though. Physical games can usually be found for cheap months after release, but you’ll be paying full price (excluding sales) for digital. Not an issue for me, as it’s primarily for Game Pass games.
The controller is, in my opinion, a huge improvement over the last one despite the subtle changes. The textured, matte triggers feel much better than the glossy material that would get grimy over time. The joystick dimples are a little wider too, and a little shorter, making it much more comfortable for my thumbs during long play sessions. The D-Pad is excellently tactile, if a little obnoxiously loud. I’m all for removable battery compartments, but can we make the next iteration contain rechargeable batteries in the box? Overall, it’s a pretty great controller. I do enjoy the Dualsense’s features and ergonomics a little more, but this isn’t far behind.
Okay, so is it worth it? Sure, if you want it as a secondary console you’ll probably get a lot of love out of it. As a primary console or upgrade to One S/X? It has a lot of unrealised potential, but older games will never be at their “best” on this. If you’re okay with that, then yeah it’s a good buy.
Game Pass is this console’s saving grace, offering a huge catalogue of games at a relatively low price and without it I’d probably be a lot more disappointed. You’d be hard pressed to find many big improvements over the One S other than the (admittedly greatly) improved loading times in most games and the smoothness of the UI.
If it looked and ran great on the One S, it’ll look the same here but run better. Any last-gen games are going to benefit from stable frame rates, but it won’t turn a 30fps locked game into a 60/120fps locked game. They’ll also benefit from drastically improved loading times, which alone is a worthy upgrade. It’s unfortunate that you can’t run the One X versions of games on here due to how the backwards compatibility layer works, meaning for those coming from the One S this won’t feel like much of a graphical upgrade, and will be a downgrade for those coming from the One X. The even bigger caveat is that this also applies to BC of older gen (360/OG) games, which don’t get to benefit from the same 4K upscaling and graphical improvements the X models do.
But what about Series optimised games? The new stuff? Well, there isn’t a lot of it right now and likely for the for the next year after launch. What is there, really does show an improvement both graphically and performance-wise over the One S. Forza Horizon 4 for example is 1080p/60fps on the Series S and it plays great! As developers get accustomed to the new toolkits they’ll be able to pump out even more impressive performance out of this small box, but for now it’s not too shabby. This is a secondary console to my PS5, so I’m playing it on the same 55″ 4K TV and while it’s less sharp up close, from couch distance it still looks pretty good to my eye. I don’t feel like I’m missing out by not having the Series X when playing optimised games, but the older games being the One S versions really does make me reconsider my purchase decision knowing that many S titles will run at below 1080p resolutions which don’t upscale nicely to 4K and come out muddy.
512gb storage isn’t great, and roughly only 360gb of that is usable. Still, I managed to fit a dozen games on there ranging from some 360 titles to some Series S optimised ones. As games don’t need the 4K textures on the S, they’re usually not too big in size. Some games are 100+gb, particularly multiplayer titles, so if you’re someone who regularly swaps between games you may find the storage limiting. You can move games off to an external drive just for safe keeping, freeing up internal space, but you can only play older gen games off it. Any new games will require to be installed on the internal storage. At 200+ for a 1TB expansion card, you’re better off just buying the Series X to begin with. The small storage space works for me, but it may not work for you.
The console is small. Not much wider and taller than a Switch, which is pretty impressive. It also runs whisper quiet, and without a disc drive there’s no spinning disc noises either. The large fan does a pretty good job of keeping it cool, and to make it even more impressive, the power supply is integrated into the console! Seriously, well done Microsoft. I do wish it had a disc drive, though. Physical games can usually be found for cheap months after release, but you’ll be paying full price (excluding sales) for digital. Not an issue for me, as it’s primarily for Game Pass games.
The controller is, in my opinion, a huge improvement over the last one despite the subtle changes. The textured, matte triggers feel much better than the glossy material that would get grimy over time. The joystick dimples are a little wider too, and a little shorter, making it much more comfortable for my thumbs during long play sessions. The D-Pad is excellently tactile, if a little obnoxiously loud. I’m all for removable battery compartments, but can we make the next iteration contain rechargeable batteries in the box? Overall, it’s a pretty great controller. I do enjoy the Dualsense’s features and ergonomics a little more, but this isn’t far behind.
Okay, so is it worth it? Sure, if you want it as a secondary console you’ll probably get a lot of love out of it. As a primary console or upgrade to One S/X? It has a lot of unrealised potential, but older games will never be at their “best” on this. If you’re okay with that, then yeah it’s a good buy.
The SSD is fast, with the system booting to the dashboard before my Logitech Harmony even fires up my TV and soundbar and sets them to the right inputs. Apps and games load very quickly, and for games Quick Resume is amazing.
At 1080p, the graphics look great. Some backwards compatible games aren’t improved from the One S configuration (yet), but any game optimised for Series S|X loads quickly, looks amazing and has a higher framerate than the last-gen versions. If you have a PS4 or a One S, aren’t interested in 4K and want a cheap upgrade to play Cyberpunk at an acceptable performance, you can’t go wrong with this system.
Chances are, if you know the Xbox Series S isn’t for you, you won’t be reading this review. But if you’re on the fence between this and a more expensive console you may want to think if the following applies to you:
If you have Game Pass and another system (like a PC or PS5) and want to play some legacy Xbox games and whatever MS is providing via Game Pass, this is an awesome system.
If you’ve got a spare room with a TV and you want an affordable games console to go in there, Xbox Series S is the way forward.
If all you want is an affordable way to play next-gen games for the foreseeable future, this is the console for you.
It’s also great for kids who want to play Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft and not much else. It’ll be a big improvement on the Xbox Series S – just be mindful that if they have disc-based games they won’t be playable on the Series S.
If you’ve got a 4K TV you probably want an Xbox Series X, PS5 or a good gaming PC, as games on this device will max out at 1080p-1440p. This console also doesn’t have a disc drive so all your games and multimedia will need to be digital. Take that in mind.
There’s a lot of good and niche reasons to own this device over a more expensive system – if you fit into one of those niches, 250 is well worth the price.
This is perfect console for those who can’t buy a mid range PC during these troubled times but want to play latest games for cheap and for long time. So far loving the experience. It is economically better to run than my old PS4 slim with cheap deals for all digital games or Xbox Ultimate Game pass as well as good digital OnDemand setup box.I have decent amd ryzen 5 built midrange gaming PC but due to larger family couldn’t get a taste of the already owned other last gen consoles in the house but now been spending more time on with little baby and can’t be any more happier. It simply plays games whenever I want without “PC Compatibility” issues to worry. The design is what made me buy it as it is slimmer and more compact than one Xbox Ones S but runs a more powerful hardware. Microsoft you have one new loyal fan already in me.
First update ! I was thinking it f@@ked , it has 1-3 update after it completed 3 it comes with error code not able to update you then check internet , no problems , click update again fails , u hold Xbox buttons to turn console on and off , don’t work ! U have to unplug from socket , wait 15sec , turn back on it then go on to update control; and then login and off u play , well not to you install a game and then go to play , then to do a update , then to play . And off you go in to the night amazing console runs so smoothly games looks amazing in 4k now , like detail and open world games so much better then old console , which I timed forza on old xbox to get to play mode , which took 2min55seconds and xbox series s took 52seconds , quick load , play game were you left of … Great for price
I bought this as a second console and as a cheap entrance to the Xbox ecosystem.
What can I say, I love it so far and is becoming the main gaming device. Is very compact, super quiet even when playing triple A games and is also super fast. The Instant On and Quick resume features are definitely game changers, I start the console and my tv is not even on yet, but the console is up and the game is exactly where I left it, major win.
I’m a bit underwelmed by the controller though, seems a bit cheap comparing to the Playstation one, also, the controller has 15 minutes idle timeout which can’t be changed. Pretty annoying when watching a movie, I really hope Microsoft can address this at some point.
The fan is completely silent in my living making room, and I can set 120hz refresh rate at 2k on my 82″ Samsung QLED tv but choose 1080p to ensure a higher refresh rate. Wish it had a built in FPS counter so that I can check what I am getting though.
Works with Call of Duty Warzone without issues which also supports a keyboard and mouse configuration – tested an no issues with this.
Fantastic gaming device for the me and the kids as it works with all my Xbox One digital games, plus I have the Xbox Ultimate Pass so no longer spend too much on video games.
Very smart, very fast, up to 1440 games.
Can be used with 4K t.v up scaling for UI.
100% Silent.
Solid console can be placed behind t.v. If space is limited.
X/S series enhance games becoming much more available.
Consider 1tb external usbC to A type to increase storage.
Very happy with S series, got a return to Call of Duty.
Enjoy if purchasing S Series.
Experienced rapid order and Launch Day Delivery from Amazon.
Includes reduced GamePass subs 12 months;.
First, the good. This thing is TINY! Check the measurements, out of the box I was surprised at just how small it is. Tiny is good for me because I don’t have a lot of space. And considering its size, it’s powerful. Sure, not as powerful as its big X brother, or the PS5, or even my PC, but this thing lets me play my old, digitally owned, Xbox games. It also has Game Pass, giving me access to hundreds of Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One games. This is an extra cost, but we’ll worth it. I found a deal that gave me a year of Game Pass Ultimate AND EA Play for 50. It’s quiet and cool. No fan noise, barely any heat coming from that big black speaker-like vent. It has a 1440p display option, which is great because my PC monitor is 1440p so I have had it on there and things look great, BUT I’ve also hooked it up to my 4K TV and tried both 4K and 1080p output and both are great. I’m not really bothered about resolution or even FPS to any great degree, as once in game I doubt I’d notice. Everything I’ve played looks and plays great, I’ve experienced no problems or issues whatsoever. It’s also very quick to boot up and load games thanks to the SSD and I love being able to just go right back to where I left a game rather than having to sit through logos and intros every time.
Now the bad. The big one for me at the moment also applies to the X and it is that there are NO exclusive games. Nothing you can play on these two new consoles at present isn’t also available on the Xbox One, and if you buy the S you won’t even be getting a graphical upgrade. I’m not a Halo fan, so even knowing that’s coming next year doesn’t excited me. If you have an Xbox One at the moment, there’s really no reason for you to buy one of these. Two is the storage. The S has under 400GB of useable storage and even though I’m playing old games I’m nearly full. Also, this S version has no disc drive so you’ll HAVE to either buy digital games – still too expensive in my opinion, on all systems – or invest in Game Pass. There’s no optical out so if your TV speakers suck I’d suggest getting some decent headphones. The controller STILL isn’t rechargeable. I’ve bought some rechargeable batteries, but you do get a LOT of play time from one pair.
All in all I reckon the S is a great option for diving into Game Pass and playing older games, maybe as a second console if you mainly game on another platform. It’s a tidy, tiny, sleek, bargain box of tricks, but it won’t give you a full on next gen experience. Time will tell how it stands up – will future, more demanding games perform like garbage on this? Hopefully not, but at this price you’ll have had more than your money’s worth by then anyway!
Load times are non-existent, graphics are MUCH better an gameplay is super, super smooth.
Only issue I have is the memory size. But this is the only issue I have with it. You can still probably get about 5-6 AAA games, plus a few indies.
Machine is ultra tiny !