By: Max Cannon
During Microsoft's press conference during E3 2016, a new sleeker, slimmer, and more stylish Xbox One was announced: Xbox One S. This is one of two upcoming consoles to succeed the original Xbox One and the first 4K capable console to hit the market.
New Console, Controller, and 4K Compatibility
The new Xbox One S touts that it is 40% smaller than the original Xbox One, which was considered massive and blocky upon release. Taking hints from the Lunar White Xbox Controller, the new controller that comes with the Xbox One S will feature rubberized grips on the back and will share the white color palette of the new console. However, if you're a fan of the Kinect, Xbox's motion controller, the Xbox One S makes it a little difficult to hook up to the peripheral. Though an adaptor can be purchased, there isn't a port to plug in the Kinect and obviously so, there isn't a device packaged in with the new console.
At the time of writing, the console is the world's cheapest 4K player and ranges from 500 gb of hard drive space to 2 tb. Most games will just be unscaled, or steteched, to fit a 4K resolution but some games like the upcoming Gears of War 4 or Forza Horizons 3 will run at a native 4K resolution, and for those of you really into the most modern technologies can take advantage of the HDR support. This makes the console a popular item for people wanting to view the cleanest/clearest image, without wanting to break the bank on the cost of the more expensive players.
The New 4K capable Xbox One S.Courtesy of Xbox
Preparing For PlayStation, Waiting For Scorpio
The Xbox One S is presumably made to prepare for the impending release of the PlayStation Neo which will reportedly play PS4 games better and at a 4K resolution. Sony is planning a PlayStation event on September 7th where their new console will more than likely be revealed for the first time - a leak has already come out showing off a slimmer model of the current PlayStation 4. The PlayStation 4K/Neo/4.5 could possibly play games on the upcoming PlayStation VR at an even higher resolution/frame rate which would put the console in an even higher demand.
Microsoft's big new console will be released next year and is currently codenamed "Project Scorpio." At their E3 conference, Microsoft called Scorpio the most powerful console of all time and claimed that they were coming to an end of typical console generations. This makes Xbox One S a hard sale as PlayStation could undercut it month, and they have already confirmed a new system will be made available in 2017, so unless you're looking for a 4K player right now I'd suggest you wait it out a bit.
A leaked image of the new slimmer PlayStation 4.Courtesy of Polygon
Have Your Say!
Will you be picking up the new Xbox One S? Or will you be waiting to see what the new PlayStation or Project Scorpio will have to offer. Share the consoles that excite you the most below!
