- I'm Andru Edwards and you're watching Gear Live.
(upbeat music)
Following a major scoop revealing the Xbox Series S
by my homie, Brad Sams,
Microsoft officially took the wraps off
of its entry-level next-generation console
and gave us all the info we needed to know.
We now have the full specs, price,
preorder and launch dates
of both the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X.
In this video, I break down the differences between the two,
so that you can make the right decision
when choosing between the next-gen Xbox consoles.
What's going on, Tech Squad?
Andru Edwards here, and as I mentioned, today,
we are taking a look at the differences
between the upcoming Xbox Series S and the Series X,
now that Microsoft has revealed everything we need
in order to make an informed buying decision.
The Series S and X
are Microsoft's next-generation gaming consoles,
with the Series X in particular being recognized
as the most powerful game console ever made.
But that doesn't mean that the Series S
is any sort of slouch.
Now, before we get into it,
we are entering into the most fun time of year
for tech releases:
new consoles, phones, computers, smartwatches,
and everything else that goes with the holiday season.
Be sure to hit that Subscribe button,
so you don't miss any of the upcoming videos,
and we've got a big one coming next week.
All right. Now, let's get into it.
These are the differences when comparing
the Xbox Series S versus the Xbox Series X,
starting with the resolution.
The Xbox Series X was the first
of the two consoles announced, and Microsoft made a big deal
about all the hardware that it's packing inside this thing
in order to make sure that it supports native 4K
and even 8K gaming.
Now that's the official word from Microsoft,
but I'll believe that 8K part of the statement
when I see it.
Still, native 4K gaming at a solid 60 frames per second
is a big deal and a solid jump from the Xbox One
of the current generation.
The Xbox Series S, on the other hand,
is targeted towards 1440p gaming, also known as 2K,
at up to 120 frames per second.
So 1920 by 1080 is considered 1080p,
and 2560 by 1440 is 1440p.
That's twice the resolution of 1080p
and half the resolution of 4K, which by the way,
is also known as 2160p.
Now, forget all the numbers, though.
What this really means is that the Xbox Series S
will play all the same games as the Series X
at the same speeds as a Series X,
but in half the max resolution.
So if you don't have 4K TV,
the Series S is likely your console.
If you do have a 4K TV but want to save some money...
and we'll get to pricing shortly...
the Series S will upscale the 1440 P to 4K.
So when you see people complaining online
about the underpowered Series S
when compared to the Series X,
please be sure to inform them
the areas where the S seems weaker are the areas
that pertain to graphical resolution.
The Series S will not feel like a slower console.
Games won't load slower, et cetera.
The differences between the two as it pertains to specs
are all about the resolution.
All right, up next, let's talk about another difference
that we'll want to keep in mind, onboard storage.
The Xbox Series X will ship
with a one-terabyte internal super fast SSD.
And when I say "super fast," I mean it.
Microsoft did a lot of work
to virtually eliminate loading screens
with the type of SSD they're using here.
However, the Xbox Series S
uses the exact same fast SSD architecture,
so the SSD in the Series S will be just as fast,
but it'll be half the size,
as the Series S ships with a 512-gigabyte SSD.
So two things to note here.
First, the Series X will be downloading 4K
and 8K game assets,
which take up much more space than 1080p and 1440p assets.
So even though the SSD is half the size,
the game downloads on the Series S
will be a lot smaller as well.
Second, you'll be able to add external storage cards
to the Series S and X
but they'll be very high-performance drives from Seagate
that are rumored to cost about $220 each for one terabyte.
Now, this is pretty competitive with pricing
on other PC SSDs of similar speed,
but it's definitely expensive.
Okay, up next, let's talk about the spinning disc drive.
The Xbox Series X will ship with a Blu-ray drive built in,
while the Series S is an all-digital console.
This means that any games you want to play on the Series S
will need to be downloaded from the Microsoft Store.
You won't ever be able to buy a physical disc from Amazon
or GameStop and play it on your Series S,
which also means you won't be buying games
and then trading them in later,
if that's something you care about,
and friends won't be able to bring over their game discs
to play on your console.
None of that applies to the Xbox Series X, though,
which will be able to play all game discs, Blu-ray movies,
as well as play and download digital titles as well.
Up next, let's talk about the physical size difference
between the two consoles.
The Xbox Series X is the more unique of the two,
when you look at the size and bulk,
and I imagine a lot of the reason for its size and shape
is the large cooling fans on the inside.
You get a symmetrical console
that takes up a little more space,
while with the Series S,
you get the smallest Xbox console ever made.
It actually looks like a miniaturised Xbox One S.
It has a more traditional console appearance
and doesn't take up much space at all.
In fact, you can fit an Xbox Series S
inside of the chassis of a Series X.
That's how small it is.
All right, now last, and most importantly,
we've got to talk about price.
Microsoft has finally revealed what they're gonna charge
for both the Xbox Series S and Series X,
but they've added an amazing twist on top of it,
which we'll talk about as well.
So first let's get right to the retail prices.
The Xbox Series X will sell for $499,
while the Xbox Series S will sell for $299.
That's $299, the same price as the Nintendo Switch
for a next-generation console
that games at 1440p at 120 frames per second.
However, Microsoft has also announced Xbox All Access plans
for both consoles,
allowing you to pay for them over the course of two years
with no interest.
The costs there are $35 per month for a Series X
and $25 per month for the Series S,
but here's the best part.
Xbox All Access plans include Xbox Game Pass Ultimate,
and EA Play will be included in Game Pass Ultimate
starting later this month.
That means that for your $25 or $35 a month,
you get the Xbox Series S or X, respectively,
and access to a library of almost 200 games
that you can play at any time,
based on the size of the combined libraries
of Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play.
Microsoft has also announced
that all of their first-party titles will be available
on Game Pass on day one.
So when Halo Infinite is released,
if you're an All Access member or a Game Pass member,
that gets added into your library at no additional cost,
all without the typical big upfront cost
of a new game console,
and all of which that you can stream at no additional cost
using Game Pass cloud streaming to non-Xbox devices.
This may very well be the best deal in gaming.
The Xbox Series X to battle the PS5,
the Xbox Series S to battle the Nintendo Switch,
and the Game Pass service
to battle against you having an empty wallet.
If you own an Xbox Series S or X
and a Game Pass subscription, and your friends do too,
then any titles available on Game Pass are games
that you can play together online
without you both having to spend $60 or $70 each
on the new Halo, for example.
We'll be talking even more about the Xbox Series S and X
on this week's Geared Up podcast.
Now, if you didn't know,
Geared Up is a show I do each week with Jon Rettinger,
where we cover the latest in tech, gadgets, and games.
Just search Geared Up in your favorite podcast player
to listen.
Until next time, thank you for watching as always, guys.
I appreciate your support.
I'm Andru Edwards,
and I will catch you in the next video.
(intense music)