Microsoft’s newest console is slick, but not groundbreaking
Good-looking Xbox One S fails to make a solid case for its existence, so consider waiting for next year’s upgraded version
The Xbox One S is a well-designed, slick looking console that, despite welcome improvements, doesn’t make a good case for itself to be bought.
The all-white launch edition is 40-per-cent smaller than the original Xbox One, has a number of storage options — including a sweet 2-TB version — can stand upright and doesn’t have a Kinect port, as the motion-controlling peripheral has basically been abandoned by Microsoft.
Another thing missing is the giant power brick that has powered every generation of the console. According to reports, this console runs a little faster than its predecessor and has some 4K movie playback capabilities, though not actual 4K game functionality.
At this point, the best things about it are cosmetic: it’s good-looking and fits better in my living room. As for the other improvements, they are fine, although I didn’t notice much of a difference between the hot new console and my three-year-old original-launch Xbox One.
The biggest problem comes from Microsoft’s future plans: with its much more powerful Project Scorpio coming next year, this in-between console doesn’t make a very good case for itself — other than being pretty.
There is not enough here to justify upgrading from an older Xbox One and if you still haven’t upgraded from an Xbox 360, it might be worth waiting to see what the Scorpio has to offer.
(That said, Scorpio might have a much bigger price tag. The One S 2TB launch edition will be available in limited quantities for $499.99, while consoles with 1TB and 500GB hard drives will be offered for $449.99 and $399.99, respectively.)
Don’t get me wrong. If you have to buy an Xbox One right now — or between now and Christmas — the S is the way to go. Just be aware of the potential to feel burned by technology’s vicious upgrade cycle as soon as next year.
Other issues with the Xbox One S are a little more practical. While Kinect has fallen out of favour, many existing Xbox One users still use it, mostly using voice commands to control their TVs and quickly log in to play. So Kinect fans will need an adaptor, which Microsoft will release — and existing Xbox One users may be able to get it for free, although the details are a bit murky.
And you’d better have a decent home Internet plan. While in the previous generations there was a physical cable that let you transfer saved games to another console, this time around much of that work will come from the cloud and digital games will have to be re-downloaded from the Xbox Live Store. Depending on your home plan and how many games save, that could mean a big data hit.