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(Pocket-lint) - When this current generation of console gaming kicked off, the Xbox Series S was perhaps overlooked by many.
However, with stock shortages of the more capable Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 still ongoing, maybe it's worth a second glance at the Series S.
It is genuinely affordable, neat enough to tuck away in a cabinet and it plays all the latest Xbox games, including a smattering not available on Xbox One. In fact, it sounds pretty perfect.
But one question remains: is it truly powerful enough for this latest generation of gaming?
Our quick take
In all honesty, the Xbox Series S isn't really for hardcore gamers. It's not designed for those who want to hook it up to a 4K HDR OLED TV and play at the highest level of console graphics possible. However, it is wonderfully suited to more casual play, with enough grunt to handle current next-gen games and still provide access to all the popular media streaming services.
The console is also a great portal for Xbox Game Pass - not only with downloadable titles, but also because you can stream over the company's Cloud Gaming platform - thereby negating its biggest caveats in the stingy SSD storage space and extra graphical grunt.
And on top of that, it is silent, uncomplaining and friendly – the VW Beetle to the Series X's Golf GTi. That might not be everyone's idea of a generational leap, but it provides an important bridge between the old and the new in a tidy, affordable package.
Xbox Series S
4.0 stars
For
- Neat and small enough to hide away
- Offers ray-tracing and faster loading times
- Great value when coupled with Game Pass
- Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for media and gaming
Against
- 512GB internal SSD storage is measly
- Maximum of 1440p output for gaming
Design
- Dimensions: 65 x 151 x 275mm / Weight: 1.97kg
- Connections: HDMI 2.1, 3x USB 3.1, Ethernet, 802.11ac Wi-Fi
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The Xbox Series S comes with claims that it's the smallest Microsoft console yet and you can tell. It's no bigger than a shoebox and, as it's the only current-gen machine purposely built to work best when laid flat, is easy enough to tuck out of the way.
The face is non-descript. As a digital-only device, there is no disc tray. There's just a USB port, controller connection button, and the glowing Xbox logo on/off switch to shout about. The rest is flat, white plastic and largely character-free.
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Experience
- Backward compatible with thousands of Xbox One, Xbox 360 and original Xbox games
- Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support for media and games
- Setup through iOS and Android app
The overall user experience is very decent, indeed. In fact, if you already have an Xbox One, you already know everything about it – it's identical to the most recent update. You do get a fancy new animated background on the home screen, but that's about the only significant change. That and the speed of use has been improved tenfold.
Microsoft / Xbox
Those new to the Xbox family will be graced with Microsoft's trademarked tile aesthetic, except the corners were rounded-off prior to its original launch and the design made more consumer-friendly. It is easy to get to the games list and media apps, while the art of pinning areas or games of interest to the homepage allows you to customise the entire shebang to your own liking.
Initial setup is a doddle, especially if you use the Xbox mobile app on iOS or Android. That way you can sign in to your Microsoft account and set the console updating and transferring without having to navigate an on-screen keyboard using the controller. It's even more simple if you have an Xbox One already, with the ability to transfer your existing settings using the app.
If you also already have Xbox One games stored on an external drive (or two) you can just plug that into the Series S and it will be instantly recognised and all the games available. They might need updates, but you do not need to redownload them.
Another feature added to the current-gen Xbox consoles is HDR reconstruction. Just about every game available on the Xbox One will also run on Xbox Series S – often with enhanced visual performance in many cases thanks to the Xbox Velocity Architecture (the CPU, GPU and SSD combined) – but HDR reconstruction technology adds something new. Existing Xbox games that do not adopt HDR (high dynamic range) natively will be upscaled, of sorts, to provide better contrast and a wider colour gamut. It's not as good as native HDR, but is a nice touch.
The Xbox Series S/X are the first consoles to offer both Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision for gaming too, as well as movie and TV show playback. You'll need a compatible TV, sound system and supported games but it's great to know the feature is there for future use.
Performance
- Performance target: 1440p 60fps, up to 120fps possible; 4K HDR for video
- Auto low latency mode (ALLM)
- Variable refresh rate (VRR)
- DirectX ray-tracing
- AMD Freesync
Of course, the most important aspect of any evolutionary leap in gaming is how it performs. And, in the Xbox Series S, that's tricky to answer exactly. Even though this generation has been around for a while, we're still seeing most games released across platforms - so make sacrifices to suit the older machines. The very nature of gaming suggests we still have a year or two before the more powerful consoles reach their potential.
Still, from our testing, we can see that the Xbox Series S is a halfway house of a current-gen machine. As well as a truncated resolution for native next-gen games – in comparison with the Xbox Series X and PS5 – it has a few caveats when playing back Xbox One games, too.
Pocket-lint
The biggest one is that the Series S uses the One S version as its base, while the Series X further enhances and upconverts any Xbox games that already offered enhancements for Xbox One X. It'll still enhance it where possible – such as games with unlocked frame rates and/or resolution – but without any of the boosts already made for Xbox's previous flagship machine.
That said, this is only relevant to a sackful of Xbox One titles played through backward compatibility and, it must be said, they still look superb when running on the Series S. We've been replaying Red Dead Redemption 2, for example, and it runs and looks better on Xbox Series S than it ever did on PS4 Pro. What's more, it runs silently – there is no fan noise whatsoever, something neither Xbox nor PlayStation could boast.
As for actual optimised games, support for DirectX ray-tracing adds a whole new dimension. As PC owners with the latest graphics cards will tell you, ray tracing is a game-changer – literally. It adapts the way lighting works in a game to make the effect much more realistic, creating glow and reflections like never before. The Xbox Series S may not have been treated to many titles that support ray tracing as yet, but, hopefully, developers will learn how to implement it without any major cutbacks in future.
Also, the ability to hit higher frame rates – 120fps on some games – cannot be sniffed at. First-person shooters and driving games will be undoubted beneficiaries. Gears 5, for example, hit 120fps (or 120Hz, as some call it) in multiplayer and it is as smooth as butter. You do notice a dip in resolution, depending on the game and developer, but some will prefer the higher frame rates to resolution.
Games
- Some games optimised for Xbox Series S/X
- Xbox Game Pass supported
The final port of call for our review is equally as important as any of the bumps in hardware: the games. And that is one area where Xbox excels, thanks to Xbox Game Pass.
Game Pass makes for a super proposition. As soon as you boot up your new Xbox, set it up and sign in, you will have more than 300 games to play from the off. Yes, you will have to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass (through Ultimate, we recommend) but you won't have to pay another penny to accrue a games library that many have taken years to collect.
After launch, Microsoft also added the ability for the Xbox Series S to play many of the Game Pass titles over the cloud, instead, so you won't even have to download them if you no longer have space on the drive.
You can just play them streamed over the internet via the dedicated Xbox Game Pass section. You do notice a little more latency than usual, and your internet connection has to be decent enough, but this is a huge selling point - and even comes with the added bonus of improved graphics, thanks to the game servers running on Xbox Series X hardware, rather than S.
To recap
The smallest and cheapest current-gen console on the market is also the most truncated - in resolution, a few features and, most notably, storage size. However, it's also an accessible option for those who aren't hardcore but still want a very capable device. The Xbox Series S is fun, friendly and a significant upgrade over the Xbox One - although you might need to put some cash aside for an external hard drive.