The series S was more of a playful experiment to my eyes when it first got announced, rather than a serious offer that I would consider buying for myself. And yet here I am, writing down my very positive experience with it so far.
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.
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From the manufacturer
Power Your Dreams
Go all digital with Xbox Series S and experience next-gen speed and performance at great value.
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Play more, wait less
Make the most of every gaming minute with Quick Resume, lightning-fast load times, and gameplay of up to 120 FPS—all powered by Xbox Velocity Architecture.*
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Watch your favourite entertainment
Stream 4K video on Disney+, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Microsoft Movies & TV, and more.*
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Thousands of games ready to play
Enjoy digital games from four generations of Xbox, with hundreds of optimised titles that look and play better than ever.
Discover your next favourite game
Add Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (membership sold separately) to play new games on day one. Enjoy hundreds of high-quality games with friends on console, PC, and cloud. Plus, now you can skip the install and jump in with cloud gaming.*
Overwatch 2
Reunite and stand together in a new age of heroes. Overwatch 2 builds on an award-winning foundation of epic competitive play, and challenges the world's heroes to team up, power up, and take on battlefields across the globe.*
Meet the Wireless Controller
Experience the modernised Controller, with enhanced comfort during gameplay. Stay on target with textured grip & seamlessly capture and share content
More storage, no compromise
Use most of your Xbox One accessories—including controllers, headsets, and more—on Xbox Series S.
Accessories
Get the free Family Settings app on Android/Apple. Easily manage your children’s activities on Xbox. View account balances. Set spending limits.
Product Comparison
 Xbox Series S |  Xbox Series X |  Series S Carbon 1TB |  Blue S2 Elite Controller | |
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Customer Reviews
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15,817
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14,786
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325
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4,411
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Price
| £229.30 | £445.00 | — | £109.00 |
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Xbox Velocity Architecture
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
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Quick Resume
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
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Gaming at up to 120 FPS*
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
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Dolby Vision/True HD (Atmos)
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
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Custom 1TB SSD int. storage
| ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
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4 teraflops of pro. power
| ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ |
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True 4K gaming
| ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ |
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Plays physical game discs
| ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ |
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Stream 4K Ultra HD video
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
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Access to hundreds of games
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
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Backward compatible
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
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HDMI 2.1 output
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
From the brand
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Gaming is a staple of modern-day culture. It has the power to bring people together as part of a community and connect them through shared experiences.
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Reviews with images
Speed and Size
That is a great console.I had a Xbox one and it was fine, but a bit slow and a few games were migrating to only cloud or only Xbox series, so I decided to get one and my only regret is not to have a 4k monitor. The design of it, how compact it is, how versatile, all in it is great, but the best graphics can only be shown if you have 4k monitor. Another down side would be the storage, but it is fixable, if you need, with a extension card or you could opt for the black version with 1Tb.5 stars for me and if you want the best out of it, make sure the storage is enough for you and you have a ideal monitor.
Top reviews from other countries
عبد الرحمن العتيبي
الجهاز حلو وعلى قد فلوسه
Reviewed in Saudi Arabia on 20 December 2022
Momen Mustafa
I didn’t get a game pass or a 2nd controller
Reviewed in Saudi Arabia on 7 April 2023