Xbox Series S vs Xbox Series X: What's The Difference?

The next generation of gaming is upon us, and Microsoft has two offerings for prospective buyers to choose from. These are the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S, and they are respectively the premium-tier and entry-tier consoles in Microsoft's lineup. Both have the capability to play the same next-generation games, but there are significant differences between the two; these lie mainly in the hardware, design, and price point.

The Hardware

The hardware differences are vast between the Series X and Series S. As of this writing, the Xbox Series X is the most powerful game console ever released. Capable of delivering native 4k resolution at frame rates up to 120 fps, it rivals even contemporary high-end PC builds. In comparison, the Xbox Series S can only display a max resolution of 1440p at frame rates up to 60 fps.

Another important piece of hardware information is memory, and this can be determined by looking at the amount of RAM available in each unit, as well as the size of the SSD (solid state drive). The Xbox Series X has 16 GBs of RAM in it, while the Xbox Series S offers 10 Gbs. This means that the Series X is better at multitasking than its smaller sibling. When it comes to SSD space, the Series X comes with a 1 TB SSD installed, while the Series S will come with a 512 GB SSD. This means the Series X can hold far more games than the Series S. This is especially important to note as, even in this past generation, there have been several games that cracked the 100 GB download threshold.

To put a rough estimate on how powerful the Xbox Series X is, we can look at the amount of Teraflops the console can output. A Teraflop is the amount of floating-point operations per second a machine can do, and while it doesn't tell the full story, it is often a strong indicator for how powerful a piece of hardware is. The Series X has 12 Teraflops of power, while the Series S comes in at 4 Teraflops of power. For comparison's sake, both the Disc and Digital-Only versions of the PS5 come in at 10.28 Teraflops of computing power.

The Design

With the Xbox Series X having significantly more hardware under the hood than its Series S counterpart, it needed somewhere to put it all. As a result, the Xbox Series X is a very large console. It has a design more comparable to a compact gaming PC, and as a result it will be challenging to fit it within a TV shelf space. The Xbox Series S, on the other hand, is quite a bit smaller than the average game console and can be discreetly fit into a slim space with ease.

The Price

The final important difference between these two consoles is the price. The Xbox Series X has a list price of $499, while the list price of the Xbox Series S is $299. Clearly, the costs Microsoft saved by reducing the power of the Xbox Series S have been passed onto the consumer. For anyone who's on a budget, who doesn't need the maximum visual fidelity, or who's looking to buy a relatively inexpensive console for their children, this is an incredibly compelling offer. In comparison, the PS5 disc version launches at $499, while the digital-only version launches at $399.

Microsoft has taken a decidedly fresh approach to launching its next-gen consoles. By creating two different options for consumers, they're taking advantage of two areas of the gaming market. It remains to be seen whether a more middle-of-the-road approach will ultimately win the heart of consumers, but regardless, the options you've got about how you want to game have never been greater!