Xbox One S Full Digital Edition vs. Xbox One X: Comparison and Tips for Microsoft Game Consoles

The new all-digital edition of Microsoft Xbox One S ($ 250, $ 200), scheduled for May 7, differs from the existing version of the Xbox One S ($ 300) in a few ways:

• It does not have a 4K Blu-ray player, so it can not play game discs, movie discs, or any kind of optical disc.
• It weighs 1 pound less.
• It includes three games: Forza Horizon 3, the online multi-player pirate game Sea of ​​Thieves and Minecraft.

Their specifications and dimensions are otherwise identical. That's why we thought it would be more interesting to match the One S All-Digital Edition with Xbox One X, a flagship product, to help you make a more informed buying decision.

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Best Current Xbox One Console Deals

With the exception of its lower price, the One-S Digital Edition has no advantage over the more powerful One X. However, questions remain: at what price are the prices of both consoles and how much does it cost the extra power of One X worth for you? It will also be interesting to see what new sets of games appear and if Microsoft offers a better offer for its upcoming games. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a subscription service that includes Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold for $ 15 a month. The price of $ 180 per year is the same as you would pay if you bought each separately and combined them.

Match of specifications

In numbers

Console	Xbox One S Fully Digital Edition	Xbox One X
Processor	8 GHz Jaguar processor at 1.75 GHz	Jaguar "Evolved" with 8 cores at 2.3 GHz
Storage room	1 TB	1 TB
Memory	8 GB of DDR3 RAM	12 GB of RAM GDDR5
Graphic	12 GPU 1.23 TF (914 MHz)	40 GPUs (1 172 MHz) 6 GPUs
The ports	HDMI input / HDMI output, a USB 3.0 front facing and two USB ports at the back, IR receiver / blaster, SPDIF digital audio, Ethernet port	HDMI input / HDMI output, a USB 3.0 front facing and two USB ports at the back, IR receiver / blaster, SPDIF digital audio, Ethernet port
Optical reader	No	4K UHD Blu-ray
Video output	4K HDR video playback, 1080p HDR games	4K HDR video playback, 4K HDR games (with some games)
Dimensions	29.5 cm x 22.6 cm x 6.4 cm (11.6 in. X 8.9 in. X 2.5 in.)	30 cm x 24 cm x 6 cm (11.81 in. X 9.45 in. X 2.36 in.)
Weight	5.4 lb (2.45 kg)	8.4 lbs (3.81 kg)
Power source	120W, internal	245W, internal

When it was released in November 2017, critics spent a lot of time writing about the Xbox One X's performance compared to the Xbox One S (and Sony PlayStation 4 Pro). As shown in the above specifications, it is a much more powerful machine, but the problem with the first launch of One X was that only a small number of games were certified "Enhanced for Xbox One X ". In addition, with the One S capable of improving the 4K resolution of games on a 4K TV, the lack of real native 4K games has made it difficult to make a significant difference between the output of the two consoles.

Just started a new Red Dead Redemption 2 campaign on Xbox One X, and my God, the difference in fidelity compared to the PS4 Pro is immediately noticeable. This is the best example of multiplatform superiority that I have seen so far. This is not even close

– Jeff Bakalar (@jeffbakalar) November 8, 2018

Today, however, the list of Xbox One X Enhanced games has increased, as has the number of native 4K games. Many games look and play better on the Xbox One X. And even if you must own a 4K TV to take full advantage of the performance improvements of the One X, it is never useless to have more power, even if you play in 1080p THE TV. Games load faster, the system is faster overall and some games can work more easily.

Price verification

The catalog price of the Xbox One is $ 499, but you can take it for $ 399 or even a little less. As noted previously, the introductory price of the Xbox One All-Digital S is $ 250 (£ 200), with titles developed by Microsoft Minecraft, Forza Horizon 3 and Sea of ​​Thieves preinstalled on the player.

If you forget the games provided, the price delta for both consoles is $ 150. But the One S standard sells regularly at $ 250 or less – the Black Friday price was basically $ 200. And these offers invariably include one or more bundled games.

Personally, I would say it's worth spending $ 150 more on the One X if you have a 4K TV. But Microsoft has actually said that the price of One S All-Digital will still be $ 50 less than the One S standard, so $ 200 – or less – should be on hand by the fall.

Evolutive: what about the next Xbox? And PS5?

Obviously, the all-digital version of the Xbox One is a simplified and advantageous version of the existing Xbox One. The real next-gen Xbox will probably still be in over a year. It could be announced at this year's E3 show in June.

So, if an all-new, next-generation Xbox arrives around the year 2020, why bother with an Xbox now? This has taken some time, but Microsoft is firmly committed to ensuring backward compatibility with the Xbox One – it can play much of the Xbox 360 library, and even some classic Xbox games. It's a safe bet that, no matter what happens, compatibility with the Xbox One will probably retain its compatibility. Therefore, all the games you buy now will probably be playable. And Microsoft seems committed to cloud games also, then this box will probably be checked in the new Xbox.

What about the PlayStation? This console is still the 300-kilogram gorilla of the current generation, thanks in part to exclusive series like Uncharted, God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man and Horizon Zero Dawn. (We assume if it's your bag, you bought a PS4 a long time ago.) And Sony has already started describing the details of the PlayStation 5also, with support for 8K resolution and compatibility with earlier versions of the PS4.

But again, the Xbox PS5 and next-gen consoles will be in at least a year. So, if you want to start creating an Xbox library now, look at One S or One X for now.