Orutisu Furio
Member
I've had an XBOX Series S since launch last week.... here are my personal thoughts, and after having the console for about a week. I am sure a lot of people will settle on it just because of the price factor, and I want to give my thoughts for anyone it might help.
The funny thing is I had the ability to purchase the Series X online via Target for pickup, but I found it hard to justify spending $500 on a game console. Orders went live at around 1:20am EST Nov 10. So after some hesitation, I clicked on the Series S and went through the motions, boom -- confirmed. I settled on the Series S because 1) it was $299 and 2) I actually liked the design better and didn't need a disc drive. To be honest, it was an impulse buy really.
Woke up the next morning and headed to Target for pickup, walked out. First impressions was the retail box was pretty small, close to the original 360 retail box at launch. I got home and opened the box, first thoughts was how tiny the unit is and how dense/solid everything is, it doesn't feel cheap or plasticky -- and there's a good weight to it that makes you think your holding something well-made. It just feels good, and didn't notice any creaks or noises when handling it. It's basically just a solid block of white tech and well built.
I am not a big fan of that black circle vent on the top, however I have my console vertical and it looks really nice. There's something about that all-white monolithic simple design that screams clean and modern, and the compact size is something you have to see in person. I think Microsoft did a good job designing this console and it should like nice in any setup. The best way I can describe it is that it looks like a slighter larger white external hard drive or Apple Time Capsule when vertical. It's nice.
In terms of noise, I haven't heard anything this past week and I have played a lot of games for several hours on end. It's whisper quiet, and as far as heat to be honest it seems like it's marginal and nothing feels too warm or abnormally warm. It's quiet and cool. When powered on in a silent room with nothing audible running, you cannot hear the console at all. Nothing.
In terms of performance, games play just fine. Gears 5 with X|S enhancements looks REALLY nice, almost like a new game, and everything runs smoothly. I don't have a 4k TV with 120 hz, but on a 1080P TV with 60HZ everything looks really nice. I have tested a few games via Game Pass and everything has run smooth and looked nice and crispy. Games do look better and run better that are BC from XBOX ONE, 360, and XBOX as I noticed increased frames and general better performance.
The controller has been slightly tweaked from XBOX ONE and is actually a little smaller (Microsoft mentioned they reduced the size a bit, and I can see the difference) and more compact, and the grips on the sides and the triggers feel really nice and add an extra layer of comfort when gaming. It's a good controller and feels good, nothing feels cheap.
The only gripe I have with the console is the 512GB onboard storage. Realistically you can fit about 5 to 7 current large AAA games before running out of storage. To a lot of people this might be a dealbreaker but yes, the SSD is fast and games load instantly and quick, and the console boots super fast. It works as advertised.
Overall I think it's a great console and for $299 to enter next-gen, I see Microsoft selling a lot of these, and I wouldn't be surprised if most consumers have the Series S in their home as the main XBOX unit with the rest being Series X for the more enthusiast crowd. In a lot of ways, the Series S makes a lot of sense from a business perspective.
The funny thing is I had the ability to purchase the Series X online via Target for pickup, but I found it hard to justify spending $500 on a game console. Orders went live at around 1:20am EST Nov 10. So after some hesitation, I clicked on the Series S and went through the motions, boom -- confirmed. I settled on the Series S because 1) it was $299 and 2) I actually liked the design better and didn't need a disc drive. To be honest, it was an impulse buy really.
Woke up the next morning and headed to Target for pickup, walked out. First impressions was the retail box was pretty small, close to the original 360 retail box at launch. I got home and opened the box, first thoughts was how tiny the unit is and how dense/solid everything is, it doesn't feel cheap or plasticky -- and there's a good weight to it that makes you think your holding something well-made. It just feels good, and didn't notice any creaks or noises when handling it. It's basically just a solid block of white tech and well built.
I am not a big fan of that black circle vent on the top, however I have my console vertical and it looks really nice. There's something about that all-white monolithic simple design that screams clean and modern, and the compact size is something you have to see in person. I think Microsoft did a good job designing this console and it should like nice in any setup. The best way I can describe it is that it looks like a slighter larger white external hard drive or Apple Time Capsule when vertical. It's nice.
In terms of noise, I haven't heard anything this past week and I have played a lot of games for several hours on end. It's whisper quiet, and as far as heat to be honest it seems like it's marginal and nothing feels too warm or abnormally warm. It's quiet and cool. When powered on in a silent room with nothing audible running, you cannot hear the console at all. Nothing.
In terms of performance, games play just fine. Gears 5 with X|S enhancements looks REALLY nice, almost like a new game, and everything runs smoothly. I don't have a 4k TV with 120 hz, but on a 1080P TV with 60HZ everything looks really nice. I have tested a few games via Game Pass and everything has run smooth and looked nice and crispy. Games do look better and run better that are BC from XBOX ONE, 360, and XBOX as I noticed increased frames and general better performance.
The controller has been slightly tweaked from XBOX ONE and is actually a little smaller (Microsoft mentioned they reduced the size a bit, and I can see the difference) and more compact, and the grips on the sides and the triggers feel really nice and add an extra layer of comfort when gaming. It's a good controller and feels good, nothing feels cheap.
The only gripe I have with the console is the 512GB onboard storage. Realistically you can fit about 5 to 7 current large AAA games before running out of storage. To a lot of people this might be a dealbreaker but yes, the SSD is fast and games load instantly and quick, and the console boots super fast. It works as advertised.
Overall I think it's a great console and for $299 to enter next-gen, I see Microsoft selling a lot of these, and I wouldn't be surprised if most consumers have the Series S in their home as the main XBOX unit with the rest being Series X for the more enthusiast crowd. In a lot of ways, the Series S makes a lot of sense from a business perspective.