MS has build both consoles to different specifications. It's similar to how super bike manufacturers make machines.
This is Yamaha R1. A 1000cc, 200 bhp monster. Weighs just 200kgs so attains warp speeds at just a whisk of throttle.
This is Yamaha R6. It gets similar performing chassis, suspension, brake package, just a scaled down 600cc, 140 bhp engine.
Both are track tools and you choose depending on track you want to use, provided you are capable of riding both to their potential. If it's a tight, winding track, you choose 600. If it's a wide, open F1 class track, you get 1000cc one.
There is nothing casual about either machines.
Series S is specced for use on 1080p screens.
Series x is for 4k.
This is how you should choose. Not by availability or cause X is superior or any other nonsense.
Sony didn't release a 1080p machine cause they want to push 4k screens too.
yet, the reality is different
ps5 and series x are 1200/1300/1440p (valhalla, cyberpunk)
series s on the other hand will mostly hover around 640/720/900p (valhalla, cyberpunk... and medium XD)
directml can somehow make sense with 1300-1400p (thats an high enough pixel count to upscale properly) but neither fidelityfx nor dlss is magic. they simply dont work good at 1080p (720p interal resolution).
in short, there's no redemption for series s in my point of view
most people are unable to comprehend the huge difference between these consoles and most will justify it for being 300 dollars.
let's ask like this:
a rtx rtx 2070 is roughly...3 times faster than a 1050ti. which would you choose?
let's say you have two options,
300 dollar pc with 5500xt gpu
500 dollar pc with 6700xt gpu
no one with their right mind would sacrifice 200 dollars to get such a huge downgrade
but when it's branded under a "console" name... things get different somehow. people find all kinds of way to justify it.
let's not kid ourselves, even if you have a 1080p screen, series x is superior. why?
for one, it will run the games at 1200-1300p if you want to enjoy 60 fps. this will give a nice bit of supersampling even if youre playing with a 1080p screen. supersampling provides much better image quality when temporal anti aliasing is used (just go check red dead redemption 2. use 1.25 or 1.5x resolution scaling. observe how much it improves image quality)
on the other end of the spectrum, you're getting 720-900p with a 1080p screen.
why sacrifice supersampling quality and actually get lower resolution than your native monitor resolution?
this is the argument i hate the most. the argument that series x is not fit for 1080p screens and series s is good for that.
just... no. i would prefer getting 1.25-2x res scaling with series x, instead of getting %70-90 resolution downscaling.