Xbox Series S vs Xbox Series X: What are the differences and which one should you buy?

Microsoft recently announced a budget version of its upcoming Xbox console in the form of the Xbox Series S. Both the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X are launching in India on November 10, although the consoles will be available on pre-order on September 22.

Considering September 22 is less than a couple of weeks away, we’ve decided to compare both Xbox consoles to understand what you are getting and what you are giving up for the price difference.

Straight off the bat, the Xbox Series S is almost three times smaller than the Xbox Series X. The Series S’s size is more in line with the current console generation. Before we dive into the specs, the other physical difference on these consoles, apart from looks, is that the Series S doesn’t have a disc drive, basically making it a digital-only console.

What's different on the inside?

Apart from design and the lack of a Blu-ray drive, the Xbox Series S has weaker specs across the board. The most noticeable compromise is in the GPU department, with the Xbox Series S packing less VRAM, a lower GPU clock speed and 4 TFLOPs as opposed to the 12 TFLOPs on the Xbox Series X.

Additionally, the Xbox Series S also features much lower memory bandwidth, while storage space is cut in half. And while both upcoming Xbox consoles utilise the same CPU, the Series S’s CPU has a slightly lower clock speed. But what does this mean in terms of real-world performance?

What do the differences in specs mean for gamers?

To put it simply, ‘120fps gaming at 1440p’ as compared to the Xbox Series X’s 120fps gaming at 4K’ resolution. You have to understand that the Xbox Series S has been engineered to deliver near-identical performance as the Xbox Series X but at a lower resolution. This means every game you play on the Xbox Series X is going to look just as good on the Xbox Series S.

While the Xbox Series S will upscale content to 4K, you won’t be able to experience ‘true’ 4K gaming on this console. But in our opinion, the resolution is one of the least important factors while gaming. Even at QHD resolution, games are still going to look really good on your 4K TVs.

When it comes to important gaming features, like support for higher frame rates and DirectX ray tracing, additionally, the console will also feature a super-fast SSD, drastically minimising load times. It is worth noting that you can still play 4K media streaming, while the Series S will also upscale games to 4K to fit confines of your TV.

With the Xbox Series S, Microsoft is targeting 1440p gaming at 60fps as standard, going all the way up to 120fps. When you consider the Xbox One S often struggled to offer 1080p at 30fps, this is a massive bump in performance. If the Xbox Series S can consistently deliver 1440p gaming at 60fps, it will offer incredible value and is definitely worth considering, especially if you don’t plan on gaming on a large TV.

Also Read: Sony PlayStation 5 vs Microsoft Xbox Series X: Here's how the Sultans of console gaming compare