Xbox One S review

There’s no way to talk about the Xbox One S without talking about the console it’s replacing, the Xbox One. So I will just start by saying the really obvious thing: the Xbox One S is what the original Xbox One should have been. That assessment is both totally fair and wildly unfair. It’s unfair because it’s been three years since Microsoft first announced the original Xbox One — and so the relentless progress of technology means that it can be made smaller, faster, and better. We usually see these mid-cycle game console refreshes do that, and the Xbox One S does it really well. But it’s also fair: the original Xbox One came out with big, crazy dreams to take over your living room. It wanted to be more than a games console, it wanted to be the thing that handled everything connected to your television: Cable TV, streaming video, sports, and games. From its announcement, it felt as if games truly were last on Microsoft’s list — the Xbox One hasn’t fared so well because of it. It didn’t help that the original hardware looked like a VCR from 1987 and kicked out heat like a diesel truck from the same era. Or that it came with Kinect. While Microsoft still wants the Xbox to be the first thing you turn on in your living room, it’s simplified and reprioritized that list. It’s working on getting more and better games. It’s cleaned up the software interface with a new update that applies to all Xbox Ones. And it’s released this new, smaller Xbox One S to essentially replace the big, old one — without Kinect. The Xbox One S is available this month for $299, $349, or $399 — depending on your storage preference. It adds support for HDR, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and 4K streaming video. It’s actually svelte and good-looking. Which leads me to say the other obvious thing: the Xbox One S is a stupendous console and stupendously little. The only question is whether it’s too little, too late.Read more