Xbox Series X and Series S facts for kids
Quick facts for kids  |
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The Xbox Series X with controller
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| Also known as |
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| Developer | Microsoft |
| Manufacturer | Flextronics, Foxconn |
| Product family | Xbox |
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Ninth |
| Release date | November 10, 2020 |
| Introductory price |
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| Units sold | 3.5 million (est.) as of December 31, 2020 |
| Media |
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| CPU | |
| Memory |
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| Storage |
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| Removable storage | Storage Expansion Card (up to 2 TB; can be PCIe 4.0) |
| Display | |
| Graphics |
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| Sound |
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| Controller input |
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| Connectivity | |
| Online services | Xbox network, Xbox Game Pass |
| Dimensions | Series X: 15.1 cm × 15.1 cm × 30.1 cm (5.9 in × 5.9 in × 11.9 in) Series S: 15.1 cm × 6.5 cm × 27.5 cm (5.9 in × 2.6 in × 11 in) |
| Weight |
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| Backward compatibility |
All Xbox One games and select Xbox 360 and original Xbox games |
| Predecessor | Xbox One |
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are powerful home video game consoles made by Microsoft. They both came out on November 10, 2020. These consoles are the fourth generation in the Xbox family, following the Xbox One. They are part of the newest group of game consoles, known as the ninth generation of video game consoles, along with Sony's PlayStation 5.
Before they were officially announced, people heard rumors about these new Xbox consoles in early 2019. The whole line of consoles was called "Scarlett" in secret. There were two main versions: a high-end one called "Anaconda" and a smaller, more affordable one called "Lockhart." Microsoft liked the idea of having two different consoles, just like they did with the Xbox One. They wanted the high-end model to be at least twice as powerful as the Xbox One X.
The powerful Xbox Series X was first shown at E3 2019 as "Project Scarlett." Its official name and look were revealed later at The Game Awards 2019. In September 2020, Microsoft introduced the smaller, more affordable Xbox Series S.
The Xbox Series X has stronger parts inside. It can show games in very high quality, up to 8K resolution. It also offers smoother gameplay with higher frame rates and special lighting effects called ray tracing. Both consoles use a super-fast solid-state drive (SSD) to make games load much quicker. The Xbox Series S costs less and has a slightly less powerful graphics card. It also has less memory and storage, and it doesn't have a disc drive.
Both consoles can play many older Xbox games, controllers, and accessories. This is called backward compatibility. Microsoft has a program called "Smart Delivery." It lets you get upgraded versions of many older games for free on the Series X/S. The consoles also work with Xbox Game Pass, a service where you can play many games for a monthly fee. You can also stream games from the cloud using Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming.
Contents
History of Xbox Series X/S
How the Consoles Were First Revealed
People started hearing about new Xbox hardware in June 2018. Microsoft's Phil Spencer confirmed they were working on the "next Xbox consoles." It was thought to be a group of devices called "Scarlett." This group would include a cheaper version, like the Xbox One family. The focus was on streaming games and playing older games. By March 2019, rumors suggested two consoles: "Anaconda" and the cheaper "Lockhart."
Microsoft officially announced Project Scarlett at their E3 2019 event. They wanted a smooth change from Xbox One to Scarlett. Scarlett would play all Xbox One games and work with most Xbox One accessories. At The Game Awards 2019, Microsoft showed off the design and name, "Xbox Series X." They also announced a late 2020 release date. A Microsoft spokesperson later said that "Xbox Series X" was just one part of the new "Xbox" family.
Microsoft planned to share more details about the Series X and its games at the 2020 Game Developers Conference (GDC) and E3 2020. However, both events were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Microsoft held online presentations in March 2020 instead. Detailed information about the console's parts was shared on March 16, 2020. Microsoft also planned online events called "Xbox 20/20" leading up to the launch. This included an Xbox Games Showcase on July 23, 2020, showing games from their own studios, Xbox Game Studios.
On July 16, 2020, Microsoft stopped making the Xbox One X and the all-digital Xbox One S. This was to get ready for the new consoles.
People had guessed about the Xbox Series S before the E3 2019 reveal. It was known as "Project Lockhart," a second, less powerful console. The name Xbox Series S was confirmed when some early Xbox accessories were bought. Microsoft officially announced the Series S on September 8, 2020. They said it would also launch in November 2020 with the Series X. Microsoft even pointed out that the Series S had been hidden in the background of Phil Spencer's Xbox videos in July 2020.
How the Xbox Series X/S Works
When Microsoft started working on the next Xbox consoles around 2016, they already knew they wanted two versions. This was like their Xbox One X and Xbox One S models. They wanted to meet the needs of different players. By building both consoles at the same time, they could make sure all games worked on both systems. The consoles were given secret names based on cities. The Xbox Series S was called Project Lockhart, named after a city in Texas known as "the little city with the big heart."
For the powerful Xbox Series X, their main goal was to make the graphics at least twice as good as the Xbox One X. They also wanted the CPU to be four times faster than the Xbox One X. All this had to be done while keeping the console quiet. As engineers figured out how much power was needed, they saw the parts would use a lot of electricity (about 315 watts). This would create a lot of heat.
This led them to put the parts on two separate circuit boards. One board held the CPU, GPU, memory, and power parts. The second board handled slower connections, like for input/output (I/O). The boards were placed on opposite sides of an aluminum frame. This created paths for air to flow and cool the system. The other parts, like the heat sink, power supply, disc drive, and cooling fan, were arranged like a game of Tetris. This helped make the console compact and tower-shaped. To keep it quiet, the system has many sensors to control the fan speed. The large open top helps air flow well through the system. Even with the disc drive and cooling needs, they were happy to make the console a square shape.
Xbox Series X: Power and Design
Xbox head Phil Spencer said Microsoft wanted to make games run smoothly with high frame rates and load quickly. The Series X does this by having a CPU and GPU that work very well together.
The Xbox Series X uses a special AMD Zen 2 CPU with eight cores. It runs at 3.8 GHz, or 3.6 GHz when using SMT (which helps with many tasks at once). One CPU core is used for the console's basic system. The graphics part (GPU) is also a special AMD RDNA 2 unit. It has 52 active units and runs at 1.825 GHz. This gives it 12 teraflops of computing power. The console comes with 16GB of GDDR6 SDRAM memory. 10GB of this memory is super fast (560GB/s) for graphics, and the other 6GB (336GB/s) is for other tasks. About 13.5GB of memory is available for games after the system software uses its share. The Xbox Series X aims to play games in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second. It is about four times more powerful than the Xbox One X. The Series X can even support up to 120 frames per second and show games in 8K resolution.
The Xbox Series X looks simple and clean. It has a base of 15.1 cm × 15.1 cm (5.9 in × 5.9 in) and is 30.1 cm (11.9 in) tall. It weighs 4.45 kg (9.8 lb). While it usually stands upright, you can also lay it on its side. The front has only the power button and an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive. The top of the console has a large, powerful fan. Spencer said the console is as quiet as the Xbox One X. The Series X has an HDMI 2.1 output, a slot for storage expansion, three USB 3.2 ports, and an ethernet port. It does not have an infrared blaster or HDMI pass-through like the Xbox One. It uses HDMI-CEC instead.
Xbox Series S: Compact and Digital
The Xbox Series S is similar to the Xbox Series X in its parts, much like the Xbox One S was to the Xbox One X. However, it has less processing power. It uses the same CPU but at slightly slower speeds. Its GPU is less powerful, with 20 units at 1.55 GHz, giving it 4 TFLOPS (compared to 12 TFLOPS for the Series X). It comes with 10 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD storage drive. This drive has a raw speed of 2.4GB/s. The Series S does not have a disc drive, so you must download all your games. It is designed to play games at 1440p resolution, with support for a 4K upscaler, at 60 frames per second. It can reach up to 120 frames per second at this resolution. Some games, like Ori and the Will of the Wisps, can even run in native 4K on the Series S. Otherwise, the Series S has the same features as the Series X, including ports, expansions, and game support.
Microsoft made the Series S small enough to fit easily into a small bag or backpack for travel. The Series S is about 60% smaller than the Series X. It measures 275 by 151 by 63.5 millimetres (10.83 in × 5.94 in × 2.50 in) when standing upright. In this position, its large side has the main exhaust vent for cooling, like the top of the Series X. Other vents are on the top of the Series S. Like the Series X, the front of the Series S has one USB port and a button to connect controllers. The back has the power connector, one HDMI port, two more USB ports, and an Ethernet port. The Series S can also be placed flat, with the exhaust port facing up for good airflow. The Series S launched in a matte white color with a matching controller, different from the matte black of the Series X.
Fast Storage System
Both consoles use a new storage system called the Xbox Velocity Architecture. This system includes special hardware and software. It makes games load faster, reduces the size of game downloads, and gives game creators more freedom. The main part of this system is the internal NVM Express (NVMe) SSD. The Series X has a 1 TB SSD (with 802 GB available for games). It can transfer data at 2.4 GB/s. A special part on the console helps compress and decompress data. It uses standard zlib and a special BCPack for game textures. This can make the combined speed as high as 4.8 GB/s.
A new software tool called DirectStorage API helps game creators control how data is loaded. This tool is part of DirectX. It also has a feature called sampler feedback streaming. This helps load parts of textures as needed, instead of loading the whole thing at once. This is useful for showing different levels of detail in games. The Series S has a 512 GB SSD (with 364 GB available). It has similar hardware and software features. All SSD storage in this system uses PCI Express 4.0.
Game creators at The Coalition found that their game Gears 5 loaded four times faster on Xbox Series X. This was without any changes to their code. The faster memory and storage made a big difference. They expect it to be even faster once they use the new DirectStorage API.
The consoles can use external storage with a special SSD expansion card. This card plugs into the back of the console. At launch, only Seagate Technology made these 1 TB cards, but a 2 TB version is planned. Like the Xbox One, you can also use external USB storage. However, only older games (backward compatible games) can run directly from USB storage. New Xbox Series X/S games must be on the internal SSD or an expansion card to play. You can move them to a USB drive to save space.
The DirectStorage API will also be available for Windows computers in mid-2021. This will work for graphics cards that support DirectX 12 and NVMe SSDs. Games will need to be made to use this feature.
Advanced Video and Audio
Both the Series X and Series S support real-time ray-tracing. This makes lighting and reflections in games look very realistic. They also support new features of the HDMI 2.1 standard. These include variable refresh rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). These features are being added to newer televisions. The consoles have special parts for sound. A feature called "audio ray tracing" uses the graphics ray tracing parts to process 3D sound. This makes the sound in games feel more immersive.
Microsoft also wants to reduce delays between your controller actions and what happens on screen. They added support for HDMI 2.1 Auto Low Latency Mode and Variable Refresh Rate. They also have "dynamic latency input" technology. This new system helps game creators include possible controller delays in their games.
Both consoles support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos sound technologies.
Comparing the Xbox Series X and Series S
Here is a quick look at the main differences between the two new Xbox consoles:
| Component | Series X | Series S | |
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| Processors | CPU | Custom Zen 2 8 Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.66 GHz with SMT) |
Custom Zen 2 8 Cores @ 3.6 GHz (3.4 GHz with SMT) |
| GPU | Custom RDNA 2 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz 12 TFLOPS |
Custom RDNA 2 20 CUs @ 1.565 GHz 4 TFLOPS |
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| Memory | 16 GB GDDR6 with 320-bit bus 10 GB @ 560 GB/s, 6 GB @ 336 GB/s |
10 GB GDDR6 with 128-bit bus 8 GB @ 224 GB/s, 2 GB @ 56 GB/s |
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| Storage | Internal | 1 TB PCIe Gen 4 custom NVMe SSD 2.4 GB/s raw, 4.8 GB/s compressed |
512 GB PCIe Gen 4 custom NVMe SSD 2.4 GB/s raw, 4.8 GB/s compressed |
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Ultra HD Blu-ray | None | |
| Performance target | 4K resolution at 60 FPS, up to 120 FPS | 1440p at 60 FPS, up to 120 FPS | |
| Dimensions | Size | 301 mm × 151 mm × 151 mm (12 in × 5.9 in × 5.9 in) |
275 mm × 151 mm × 65 mm (11 in × 5.9 in × 2.6 in) |
| Weight | 9.8 pounds (4.4 kg) | 4.25 pounds (1.93 kg) | |
| Model | 1882 | 1883/1881 | |
| Price | US$499/€499/£449/A$749/C$599 | US$299/€299/£249/A$499/C$379 | |
New Controller and Accessories
Both the Series X and Series S come with an updated Xbox Wireless Controller. This new controller is designed to feel more comfortable for many different hand sizes. It has all the usual buttons: two joysticks, a D-pad, four action buttons, and system buttons. The new controller also has a "Share" button. Pressing it once takes a screenshot, and holding it down starts recording your gameplay.
Microsoft found that if the controller fit an eight-year-old's hands, it would fit most people. So, they made the grips more shaped and the trigger buttons smaller and rounder. The D-pad is a new curved design. A designer said it combines the regular Xbox One D-pad with the Elite version. Small raised dots were added to the buttons to help players feel where their fingers are. The controller still uses two AA batteries, but you can buy a rechargeable battery pack. Microsoft learned that players were split on using batteries versus recharging, so they gave both options.
The controller uses the same wireless technology as the Xbox One. This means older Xbox One controllers also work with the Xbox Series X/S. The new controller also supports Bluetooth Low Energy. This lets it connect to phones and other devices. It remembers these connections. It uses a USB-C connector for wired use and charging, instead of the older Micro-B.
Phil Spencer said the Xbox Series X probably won't have virtual reality (VR) support right away. He expects any VR support would use the Windows Mixed Reality parts inside the console. However, VR was not a main focus when the console was being made.
Xbox System Software and Features
Both consoles use a similar user interface (UI) to the Xbox One. However, it uses 40% less memory, making it much faster. The Home screen loads in about half the time it did on the Xbox One. Other changes include rounded parts in the UI, an easier-to-read font, and better sharing features. These changes were also brought to the Xbox One system software and Xbox apps around September 2020. About 200 GB of space on the Xbox Series X's internal drive is used for system files.
The console's Quick Resume feature lets you pause and switch between several games at once. You can even restart the console and still go back to your paused games.
Many video and streaming services were available when the consoles launched. For the first time, Apple TV+ was available on Xbox consoles.
The consoles use the Xbox Game Pass service. This gives players unlimited access to hundreds of games for a monthly fee. All new games from Microsoft's own studios and some from other companies will be on this service when they come out. As part of Game Pass, you can also stream games from your console to a mobile device using Microsoft's cloud gaming platform, xCloud. This is free for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.
Microsoft plans to move the xCloud service to use Xbox Series X-based systems by 2021.
Games for Xbox Series X/S
Game creators can make older Xbox One games better for the Xbox Series X/S. This means better graphics, faster frame rates, ray tracing, and using the console's fast storage. These improved games will have an "Optimized for Series X" logo. Microsoft offers a system called "Smart Delivery." This automatically downloads the best version of an Xbox One game for your new console. Microsoft wants publishers to use this for games released on Xbox One first, then later on Series X. It also helps players moving from an Xbox One to a Series X.
Microsoft does not stop game creators from making games only for Xbox Series X. However, the company prefers a "soft" change, like with PC gaming. This means creators can make games look best on powerful hardware (like Series X). But the game can still be played with slightly lower quality on older hardware (like Xbox One). Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty said Microsoft wanted Xbox One owners to feel they made a good choice. They wanted to show they would still support them with new games. Spencer explained that this idea is about focusing on the player, not just the console. It's about not "forcing" players to upgrade. This approach works well because many Xbox Game Studios are used to making games for computers. Computers have many different levels of hardware. The same idea was used to make Xbox Series X games that can also run well on Xbox One consoles.
At first, Spencer said their own studios' games would support both Xbox One and Xbox Series X for "the next couple of years." But journalists noticed that some games shown in July 2020 didn't mention Xbox One. Their websites later removed Xbox One from the list. While these games weren't launch titles, they were expected soon. This led Aaron Greenberg, an Xbox marketing manager, to explain. He said these games were made for Xbox Series X first. It was up to the game studios to decide if they would add Xbox One support.
Microsoft has not made these rules for other game companies. They can make Xbox Series X exclusive games or offer different ways to upgrade from the Xbox One version. However, Video Games Chronicle reported that Microsoft encouraged publishers to make the upgrade free. CD Projekt RED and Ubisoft have promised to use Smart Delivery for their upcoming games. Electronic Arts said that for at least one game, Madden NFL 21, they would offer a free update from the Xbox One version to the Xbox Series X version.
The Xbox Game Preview program, which lets games be released early, continued on the Xbox Series X/S. Spacebase Startopia was the first game in this program in January 2021.
Playing Older Games: Backward Compatibility
Microsoft has said that the Xbox Series X and Series S will play all games from the Xbox One. This does not include games that need the Kinect sensor. It also includes Xbox 360 and original Xbox console games that already work on the Xbox One. This means the new consoles can play games from four different generations of Xbox.
To make this possible, Microsoft stopped adding new Xbox 360 or original Xbox games to the Xbox One backward compatibility program in June 2019. Instead, they focused on making sure these older games worked on the Xbox Series X. Backward compatibility was available from day one. Microsoft spent over 500,000 hours checking thousands of games from the Xbox One library. Spencer said in December 2019 that he helped test these games himself. As the launch got closer, Microsoft asked players to suggest more games for backward compatibility. They said bringing old games back can be hard due to technical and legal issues. But the team is working hard to keep old games playable.
It's possible for older games to get better graphics on the new consoles. This includes automatic High-dynamic-range rendering (HDR) using machine learning. Games can also get double the frame rate, 16x anisotropic filtering, and higher resolution. Microsoft's Xbox Advanced Technology Group worked on bringing these improvements to even original Xbox games. They added features like HDR or improved frame rates for games that were stuck at a certain speed. Older games also work with the Quick Resume feature. You can use cloud saves to move your game progress from Xbox One. Microsoft also added free cloud saves for Xbox 360 games so they can be moved to a Series S/X console.
The Xbox Series S can play Xbox One games with better performance, texture filtering, and auto HDR. However, it does not support the special improvements made for the Xbox One X. Microsoft gives tools to game creators to check how their Xbox One games run on the Series X and S. These tools can suggest simple changes, like "changing three lines of code," to improve older games. In February 2021, Microsoft launched FPS Boost. This feature can make select older games run two to four times faster on the Xbox Series X and Series S. Microsoft engineers must prepare each game for this feature. Five games were supported at first, with more coming later. Microsoft created FPS Boost because they found that the CPU and GPU on the new consoles were often not fully used when playing older games. They wanted to use this extra power to make old games run even better. By May 2021, about 97 games had been updated to support FPS Boost.
Microsoft started testing the Auto HDR feature for Windows computers in March 2021. This works for computers that meet certain requirements through DirectX.
Release and Marketing
In March 2020, Microsoft said they expected the Xbox Series X to launch by the end of 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. They were watching their supply chains and making sure workers were safe. At that time, Spencer thought the hardware would ship on time. However, games planned for the Xbox Series X launch might be delayed because of the pandemic. By August 2020, Microsoft confirmed a November 2020 release for the Xbox Series X.
Both the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles launched on November 10, 2020. The Series X cost US$499, GB£449, and €499. The Series S cost US$299, GB£249, and €299. Microsoft said 31 games would be available at launch. These included games from their own Xbox Game Studios and other companies. Older Xbox One games were also available through backward compatibility. Halo Infinite was planned as a launch title. But Microsoft and 343 Industries decided to delay its release due to production problems from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Microsoft continues its Xbox All-Access payment plans for the Series X. These plans bundle the console, Xbox Live Gold, and Xbox Game Pass into a monthly payment. Current All Access plans for Xbox One will let you upgrade to the Xbox Series X. Spencer said there would be similar upgrades from the Xbox Series X in the future. The All-Access plan for the Xbox Series X is about US$35 per month for 24 months. The Series S plan is about US$25 per month.
When the Xbox Series X's tall shape was revealed, people online joked that it looked like a mini refrigerator. Before the console came out, Microsoft made a few real refrigerators that looked like the Xbox Series X. They had a disc drive handle, green lights inside, and played the Xbox startup sound. Some were given to famous people like Snoop Dogg and iJustine. Others were offered in contests. In March 2021, Dwayne Johnson worked with Microsoft to offer smaller mini-fridges. These promoted his energy drink line. Microsoft's Greenberg said this was a test to see if Xbox mini-fridges could be sold to the public. After Xbox won a Twitter marketing vote in April 2021, Greenberg confirmed that Microsoft would make Xbox Series X mini-fridges for people to buy.
Images for kids
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The Xbox Velocity Architecture logo
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The "Optimized for Series X" logo
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The "Smart Delivery" logo
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Xbox FPS Boost logo.svg
The FPS Boost logo
See also
In Spanish: Xbox Series X y Series S para niños
