The Xbox Series S is an affordable entry-level gaming console

The Xbox Series S offers higher frame rates, a fast processor and all this at a highly attractive price, making it a worthy entry-level console

The Xbox Series S has a lot going for it. With a height of 27.5 cm, a depth of 15.1 cm and a width of merely 6.5 cm, it is the smallest Xbox ever made. These compact dimensions mean that it can be easily placed next to a TV or a gaming monitor without eating up much space. Another unique structural advantage offered by the Series S is its ability to be placed both vertically and horizontally.

And it’s quite a looker as well, which means it will visually complement the TV or the gaming monitor. Priced at Rs 34,990, the Xbox Series S is an affordable gaming console which is good for beginners but not for power users.

The right package for beginners

Talking about features, the Xbox Series S comes with three ports: a USB 3.1 Gen 1, an HDMI 2.1 out, an Ethernet port, along with a storage expansion slot. Except for one USB port on the front, all others, along with the storage card slot are placed at the back. The rear ports are easily accessible, owing to the smart dotted texture design next to the ports.

However, the Series S does away with USB-C ports, which might be a deal breaker for those who have supporting display and accessories. Also missing from the hardware list is a disc drive, which means players will not be able to use any previously purchased Xbox game discs. It is a digital only model with built-in Xbox Store to purchase and download digital versions of a game.

The game controller on the Series S however, has some goodies in store, as it offers a substantial improvement over the previous generation. The game controller features an improved D-pad, texture on the triggers and bumpers button for better grip and a new share button for the quick screenshot option. The USB-C port for wired connectivity and battery charging is also a useful addition, but the Series S has non-rechargeable AA batteries. This means players cannot use USB-C cable to use the controller without batteries.

High-speed gaming on a budget

The Xbox Series S comes with a Microsoft Zen 2 architecture-based octa-core processor, capable of hitting up to 3.6GHz operating frequency. The processor is paired with 10GB GDDR6 RAM and 512GB custom-built NVME SSD. Visuals are handled by RDNA 2 graphic chip, capable of rendering up to four-teraflop per second (TFLOPS).

The new console packs in a capable package for playing games at 1080p resolution and supports up to 1440p resolution. However, there currently are few gaming titles that natively support this resolution. The Xbox Series S, connected with a 4K screen, can upscale 1080p content to 4K resolution, which does not deliver the same experience as games with native 4K resolution support.

Want more? The Xbox Series S support 120 frames-per-second (FPS) gaming and it manages to hit the numbers in supported games like ‘Gears 5’. It has a quick-resume function which lets the play be resumed from where a player left off in any of the games last played. Overall, the new Series S ticks most of the boxes for an affordable console and for gamers on a budget, it can be smart option.