In Pictures: Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles

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Note: This feature was first published on 30 Oct 2020.

Microsoft's next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have landed in our game test labs. We'll be taking both consoles through the paces in the next few days but here's a quick look of both consoles in the skins.

If you lost track, both these new consoles will be available in retail from 10th November and start at a price of just S$459.

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First, here's the Xbox Series X. It's actually much smaller than I thought, and the boxy-like look retains the same design DNA as the Xbox One X. In most product shots that Microsoft has shown, the Xbox Series X is always placed upright. It can be placed horizontally too, as shown.

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In fact, the Xbox Series X looks best when placed vertically. Here's a shot of the base with a rubber ring around it to prevent slippage. The thint gap between it and the ground the console sits on allows for air to flow in.

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There's a small little easter egg to be found too.

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A massive custom cooling fan system cools the AMD-powered (custom Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU)  console just below the vents here. But if you suffer from Trypophobia...

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Here's a view of the back. Pretty standard ports, but with the addition of the Storage Expansion port for additional SSD storage. At the moment, only Seagate has announced a 1TB Storage Expansion Card for the Xbox Series X. And they don't come cheap. We've covered more information about the usability aspects of this expansion card and other details here.

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There were fears that the Xbox Series X could only be placed vertically but as you can see, there are rubber feet on all four ends of the console should you choose to place it in a more traditional manner.

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Next, we have the Xbox Series S. A digital-only console that's also a scaled-down version of its more powerful sibling. The console runs games at up to 1440p resolution (versus up to 8K resolution on the Xbox Series X) and you'd be forgiven for mistaking this as a speaker or a turntable.

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Want to set it up straight? No problem. I'll be wary though - it will topple easily if you aren't careful.

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The ports at the rear are similar to the Xbox Series X. Microsoft has also added Braille below each port, which I thought was a very nice touch.

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No it's not a speaker. It's the console's heat ventilation to push heat out from the inside.

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The Xbox Series S console is also littered with ventilation holes at the base and sides to cool the system efficiently - hopefully it won't suffer a repeat of the Xbox 360's infamous "Red Ring of Death (RROD)".

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Like I mentioned earlier, both consoles aren't big by any measure. In fact, it's a heck lot smaller than the PlayStation 5. I've stacked it up here with the Xbox One X console to give some context to the new consoles' size.

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Both consoles come with controllers that matches their respective colours.

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Design and ergonomics wise, they look almost identical to the Xbox One controllers. The triggers now come with textured surfaces for better grip and are adaptive too. The latter feature is a game experience changer, allowing for more feedback going straight into your hands. So if a developer wants a gun to feel like it's jammed, then they can do that.

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One key difference between the Series X and S console; each console comes bundled with different HDMI cable. Because the Xbox Series X can support 4K@120Hz, it requires the newer HDMI 2.1 cable (or Ultra Highspeed). Conversely, because the Xbox Series S does not, it comes bundled with a more standard HDMI 2.0 (Highspeed) instead. Your TV will have to support HDMI 2.1 too if you want to make the most out of the Xbox Series X.

The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will launch in 10 November at S$699 and $459 respectively. Stay tuned to our impressions next week.