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00:00Alright, what's up? MKBHD here. And along with all the other stuff that's happening
00:15in Tech-tember and Tech-tober, 2020 is also a new console release year for both the big
00:23ones. So all the hype and fanfare and excitement that comes from all that is also upon us now.
00:29I figured since I did do a first look and impressions at the PS5 when we got that announcement
00:35and everything, it's only fair that I also take a look at these guys too, the new Xboxes.
00:41And they are very box-like. So Microsoft sent over these two new Xboxes without the guts
00:48in them. And we know all the pricing and availability, which is actually more than we knew about the
00:52PlayStation during that video. So this, according to Microsoft, is final hardware, final materials,
00:59final design, all that stuff, just without the computer stuff inside. So Xbox Series
01:04X will be $499, and Xbox Series S will be $299, both coming November 10th. And this
01:13is a bit of a different strategy from what Sony's doing with the PS5. So we just got
01:17the PlayStation prices as well. For them, it's $399 for the digital-only version with
01:22no optical drive and $499 for the full PS5. And other than the drive, there's no real
01:27differences between these two consoles. But with the two different new Xboxes here from
01:32Microsoft, as you can probably imagine, it's a bit of a different strategy here for them.
01:36To me, a more interesting launch strategy. So here's a high-quality first look at these.
01:41I wanted to show them next to each other, first of all, with some scale so we can understand
01:45how ridiculously small both of them are, which is sweet. But let's start with the Xbox Series
01:50X. So this is the flagship. It's the matte black box, the main console. If I'm being
01:56honest, it does look pretty plain, but that's what a lot of people want under their TVs.
01:59That's why a lot of people don't want an alien spaceship-looking thing. But yeah,
02:04matte black everything here, and I like it with just the slightest hint of green up here in the
02:10top. I think a lot of people first saw that and thought it was a light. Would have been cool if
02:14it was lights, but it's not. It's just paint, but it is a pretty cool paint pattern inside the holes
02:18here. Also, side note, no, this doesn't trigger my trypophobia, but if it does for you, you
02:24probably shouldn't get one. You know how sometimes the holes in some weird things can be a little
02:28weird looking. I don't know. Anyway. Okay. So as far as the horizontal versus vertical debate,
02:34I think the way this console is meant to be oriented is vertical just because it does have
02:38one giant fan here at the top, hot air rises, and so that fan spins and exhausts hot air at the top,
02:43kind of like the trashcan Mac Pro from back in the day, 2013. But it also can technically be
02:50on its side like this. It does have a little nubs at the bottom. So if you want to fit it under a TV
02:55or inside a little box, you've got your TV sitting on, it can do that too. So horizontal or vertical,
03:00it's up to you. Also all the labeling for the ports on the back are sideways as well. So it's
03:04totally fine being sideways. Either way, it's still just going to look like a plain black box.
03:09So optical drive on the front with the eject button, the Xbox logo is still the power button
03:14and down at the corner at the front is the USB port for controller charging and the controller
03:18sync button for wireless controllers. Then around the back, it's giving me two USB ports,
03:22an ethernet port, storage expansion port, and HDMI. And there's some more ventilation all across the
03:28back here, like a cheese grater, and even one more slot up here near the top. And that's about
03:33what we expected. And we'll get to what's inside in a second. So then Xbox Series S here is a matte
03:40white with a black circular ventilation grill. And honestly, I really like the look of this one
03:47here. This is probably my favorite looking out of all the new consoles. And this one's been a
03:51little more polarizing. We're not sure yet how well this will stay white over time. Will it yellow a
03:57bit or get dirty? I don't know, but I just think this one looks cleaner and more modern. Maybe it's
04:02just me. And then again, two possible orientations here. This one is, it appears intended to be
04:08sideways like this because again, the ventilation is coming out the top. And when we took it apart
04:13a little bit, I actually opened the bottom and it looks like the CPU and the air cooler are right
04:18underneath this. So this is again, hot air rising ventilation goes at the top like that, but it does
04:23have the nubs at the bottom. So it can sit up vertical and look like this little monolith that
04:27it is. There's also plenty of other ventilation on each side with this one, plenty of holes.
04:33And then on the back, there's ethernet, two USB ports, HDMI, and a storage expansion port again.
04:39And I can't stress how small this console is. It's the footprint is small. It's going to fit
04:44under a TV easily. Obviously there's no disc drive here, so it saves a lot of volume there.
04:49But yeah, if it weren't for the stuff I'm about to tell you, I would want to grab this pretty much
04:55instantly over the Series X. But as you may imagine, there's more to it than just the looks.
05:00There are different computers inside of each of these. Microsoft is aiming to deliver the same
05:06exact identical experience, but at two different resolutions. And that's why there's different
05:11computers required to achieve each. So Xbox Series X will deliver 120 frames per second at 4k,
05:18while the white Xbox Series S will achieve 120 frames per second at 1440p. And that is what
05:26they're hoping to accomplish. That's the difference here. So the rest of the experience will all be
05:30identical. They'll both have the same eight core CPU. They both have ray tracing. They both do
05:35variable refresh rate up to 120 FPS, but graphically, of course, less power is needed
05:40to hit 1440p. So the Series S has less graphical power, a different GPU, and it also only has 10
05:46gigs of Ram instead of 16. So my take is for most people who don't have a 4k TV at the moment,
05:53the $300 Xbox Series S is going to be fine. Again, 120 FPS. I think the frame rate, as we can all
05:59agree in gaming is more important. Now I love myself a crispy screen. Of course, I'm a different
06:04customer, but if you can get it plugged into a high refresh rate monitor, it's going to look
06:09amazing. It's almost as portable as a laptop. So maybe not bringing it everywhere like a laptop,
06:14but the idea is FPS over resolution. And also most people still don't have a 4k TV. But for
06:20people like me who also really love resolution, who have a 4k TV already, or who think they might
06:26get a 4k TV in the next three, four or five years, when you have these consoles, you're probably
06:32going to want to splurge for the Series X and then it will do 4k also. And then last but not
06:37least, the Series X has one terabyte of storage and the Series S has half a terabyte of storage.
06:43Again, they're both expandable via those ports I showed you, but something to keep in mind if
06:47you're getting the digital only version. So yeah, the strategy of offering a cheaper Xbox undercutting
06:53all of the currently available PlayStations, at least at launch anyway, is a really interesting
06:58one. But then again, I also I wonder how many people will actually buy the cheaper one over the
07:04more expensive one. Because when you divide out the cost of the console over the three, four,
07:10five years, you'll probably have it. It's probably not that big a deal to just go for the 200 extra
07:16dollars and have the future proof console. So I don't know. I like the digital only one. I like
07:21the look. I like I think it's sleek. But let me know what you think in the comment section below
07:24which one you would get or if you're in PlayStation camp like I have been. I'm curious. Anyway, that's
07:30basically it. Thanks for watching. Also, let me know what you think of these shorter impression
07:35style videos on stuff like this in the comments below. I'll be hanging out down there. Okay,
07:40thanks for watching. Catch you guys in the next one. Peace.