Xbox Series X, Series S to launch on November 10

Microsoft announces its next-generation of gaming consoles, Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S.

The Xbox Series X is powered with an octa-core AMD Zen 2 processor with a clock speed of up to 3.8 GHz and is mated to an AMD RDNA2 graphics card with 52 CUs running at 1.825 GHz. It is equipped from 6GB, 10GB, to 16GB of GDDR6 of RAM, 1TB of PCle Gen 4 NVMe of SSD storage, expandable storage up to 1TB, and supports 4K at 60 FPS gaming with an option to go as high as 120FPS. The console also features backward compatibility for up to four generations, and a 4K UHD Blu-ray disc drive.

Meanwhile, the more affordable Series S is much slimmer than its older sibling. Running on the same Xbox Velocity Architecture, the Series S is equipped with the same AMD Zen 2 processor with a slightly lower clock speed at 3.6GHz. Inside is an AMD Zen 2 processor with eight cores and 20 CUs running at 1.565 GHz. It is available in either 2GB, 8GB, and 10GB of GDDR6 RAM, 512GB of PCle Gen 4 NVMe of SSD storage, and renders game to 1440p at 60fps which can extend to 120fps. Unlike the premium variant, the Series S does not have a disc drive. It will also support all the same next-gen features from Series X, including backward compatibility for games, expandable storage up to 1TB, HDMI 2.1, DirectX Raytracing and Variable Rate Shading, and Spatial Sound on Dolby Atmos, and Dolby Vision feature for streaming services.

By 2021, both consoles will get an update for Dolby Vision.

Along with the announcement is the expansion of the Xbox All Access program which features a choice between an Xbox Series X or Series S, and 2 years of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for USD 24.99 per month to select retailers in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, New Zealand, Norway,  Poland, South Korea, Sweden,  United Kingdom, and the United States. The list of markets will be expanded next year.

The Xbox Series S is priced at USD 299 while the Xbox Series X retails at USD 499. Both will be available globally on November 10, 2020. Pre-orders will start worldwide on September 22, 2020.