The 5 coolest details we just learned about Microsoft's ambitious next-gen game console, the Xbox Series X
1. Fast-loading games due to SSD.
"Xbox Series X will be our fastest, most powerful console ever and set a new bar for performance, speed and compatibility," Xbox leader Phil Spencer declared in December when the console's design and name were revealed at the 2019 Game Awards.
Microsoft is making good on that promise in a series of new videos that demonstrate the Xbox Series X in action. Two videos were produced by Microsoft, but the rest come from two independent producers: YouTube creator Austin Evans and Eurogamer's tech-centric division Digital Foundry.
In the videos, load times for games are demonstrated that dramatically cut down on the usual wait. That's largely due to the use of a solid state drive — an "SSD" — that runs much faster than a traditional hard disc drive (HDD). "We have reached the upper limits of traditional rotational drive performance," a blog post from Microsoft published on Monday said, "so the team knew they needed to invest in SSD level I/O speeds to deliver the quality of experience they aspired to with Xbox Series X."
In short: Microsoft put an SSD in the Xbox Series X specifically to deliver faster performance.
The impact it has on loading times alone is noticeable, as seen in this demonstration video:
2. Expandable storage with a crazy memory unit.
The Xbox Series X has 1TB of internal storage.
That sounds like a lot of storage! And it sort of is ... until you start downloading games that clock in around 100GB apiece. There are current-generation games with larger footprints than that, and game sizes are only expected to grow on next-gen consoles.
So, Microsoft is collaborating with Seagate on expandable storage (seen above). A port on the back of the console enables users to easily slap in an extra 1TB of storage in case they're looking to add more. Presumably Seagate could offer larger SSD cards at some point, but the company isn't saying just yet — nor is Seagate providing pricing or release date details.
Of note: The Series X will support standard external storage, but it can't play Xbox Series X games directly from anything other than the internal SSD or the proprietary one (it can still play Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox games from non-proprietary storage, like external hard drives).
3. Multiple games running at once.
When the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 launched in 2013, they both ushered in a new feature: The concept known as "quick resume," which allowed players to pause a game, turn off the console, and return to exactly where they left off later on.
With the Series X, Microsoft is advancing the concept by adding the ability for multiple games to be suspended in place and swapped between. The console can even receive outright updates and still retain your place in a game.
"Since game states will be stored directly in the system's SSD, they'll even persist after you turn off the console, unplug it entirely, or even take a system update," Microsoft's blog post said. "One of the testers on the team unplugged his console for a week, then took an update, and was still able to continue right where he left off without so much as a loading screen."
Check out multiple games running at once in this video demo:
4. The operating system appears to run much faster, and also appears unchanged from the Xbox One's.
During Austin Evans' extensive hands-on with the Series X, he demonstrates the ability to jump between games (the aforementioned "Quick Resume" feature).
In the video, Evans clarifies that he is playing "on this actual Series X" hooked up to the TV. Then he proceeds to jump from game to game using the Quick Resume feature. What's most interesting, though, is the user interface — it's the same menu as the current Xbox One's, albeit much faster and more responsive.
That same menu is shown in videos from Digital Foundry and Microsoft itself, which tells us that the operating system is unlikely to change much — if at all — from the current generation Xbox to the next.
5. A new controller with a smart new d-pad.
The latest version of the Xbox gamepad looks like an evolution of the current series of Xbox One gamepad designs, incorporating elements of the standard and Elite controllers.
The button placement and thumbsticks are largely unchanged, but the d-pad is getting a major alteration that looks almost exactly like the Xbox One Elite d-pad. The port on top is also getting updated to the new standard, USB C.
One major aspect going unchanged for the worse: The gamepad will still require AA batteries — or a rechargeable kit that's sold separately. It's a bizarre choice given that Sony's PlayStation gamepads have used rechargeable internal batteries for over 10 years.
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