Xbox Series S will be missing a key Xbox One X feature

Xbox Series S will be missing a cardinal Xbox One 10 feature

(Image credit: Microsoft)

It'due south unusual to have a new console that's less powerful than its predecessor, but in some ways, this could be true for the Xbox Series S. While Microsoft'due south inexpensive upcoming console sports impressive specs, it's still not designed to support 4K content, while the now-discontinued Xbox One X was. This has left some very sensible tech journalists to wonder: Could the Xbox Serial South run certain games merely as the Xbox One Ten did? The respond is, "probably not."

Information comes from hardware breakdown channel Digital Foundry, courtesy of Video Games Chronicle. In a reaction video to the Xbox Series S specs, John Linneman of Digital Foundry weighed in nigh how Xbox I Ten games might look on the less-powerful of Microsoft'due south two new consoles.

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"If y'all're playing an Xbox I game [on the Xbox Series South], information technology'due south not going to be the Xbox One X version of the game. Yous're not going to get the 360 4K backwards compatibility or things like that," he said.

The numbers would seem to support Linneman's assertion, as Digital Foundry editor Richard Leadbetter pointed out:

"I'grand not sure that's been officially confirmed, but basically, if y'all thin it through rationally, in that location's no other style it can be done," he said. "The Xbox 1 X has 9 GB of system retentiveness bachelor to titles. The Series South has 8 … It'south yet lower than the Xbox Ane Ten, so I think it's almost a foregone conclusion that the backwards compatibility will be drawing upon Xbox 1 S as opposed to Xbox One X."

Essentially, the Xbox One X was designed to run sure games at 4K resolution; the Xbox Serial S was not. Even though the Serial S is more powerful than the Xbox One X in most ways, it doesn't have the exact same specs, especially when it comes to RAM (probably).

While this is potentially disappointing news from a purely technical standpoint, information technology's hard to remember of a case where this might really devastate an end-user. Gamers who purchased an Xbox One X probable did so because of its powerful specs, and were willing to pay a higher price as a result. The Xbox Series S isn't actually meant for them; they'd probably go for a full-featured Xbox Series X instead.

Furthermore, the Xbox Series Southward volition still be backwards compatible with the exact same game library as the Xbox Series Ten; it's simply a matter of running (or non running) certain games in 4K, or with enhanced framerates or textures. Again, while this may be a dealbreaker to gamers who desire to push button their consoles to the limit, that's probably not the kind of player who'd purchase an Xbox Series S in the first place.

And so again, educated speculation isn't the same as confirmation from Microsoft, and the Xbox Series S is however pretty powerful, so who knows? The Xbox Serial S has already promised 4K upscaling, then Xbox One Ten functionality, or something like it, doesn't seem entirely out of the question.

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom'southward Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you tin can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.