Looks
The original Xbox One looked like a sort of mid-70s prototype VHS video recorder – all bulk and black plastic. Xbox One S is 40% smaller, and the “robot white” colour scheme is certainly more striking. The matt surface (which is artfully dotted with tiny holes to help reduce internal heat) won’t be as prone to scratches. You can also store the machine vertically or horizontally, which is a useful feature if you’re short on space. It just looks a heck of a lot better. Best of all, the power supply unit is built in, so there’s no great big brick between the console and the plug socket. Some have noticed a slight increase in system noise as a result (3db according to Eurogamer), but we didn’t when we ran both machines one after the other.Most of the inputs are the same, although there’s no USB port on the left side now (there are two at the rear), and there’s an added IR blaster, so you can use your Xbox One S to configure and control your TV and audio receiver. The Kinect port has been removed from the console altogether, and although you can send off for an adaptor if you still want to use one, this would suggest Microsoft has finally abandoned its infamous motion controller.
Performance
The technical specifications of the Xbox One S are largely the same as its predecessor, although there is one relatively significant tweak: the graphics processing unit now runs at 914MHz, up from 853MHz, a 7.1% increase in performance. This is essentially to allow support for demanding HDR video effects (see below), but it will also mean that some games get a slight boost in frame rate. It won’t be much, and it’ll only be titles where there’s heavy load on the GPU rather than CPU (so if it’s physics or AI calculations slowing things down, there will be no uplift), but it’s there.4K features
Xbox One S supports 4K Ultra HD streaming and playback (via a system update and a Blu-ray app that needs to be downloaded for free from the online store). This means it can play both Ultra HD Blu-ray discs and streamed 4K content from services such as Netflix. In theory, both Xbox One and PS4 can output in 4K, but right now they don’t support HDMI 2.0, so can’t carry a full 4K resolution image at more than 30 frames-per-second. Xbox One S also supports High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology, which adds depth to colours and contrast, providing a richer image. Several games will support this feature later in the year.Microsoft has a nice, straightforward guide on its Xbox Wire site explaining what all this 4K stuff means if it’s a bit unclear – which it is, because this is still very new and there are a lot of standards and technologies being compressed into the unwieldy phrase, 4K Ultra HD. Helpfully, the Xbox One S itself comes with a concise 4K setup procedure, which lets you tweak your TV settings to get the most out of the technology, and will also assess your television’s 4K and HDR capabilities.
After we went through that process (and manually switched HDR on, because our TV – a Samsung UE55KS7000 – decided to have it switched off by default) we tested the Xbox One S with a copy of X-Men: Days of Future Past. It is pretty startling, especially in darker moments, when you get much more detail than standard HD resolutions, and CGI effects look absolutely beautiful.
The problem is, there’s not much content right now. There are no Xbox One games with HDR until later in the year when Forza Horizon 3 and Gears of War 4 arrive. Netflix has a smattering of 4K content, but you’ll have to up your subscription to £8.99 a month to watch the likes of Stranger Things and House of Cards in Ultra HD. However, the Xbox One S does promise to upscale all your current Xbox One titles to make better use of 4K resolution screens, although the perceivable results will vary from title to title, TV to TV and person to person.
source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/04/xbox-one-s-review-beautiful-upgrade-but-only-for-4k-fanatics
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