Microsoft announced most details regarding its next-gen Xbox consoles a few weeks ago. While the pre-orders are now live for the consoles, no one has officially received a physical unit yet. However, Microsoft has sent out non-functional prototypes to popular tech YouTubers who review such products. Just like every other technological product, it’s a market strategy to help people decide which product to buy.

Marques Brownlee is a famous tech review YouTuber. He recently got his hands on both the Series X and the Series S model of the Xbox. Since the consoles were without the computing hardware, he reviewed the design.

Xbox Series X

Series X is the flagship model and it will retail for $499. The console comes in a matte black finish and looks like a simple, plain cuboid. It can be placed both horizontally and vertically, as it has nubs for the same. However, the main ventilation fan is placed on the top. The grill covering the top is also black with a green highlight. Although the highlight looks like lighting, it’s actually paint.

At the front is the Xbox logo, which also functions as the power button. Additionally, there is a disk drive and its eject button, a USB port for the controller, and the connect button for wireless controllers.

The back of the console features 2 USB ports, one ethernet port, one HDMI port, and a slot for memory expansion. It also has a few more grills for ventilation.

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Xbox Series S

The Series S is a much smaller device and has been dubbed as the smallest Xbox ever. The console, which will retail for $399, comes in a matte white finish with a black circular ventilation grill in the front. It’s slimmer than the Series X and is missing the optical drive.

Users can place the console both horizontally and vertically since the device features nubs for the same. However, it is recommended users place it horizontally since placing it vertically would cover one of the ventilation grills.

In the front, the Series S has just the circular ventilation grill while it features the power button on the side, again as the Xbox logo. It also has a USB port and a connect button for wired and wireless controllers.

At the back, the Series S has similar outlets as the Series X. It features 2 USB ports, one ethernet port, one HDMI port, a slot for memory expansion, and a small ventilation grill.

Comparision

While both the models look simple and could fit in with most of the interior designs, Marques thinks that the Series S looks “sleek and modern.” He further remarked, “People don’t want an alien spaceship looking thing.”

Apart from the design, Marques also has doubts about Microsoft’s market strategy and thinks it’s worth putting in the extra two hundred bucks for the performance upgrade Series X has to offer.