It was June 2019 when Microsoft first teased Project Scarlett, its next-generation gaming console. In the coming 16 months, everything about the device was unveiled, from the Xbox Series X name to the design. There"s even a smaller, less powerful variant called the Xbox Series S.
But now, the Xbox Series X is here. It"s the most powerful gaming console in the world, with a 12TFLOP GPU that comes with 16GB GDDR6 memory, and an octa-core AMD Zen 2 CPU. It also has an SSD for the first time, so games load a lot faster.
Air intake comes in the bottom and out the top. As you can see, there"s a fan under that grid, and it spins up when you turn on the console.
There"s also a new controller, as you can see. There"s a share button that"s been added. The D-pad has changed as well to be more like the Elite controller. And of course, it has a USB Type-C port now instead of micro-USB.
You can, of course, lay it on its side, but you can"t detach the base. It does give it this assymetrical look when it"s placed in that orientation. It"s a shame too, because this thing feels big. If you"re not used to storing your console vertically, you probably won"t want to start with this 301mm-tall device. Microsoft actually gave me a choice between the Series X and the Series S, and I chose the Series X for several reasons, the biggest one being that I thought that would make for a more interesting review. But if I buy one, it"s probably going to be the Series S, just because it"s more manageable.
Aside from gaming at 4K 120fps, this beast of a console has other nice features. For example, a feature called Quick Resume can let you pick up right where you left off, even if your console was powered down. There"s also Smart Delivery, which automatically delivers the best version of a game for your console.
Check out the unboxing video below: