The Xbox One S: A Look Inside and First Impressions
We're back with another video, this time taking a peek inside the newly released One S console from Microsoft. As we took a look at the exterior of the console in our previous video, it's interesting to see how the internal components compare.
Upon removing the warranty void sticker and working out the plastic piece on the bottom, we were able to gain access to the console's interior. The first thing that struck us was the significant imbalance of weight within the device. It's clear that a substantial amount of the weight is concentrated in this area, which could have implications for the console's overall design and ergonomics.
As we made our way deeper into the console, we noticed a new metal piece covering where the disc drive used to be. This section seemed to indicate that Microsoft had removed the disc drive from the One S to save costs, and instead, opted to focus on other aspects of the console's design. The presence of this section also led us to wonder why they chose not to use the space more creatively.
A closer examination of the internal components revealed that the One S retained many of the same parts as its predecessor, including the hard drive, power supply, and fan. However, with the removal of the disc drive, the console's layout has been altered slightly. The addition of a new SATA port on the motherboard is likely intended to accommodate future storage upgrades or other accessories.
One interesting question that arises from this design decision is whether it would be possible to install an external Blu-ray player into the One S. We discovered that while there is a SATA cable and power available, the proprietary pent-out connector makes it unlikely that a non-official accessory could be used.
The software on the One S appears to be largely unchanged from its predecessor, with no significant updates or additions. However, one notable feature is the inclusion of 4K Netflix support, which should provide improved viewing experiences for users. Additionally, the console still supports online gaming and other features that make it a viable option for those looking for a cost-effective alternative to more expensive consoles.
In terms of form factor, the One S takes a significant departure from its predecessor in one key area: size. While some may have hoped that Microsoft could have leveraged the removal of the disc drive to create a slimmer, more compact console, it seems that the company opted for a more cost-effective approach instead. This decision is likely driven by the desire to reduce production costs and pass those savings on to consumers.
Ultimately, whether or not the One S represents a good value will depend on the price point at which it's released. If Microsoft can maintain its pricing strategy from the Xbox One, with a lower MSRP than the all-digital version, then this could be an attractive option for those looking for a cost-effective console experience. However, if the One S is priced higher than the all-digital Xbox One, then it may struggle to compete in the market.
For now, we'll have to wait and see how the One S performs in the real world, with its reduced size and lower cost making it an intriguing option for those looking for a budget-friendly console experience.
WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey guys, this is Austin.It's always an excitingday when our friendsat Microsoft drop off a brand new consoleand this, well this is aa technically all new console.This is the Xbox OneS All Digital version.Sadly they didn't go withmy title of the Xbox 1Dbut as you can see here,this Xbox has exactlyzero disc drives of any kind.It's actually all over thebox, I mean, they've got it,disc-free gaming, theyhave a little icon here.I mean, even when you goto open it up there's apiece of tape saying disc-free game play,aka please don't buy thisand return it to the storewhen you realize that youcan't put your discs in it.Now without a disc drive youcannot do any physical gameson the Xbox One S.You are going to need torely on downloading themwhich to be fair I think alot of people do these days.I know ever since the XboxOne and the PS4 came out,I pretty much entirelyswitched over to buyingthem digitally.Now there was the PSP Go,what, ten years ago now?Which was a similar conceptbut that was a little bittoo far ahead of it's time.I think these days a lotmore people are interestedin the idea of justdownloading your games.It's much easier to moveacross different platformsand especially a lot of thegames these days on Xboxalso do work on theWindows PC side of thingsas long as you don't minddealing with the, uh,I don't want to say games for Windows.The Microsoft Store?What do they call it?And I actually willmention that even thoughthis obviously looks very,very similar to the One S,it is not replacing it in the line.You will continue to be ableto buy the One S, the One X,and you will also havethe One S Digital Edition.All Digital Edition.Well, the very first thingI can notice, Its lighterwhich I guess makes sense that there's notan Ultra HD blu-ray player inside.And here is the console itself.Now it looks very similar,except itIt looks so weird.Like, it's just, it'sthe exact same thing.In fact, let me actually grab a One S.I mean, if you put these two side by sideit is completely identical looking.So I mean all of the ventsare the same on the side,you've got the same topvent, I mean there's reallyno difference in any wayexcept that they justchanged out that piece of plastic here.Now one perk to buyingthe all digital version isthat you actually get somepretty decent included games.So there's a copy of Forza Horizon 3,we have Sea of Thieves andwe also have Minecraft.Now this is all great, butthe One S All Digital Editiondoes not exist in a vacuumbecause it is being soldalongside the One S, ithas to compete with that.So the real problem here is price.The all digital editioncosts 250 dollars MSRPwhich sounds good consideringthat that is 50 dollars lessthan the standard version of the One S.However, it does not take muchsearching to find a lot ofOne S's well below that on Amazon.For example, there's onethat is 220, even 230 witha game that's presold likeBattlefield 1 included.That, that's a little bit of a problem.By the way, if you want these game codes,feel free to go for it,although you better be fast.If you can buy a One S forthe same price or cheaper thanthe all digital version, then do it.I mean it's literally theexact same thing exceptit has an ultra HD blu-ray drive.Now there's a lot of peopleI think which will bevery happy to use the alldigital version, right?I mean, if you're not usingdiscs, if you're not watchingblu-rays and stuff thenthere really is no advantageto having that extra 50dollar disc drive included.But the price is reallywhere it comes down, right?I mean, if you don't getthis at a cheaper pricethan the One S, it is acompletely ridiculous thingto ever purchase.So if you're buying an Xbox One today,these are your three options.So starting out with a250 dollar price tag isthe Xbox One S All Digital.Now just like with the One S,which comes in at 300 dollars,it does support 4k videoeven though the gaming sideof things is definitely alittle more on the 1080p sideof the resolution, butbesides the blu-ray drivewhich is of course missingon the all digital version,these are completely identical.Ports, power, performance,all that kind of stuff.Now, if you step up overto the Xbox One X, it alsodoes have the ultra HDblu-ray drive, 4k supportand all that kind of thing,but the main difference hereis that this is a muchmore powerful console.One X is able to play mostgames at a very easy 4kand especially with gamessuch as Red Dead Redemption,when you put these consoles side by side,the One X looks so, so much better.But, then again it's likedouble the price, so.So from what I've beentold, the internals of theall digital version areessentially the same as the One S,mostly to keep costs down.But that doesn't mean thatI don't want to actuallysee this for myself.Now you may recall a videowe did when the One Sfirst came out where we tooka little peek on the inside.Now, I'm assuming it should bea pretty similar experience.Oh wow, its so imbalanced.Wow!Like all of the weight isdefinitely here, like thisThat's got to be hollow.So after removing ourwarranty's void sticker andworking out this littleplastic piece on bottom,we should be able to get it out.There we go.The same part that I got likefreaked out about last time.There we go.So after moving a bunch ofscrews, I think the caseshould just come away now.HeyOkay, alright.So that's enough piecesof Xbox for one day.Well I guess, here's the first difference.There's obviously a newmetal piece here to cover upwhere the disc drive used to be.Something tells me Microsoft,they didn't want youto be looking at this.Like, no, no, no.We're, uh, we're not hiding anything here.Alright, now with that,yep, okay.Well thatI wonder where the disc drive used to be?Just a little bracket hereand that's literally it.So we still see the sameone terabyte hard drivefrom before.You have the internal powersupply as well as the fan.But where there used to be a disc drive,no disc drive.So we have fan number one,power supply number three,hard drive number four,and disc drive number two.Um, yeah.So to be fair I don't really want to bethat mean on Microsoft.There not trying to hide whatthey're doing here at all.This is a One S that theyremoved the disc drive for,and they've essentiallypassed that savings on to you.Now sure, would I haveliked to have seen adifferent form factor?I mean, with this kind ofempty space they could havevery easily made thissomething, you know, even ifyou just rotate the harddrive, I mean, it would've beenat least a little bit smaller.But realistically, I mean,what they're doing here is nottrying to make the smallest Xbox they can.What they're trying to do ismake the cheapest one possible.When you consider thatby removing that Ultra HDblu-ray drive and you're losing50 dollars from the price,that kind of adds up, I mean,they're pretty much justpassing it right on to you.Interesting, so there is anadditional SATA port here on theboard, which makes sensebecause they didn't change it.I wonder if you could installyour own blu-ray drive?I mean, theoretically, Iwould think it would work.Oh, you could try toinstall another hard drive.I mean, there's definitely room for it.You would have to come upwith your own mount but,theoretically, I mean,with that SATA port.But, do you know what, do youthink this is actually gonnarecognize a second internal hard drive?I don't think it will.Okay, so actually I don'tthink a second hard drivewill work.So you do have the SATAcable and you have the power,but it's a proprietary pentout which means that not onlycan you not use another OneS cable, you'd essentiallyhave to make your own.Now the software, nothingseems to be all that differentbut I'm curious, can I actuallyinstall the blue-ray player?Oh I can actually do it.It says its qued up.What happens if we openup the blue-ray player?OhOkay, alright.Well you know, its worth the shot right?Like I said before, you shouldexpect the exact same levelof performance from the One Sas you get on the all digitaledition.That means that most games aregoing running between 720 and1080.Its not going to look as niceas the One S but you do getthe same advantages of beingable to play like 4k netflixand what not.Or and you also can die inCompet, that's still possible.The Xbox One as all digitalversion is an interestingconsole.There's a big part of me thatwishes that this was a leasta little bit of a differentform factor that they tookadvantage of the lack of discspace to kind of shrink it.But I understand what theywere going for in here.This is not a slim versionof the console, this is not areplacement for the One S.This is very simply a cheaperversion of the Xbox Onethat already have.If this is the same kind ofprice that the xbox one hasand it lands up being 200dollars or less, I think its areally compelling deal.However if its 250 dollarsand the One S is cheaper thanthat, yeah good luck with that.
