The Microsoft Xbox One S will be released next month in India. Finally, the Redmond company has decided to make available the console which was announced more than a year ago in the US.
But it is still a bit sad that while the rest of the world awaits the release of the Xbox One X (Project Scorpio), we are just going to get the Xbox One S.
Anyway, it is a good thing that the One S is being released here. To recap the console's key features. The Xbox One S is powered by a 1.75GHz 9-core AMD Jaguar processor, with 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 914MHz AMD GPU. In comparison the PS4 Slim has a 1.6GHz 8-core Jaguar CPU with an 800MHz GPU and 8GB DDR5 RAM. But the One S supports 4K/HDR Blu-Ray, has 3 x USB 3.0 ports, HDMI input and output.
If you are wondering which console to buy, Xbox One S or the PS4 Slim. Here's my answer, go with the Xbox. Even though I'm a PS4 fan boy, I hate Sony primarily for its lack of support for older games. But, Microsoft offers backwards compatibility, which means you can play older games such as Red Dead Redemption on your Xbox One S, and modern games like Quantum Break, on the same console. And it supports 4K videos too. Also, Xbox games are much cheaper than PS4 games. So, this is definitely the best way to go.
You can pre-order the Microsoft One S from Amazon India or Flipkart. The Microsoft Xbox One S 500 GB has been priced at Rs. 29,990 in India, while the 1TB version has been priced at Rs. 34,990. Both versions come with three games bundled in it: Battlefield 1, Gears of War 4 and Forza Horizon 3.
This is where we feel Microsoft has got it wrong. The price is about $461, for a console which retails for $300 in the U.S (but with fewer bundled games). Still, we predict that this could force Sony to drop the PS4 price in India. Let's wait and watch.