Xbox One X: A surprising amount of power in a very small box
The 4K gaming-capable Xbox One X just might be the thing that lifts Microsoft out of its gaming console rut. Before the Xbox One even released there was that disastrous E3 2013, with news of an always-online console, Sony’s price coup, and Don Mattrick out there talking about people using Xbox 360s on nuclear submarines. Microsoft never really recovered, branded by fanboys as being underpowered compared to the PlayStation 4, and with each controversy over the Kinect or resolution upscaling or what have you, the Xbox’s hole only got deeper.
The Xbox One X could fill in that hole a little. For the first time since 2005, Microsoft has the most powerful gaming console on the market—powerful enough that it surprised even me, a devout PC gamer.
This little box packs some power.
Comparing 2013’s Xbox One to the Xbox One X.
SIZING DOWN
And the Xbox One X is little. That’s as good a place as any to start this review, because it’s a compliment I would never pay to the original Xbox One and its vintage VCR aesthetic.
A quick aside: We’ll be comparing the Xbox One X to both the original Xbox One and 2016’s Xbox One S in this review. Some of the Xbox One X’s “new” features debuted on the S last year, such as HDR support, but because that was more of a placeholder model and provided less incentive to upgrade it only makes sense to cover them again here.
The Xbox One X isn’t necessarily more eye-catching—it still has that “generic cable box” look to it in my opinion. I wish Microsoft had opted to reuse (or save) the more vibrant white-and-black color scheme from last year’s Xbox One S.
It’s compact, though. Measuring 11.8 x 9.4 x 2.4 inches, the Xbox One X is drastically smaller than the launch Xbox One (13.1 x 10.8 x 3.1 inches) and only a hair larger than the slimmer S model (11.5 x 9 x 2.5 inches). Pretty incredible, considering the X’s more powerful hardware. Even better: Like the S, the Xbox One X packs the power supply inside the case. Say goodbye to that launch Xbox One and its enormous power brick. The X has an unadorned 5-foot power cord.
Despite being shrunk down, it’s also quieter. It’s hard for me to do
