There are three new Xbox consoles this year, but none are really new. Instead of the leaked Xbox Brooklin complete refresh of the Series X – there are three slightly different versions of the existing Series S and Series X.
The all-digital Series S has been upgraded with 1TB of storage, and there’s two new versions of the Series X – a special edition ‘galaxy black’ version with 2TB of storage and this – a 1TB ‘robot white’ version (that’s the same amount of storage as the original black model). A white Xbox Series X was rumored for years before the reveal of this model earlier in the year.
It has another change, too, notably that the disc drive has disappeared. So like the Series S, this edition of the Series X points to a future dependent on Xbox Game Pass. Is that a bad thing? I used to think so, but Game Pass has changed my mind a little on that one. There’s a mind-boggling array of games to choose from.
The robot white finish is the same as on the Series S and older Xboxes like the Xbox One S and it would appear to suggest that a complete refresh of this generation of Xbox isn’t coming anytime soon. I do prefer it in white, largely because the original Xbox Series X seemed rather like a large black slab under your TV if you laid it on its side. I have been quite impressed how my previous-gen One S has also retained its white colour after seven years rather than yellowing; the fate of many a white device.
The insides of all the newly-launched consoles are identical to their four-year-old predecessors with the exception of the amount of storage (some reports have also suggested the Series X heatsink has changed to be more efficient, but we don’t know on that one yet).
And that’s going to make them seem a little aged during the coming year or two, especially when the mega-expensive PS5 Pro is launching rather soon.
An example of this is evident in our pictures – the Series X still uses USB-A on both front and rear with USB-C nowhere in sight. We saw from the slow adoption of USB-C into the Surface range that Microsoft tends to hold back on these things, but surely any hardware refresh of the Series X will have to come with USB-C.
We still think the cylindrical Xbox Brooklin – which was supposed to fully digital, too – could appear next year. Though surely it won’t be too many years before we get a true next-gen Xbox.
