The Xbox One X’s rear ports are identical to those on the Xbox One S. <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe more important comparison for the Xbox One X specs, and the one Microsoft would rather you focus on, is those of the PS4 Pro. Both were released midway through the last generation, and each aims for 4K gaming, so they are directly comparable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sony\u2019s system is a fairly competent competitor \u2013 its GPU has 36 compute units at 911Mhz that work in tandem with a 2.1GHz CPU and 8GB of GDDR5 memory. That memory runs into a bit of a bottleneck at the buffer, which is limited to 218GB\/s, but it still puts out around 4 Tflops of performance. Point, Microsoft.<\/p>\n
Where the Xbox One X’s specs falter is with the hard drive \u2013 a small 1TB drive that comes standard in every system. It\u2019s also non-negotiable, since the Xbox One is being phased out, and no 2TB model had emerged.<\/p>\n
This wouldn\u2019t be such a huge sticking point if we knew Microsoft wasn\u2019t capable of installing larger hard drives in its systems, but the existence of the 2TB Xbox One S proves that it is indeed possible and Microsoft willingly chose not to include one here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, what\u2019s the end-goal of all this extra horsepower if not a better gaming experience? Thankfully here we\u2019re happy to report that the Xbox One X performs exactly as advertised: Games look great across the board. Whether you\u2019re using a 1080p TV with the Xbox One X or playing in 4K HDR, games look fantastic on the most powerful console of the last generation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s break down each use case individually.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a 1080p TV owner, the Xbox One X will do something called supersampling to create better-looking images. Supersampling is a complex term but the basic idea is that the game renders itself in 4K thinking it\u2019s connected to a 4K screen, which means objects are rendered with four times the detail. All this data can\u2019t be displayed, because at the end it\u2019s still being shown on a 1080p TV with a set number of pixels on its display, but the resulting image is one that’s more detail-rich.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In practice that means images are going to look a bit sharper. Trees, branches and foliage in general won\u2019t look so jagged, for example, and basic fog on an Xbox One might become thicker and more realistic while using an Xbox One X.<\/p>\n
Once you see a game running in 1080p with supersampling it\u2019s very obvious that it looks better than a game running in standard 1080p. But if you\u2019re not the kind of person who takes a minute to smell the roses in games \u2013 the kind who can appreciate a fine edge on a shrub or a rich, dense fog in the morning \u2013 then Xbox One X isn\u2019t going to impress you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That is, unless you upgrade to a 4K HDR TV.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
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Is the Xbox One X one for your TV cabinet? <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOn a 4K HDR TV, the Xbox One X unleashes its full power. Games render at up to native 4K, offering offer four times the detail of regular 1080p. Better still, some of those games will have a wider array of color options thanks to a technology called high dynamic range or HDR. Skies look bluer, grass looks greener and colors drip from every scene. The results speak for themselves.<\/p>\n
But visual upgrades aren\u2019t the only type of upgrades the Xbox One X offers. The other is performance \u2013 i.e. the frames per second at which a game runs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll save you another long-winded explanation on the subject, but the basic idea here is that when scenes become really detail-rich and filled with a vast number of objects, the console becomes overwhelmed. Instead of being able to output, say, 60 frames per second, it drops down to 55 or even less. It was a big problem on the original Xbox One, but one that the Xbox One S seemed to do away with under all but the most extreme circumstances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Xbox One X tries its best to output games at 60 frames per second, a sort of golden number for the industry that matches the native refresh rate of most TVs and mainstream monitors. And while the results are noticeably better on Xbox One X, games still don\u2019t always hit that 60 frames per second number \u2013 there are occasional dropped frames and slow downs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So what are you to make of all this? Well, Enhanced for Xbox games do look better on an Xbox One X console, whether you\u2019re connected to a 1080p TV or not. Performance, also, is generally great on the console. Games don\u2019t run at a perfect 60 frames per second like you\u2019ll find on mid- to high-end gaming PCs, but most of the time it\u2019s great.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is why, really, you should consider a newer console like the Xbox Series S and Series X in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Gears of War 4’s graphics are elevated by the Xbox One X’s 4K visuals. <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOK, Enhanced for Xbox One X games look great and play great. But what exactly makes a game Enhanced for Xbox One X? How many of these games are there?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Microsoft itself hasn’t set a minimum standard for what constitutes an Enhanced for Xbox One X title but there are three broad categories that developers are using: enhanced 4K visual assets, HDR visual processing or higher frame rate. And just one of three will suffice.<\/p>\n
To that point, it\u2019s possible for a game to offer HDR or a 60 frames-per-second framerate, but not native 4K and vice versa. Developers can pick and choose which enhancements make sense for their games and roll with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To make matters all the more complicated, Microsoft\u2019s Xbox Chief, Phil Spencer, has gone on record saying that new games aren\u2019t necessarily required to support the new hardware, i.e. there was no mandate for developers to take advantage of the Xbox One X\u2019s capabilities.<\/p>\n
All of this would be more upsetting if developers didn’t embrace the Xbox One X like they have – but, thankfully, that hasn’t happened. These days, most games that are released have an Enhanced version associated with them. And that means there’s plenty to play on your Xbox One X.<\/p>\n
Xbox One X interface\u00a0<\/h2>\n Before we close out the review, we thought it’d be a good idea to examine the interface for the Xbox One.<\/p>\n
The Xbox One interface was previously a sort of mash-up of the Xbox 360 blade design and the Windows 10 block-and-pin-heavy design.\u00a0The latter still applies as of its 2020 update, and it makes navigating between games and apps reasonably straightforward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of its most unique features is turning the idea of pins \u2013 games or apps that you are really attached to \u2013 into full rows on the Home screen. This row might call attention to DLC, note how close you are to a particular achievement, or mention something else that’s relevant to you. It\u2019s a novel way to keep you thinking about a game long after you quit out and something we found ourselves appreciating every time we saw it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
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Using the Xbox One UI is fluid and well-organized. <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n