Microsoft’s Xbox One X promises to be the world’s most powerful gaming console, capable of playing games in True 4K resolution and HDR, but is it worth the price tag? Here’s our review.
At E3 2016, Microsoft announced something new that it was working on, codenamed Project Scorpio. The company promised gaming in True 4K and High Dynamic Range (HDR), and little more. At E3 2017, the firm finally took the wraps off of the Xbox One X (pronounced ‘EX’), confirming that it will cost $499 and be available in November.
For most, availability is just a few days away at this point, but I was lucky enough for Microsoft to send me a unit last week. To answer any questions that you might have, yes, it’s a wonderful experience.
Of course, there are no Xbox One X exclusives, only games that have been enhanced for the console. So, is it really worth shelling out $499? Read on to find out.
First of all, when Microsoft announced Scorpio at E3 2016, it also announced the Xbox One S, which means that the X is the third Xbox One device, and they all play the same games. The benefits of the S were that it was in a smaller body (compared to the original Xbox One, which was huge), and users could stream content in 4K, such as Netflix, Hulu, Movies & TV, etc.
The Xbox One S does not support gaming in 4K; that’s what’s special about the Xbox One X. So, when Microsoft reached out to me and asked if I wanted to review the console, the representative told me that they really wanted me to do it with a 4K TV.
Luckily, Microsoft partnered with Samsung on this, and Samsung sent me a 55-inch QLED 4K TV, and let me just say that this TV is absolutely stunning. Everything that I watch just looks amazing.
Between the TV, the console, the services, and the games, the setup that I was provided would cost thousands of dollars, and obviously not everyone will be having the same experience.
But in my time with the Xbox One X, I’ve really seen just how broad of a range of use cases that Microsoft caters to by selling both the Xbox One S and One X in parallel. The new console might not be for everyone, but it’s certainly what you’d need if you want the best gaming experience possible.
At that time, all I could talk about was the contents of the box. But once you boot up the console, you’ll see a new boot animation that’s exclusive to the console.
Here is a preview of the special boot animation that only Xbox One X owners will see. Only a few more days until launch. pic.twitter.com/KSos2N2gGB
Inside of the box, you’ll find the console itself, along with the accessories that you’d normally find with an Xbox One device. There’s an HDMI cable, a power cable, and while some will be disappointed to hear it, a standard Wireless Controller.
OK, so there’s nothing really special about the design of the Xbox One X. I really don’t know what I was expecting when it was unveiled at E3, maybe for it to levitate on thin air? Or to be painted in some color that hasn’t been invented yet?
Nope, it’s just a black box, a color that was probably chosen to differentiate from the Xbox One S, which is white. After all, when it comes to neutral colors, it’s pretty much just the two options. If you want a more colorful design, those are undoubtedly coming at some point when Microsoft starts releasing bundles.
The top side of the console is off-centered, unlike its predecessor. Again, I can’t think of a reason for this, other than to differentiate from previous generations.
The selection of ports is exactly the same as the One S. Obviously, it’s slightly different from the original Xbox One, since there’s no dedicated Kinect port. The power jack is off to the left, followed by HDMI out, HDMI in, two USB 3.0 Type-A, IR out, and of course, there’s a networking port.
The size of the Xbox One X is ever-so-slightly larger than the One S, although you can see from the image above that the front-facing USB port has been moved from the left to the right, as the IR sensor has switched places with it. The button to eject a disc is now placed directly under the bay, rather than to the right of it.
Ultimately, there’s nothing surprising in the design. If you’re coming from an Xbox One S and you’ve seen pictures of the X, consider yourself good to go.
I would really love to tell you that the Xbox One X is the star of the show here, but it’s not. The Samsung QLED Series Q7 55-inch TV is. The thing is, the One X is the console you buy when you’re all-in, when you want the best experience possible.
I think that QLED is the way to go on that. LG’s OLED TVs are also beautiful, but there are some drawbacks to OLED, such as burn-in. I don’t know how susceptible LG’s TVs are to burn-in, but I certainly don’t want to spend a couple thousand dollars on a TV and have issues in a couple of years.
QLED is what Samsung is calling its quantum dot screens. Basically, there’s a quantum dot layer that filters the LED backlight with pure colors. All you need to know is that it looks beautiful.
The TV also includes a Game Mode, which reduces latency from 79ms to 24ms. The cool thing is that it’s voice-activated, so users can just press the microphone button on the remote and say ‘Game Mode’ to turn it on. You don’t need to mess about in TV Settings.
Obviously, when you get your new Xbox One X, you’re going to want to get to playing right away, and there are some steps that you’ll want to take to do this. It does support a network transfer of games, but I highly recommend getting an external hard drive.
The reason for this is that the Xbox One X only comes in a single storage configuration: 1TB. If you’re coming from a 2TB Xbox One S, that just got chopped in half. I’ve repeatedly asked Microsoft if there are more storage configurations on the way, and no one will confirm it. I have been told by numerous people that Microsoft wants you to use an external drive.
Remember, 4K assets can cause a game to take up twice as much space than a regular one. I was only able to fit 14 games on my Xbox One X, and only four of them are currently enhanced.
Since the console still isn’t coming out for a few days, now’s a perfect time to get started on transferring your games.
The first thing that you’ll need to do is make sure that your console is set to automatically receive 4K game updates. This isn’t on by default, as it would uselessly take up space on your Xbox One S. Once that’s on, you’ll need to update your games.
Once you’re ready to go, follow the steps in the video above to start transferring your games to the hard drive. When you get the Xbox One X, follow the same steps to transfer them back. It’s that easy, and while it’s not an instant process, it’s much faster than downloading, even if you have a fast connection.
I enjoy talking about software, but you’re probably more interested in the next section, so I’ll try to keep this brief. The Xbox One X ships with the Fall Update, and it’s exactly the same experience that you’re familiar with on the Xbox One and One S.
Like all Xbox One consoles, it runs a flavor of Windows 10 that’s designed for gaming. Pressing the Xbox button on the controller opens up the Guide, from which you can return to the Home screen, go to Settings, livestream to Mixer with just a couple of clicks, go to your games and apps, and more.
You can also now add content blocks to the Home screen. Rather than just being able to pin tiles (which you can now have 40 of), you can dedicate entire sections of the Home screen to a game or a person.
There’s also the Community tab, where you’ll find a feed of your friends’ activities and such, and the Microsoft Store is where you can buy games, apps, movies, and TV shows.
