Do you have your best shocked face ready? Microsoft just announced a slimmer Xbox One, the Xbox One S. Okay, so the surprise was kinda ruined by a month of leaks, culminating in a picture of the thing finding its way into the wild yesterday morning. But at least now that it’s official, we know exactly why Microsoft thinks you should buy a new Xbox. The big-ticket item is 4K support. That doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to play games in crazy high-res, but if you have a fancy TV it’ll provide plenty of options to watch content at 4K. In addition to supporting 4K versions of Netflix and Amazon Video content, there’s also 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray support. It’s not clear if that drive will be as standard, or an optional upgrade. The new console also supports HDR sets, and Gear of War 4 will be the first to support the wider color range. The Xbox One, as attractive or unattractive as you think it is, is undoubtedly a large machine, especially compared with its main rival, the PlayStation 4. The Xbox One S is 40-percent smaller and can be safely used vertically with an official stand. Elsewhere there’s an integrated power supply, meaning no more brick, and the option to include a more capacious 2TB hard drive. It’s also mostly white — a colorway Microsoft debuted for the original Xbox One. Other changes include a USB port in the front for easy access and the dropping of the Kinect port — there’ll be a USB adapter if you want to plug in Microsoft’s unloved camera accessory to the new machine. Oh, and there’s a new controller that’ll be bundled with the S, which has textured grips, improved range and Bluetooth. The Xbox One S launches this August at $299 for the 500GB version. No word on the price for the 2GB version yet. Source: Engadget Live Blog
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This is the Xbox One S
