A significantly smaller and updated XBox console called XBox One S will be released on August 2nd in New Zealand. There are three versions with different disk capacity: 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB. Only the largest 2 TB version will be available initially. “S” in the product name stands for small, and this is very descriptive – the new Xbox One is 40% smaller than the existing Xbox One consoles. Hence, it’s Microsofts smallest Xbox console ever. Remarkably, it has achieved such a size reduction while at the same time integrating the power brick directly into Xbox One S. The original Xbox One utilises an external power brick, which contributes to a rather clunky impression. Has the performance taken a hit due to the smaller dimension? Not at all. In fact, the performance has improved somewhat. The new High Dynamic Range (HDR) display yields brighter images and enhances the visual experience. In addition, Xbox One S supports the 4K Ultra HD format. Hence, it can play 4K content like Blu-ray movies and Netflix streaming.

NZ Pricing

The retail price is set to US$399, which corresponds to about NZ$650 inclusive of GST. Microsoft NZ now accepts pre-orders. The colour of the console and the control is white.