Looks like Microsoft really took the opportunity to fix all the various problems and issues the Xbox One has had with the Xbox One S- we already know the system got a minor spec bump, and that the system is extremely small, and with an integrated power supply to boot.
But it turns out that the Xbox One S also consumes far less power than the original Xbox One did, which was a veritable power hog- best of all, it consumes less power in all modes. Speaking to Eurogamer, Xbox’s Albert Panello discussed the new console’s power draw.
“The new SoC consumes less power than the original Xbox One across all modes, and we’ve made improvements in both the hardware and software to hit our goals,” Panello said. “I can’t really give a specific number, however, because power consumption varies based on the game or app that is running.”
He explained that this, as well as the integrated power supply, were made possible because of the removal of the Kinect port on the redesigned console.
“The motherboard of the Xbox One S was completely redesigned around the new 16nm FinFET SoC, and to fit in the downsized chassis,” Panello explained. “The core architecture of the SoC, the configuration and number of memory chips all remain the same to provide consistent performance. The custom south bridge IO chip is the same one used on all previous Xbox One consoles. Removing the dedicated Kinect port allowed us to use a smaller power supply and achieve a very clean layout of the rear panel with no double-stacked connectors required.”
On the whole, I think the Xbox One S is looking to be one of the best midlife revisions a gaming console has ever received- and I’m pretty happy with the decisions that Microsoft ended up making.