We've all had times when we wanted to play our Xbox, but friends or family were hogging the TV (Thanksgiving especially.) Upgrading your Xbox Series S with UPspec's Gaming xScreen turns your compact console into a fully portable gaming machine with its FHD (1080p) display running at 60Hz.
This "clever and convenient add-on for the smallest Xbox" launched at $250 upon release, which made it a hard sell at the time. However, Amazon is hosting a generous Black Friday discount that brings a recently lowered listing price down even further by an extra 20% to a more affordable $159.99, so there's no need to wait for Cyber Monday if you're planning some Xbox gaming over the weekend.
🔥The hottest Black Friday deals🔥
- 💽Zotac RTX 4080 SUPER AMP GPU | $989.99 at Newegg
- 💻Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC | $849.99 at Best Buy
- 💽MSI Ventus 2X E1 OC RTX 4070 GPU | $469.99 at Newegg
- 🎮Razer Wolverine V3 Pro controller | $199 at Amazon
- 💽 AMD Ryzen 5 7600X CPU | $194.99 at Newegg (with free 1TB SSD)
- 🕹️Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flightdeck | $299.99 at Amazon
- 💻Microsoft Surface Pro 11 Copilot+ PC | $866 at Amazon
Why should you buy the UPspec Gaming xScreen?
Originally starting life as a Kickstarter project in 2021, the UPSpec Gaming xScreen has gone on to become one of the best Xbox accessories for the Xbox Series S for its unique capability to convert the home console into an effective portable console. Even one of our Senior Editors, Ben Wilson, gave the UPSpec Gaming xScreen a glowing review, stating that it is "perfect for portable gaming."
How the UPSpec Gaming xScreen works is very simple and easy. By connecting the UPSpec Gaming xScreen's built-in USB-A and HDMI connectors to the Xbox Series S ports, you'll be able to play Xbox games while they're displayed on the device's monitor. This will allow you to continue playing games if there's no TV available or if you want an extra screen so you can play online co-op titles with your friends or family in the same room together.
Additionally, since the HDMI and USB-A connectors are built-in, there's no need for extra cables other than the Xbox AC adaptor to provide power, reducing tedious cable management.
As for the specs of UPSpec Gaming xScreen itself – it features an 11.6-inch IPS panel monitor capable of displaying crisp color contrasts and a detailed 1080p resolution while running at 60Hz. With this, you will be able to play the best Xbox games like Monster Hunter World or Elden Ring at 1080p and 30fps on the xScreen without a single ounce of input delay.
The UPSpec Gaming xScreen also has a compact and smart design. It snugly fits into the back of the Xbox Series S without taking up much space while blending in with the design aesthetic of the console.
It also has built-in speakers, so you can listen to your game audio without needing external alternatives or a headset. Granted, the speaker's sound quality isn't the best out there but they're still adequate and get the job done well enough. Still, you can still plug in the best Xbox headsets if you want better sound or chat with your friends online while gaming.
However, the UPSpec Gaming xScreen does have some shortcomings you will need to be aware of before considering purchasing it. For starters, the xScreen blocks the Xbox Series S' extra USB and Ethernet ports while connected so make sure that the console has a stable wireless online connection if you're planning to play online games while this accessory is in place.
Also, this monitor can't display games at 4K resolutions or framerates higher than 60 FPS so you won't be seeing games running at their full graphical potential while playing with the UPSpec Gaming xScreen. In addition, the monitor gets easily obscured by natural light, so you will need to find a relatively shady area to avoid your games constantly blocked by glare, especially when playing games set primarily in the dark, like STALKER 2.
Despite these flaws, the UPSpec Gaming xScreen is a still high-quality Xbox accessory and one we recommend to anyone looking to play Xbox games on the go while traveling abroad, set-up up LAN parties, or continue playing games while someone is hogging the TV.
The UPSpec Gaming xScreen is currently on sale with a special Black Friday 20% discount for $159.99 at Amazon. There's also a black variant of the xScreen available for $245.99 at Amazon and a display stand available for $24.99 at Amazon, so you can safely stand the Xbox Series S upright while the xScreen is attached.
On top of that, there's a special UPSpec Gaming xScreen case on sale for $29.99 at Amazon, so you can more easily store and carry around the xScreen during your travels.
🍁More great Black Friday deals🦃
- Best Buy: Big savings on video games, accessories, and more
- Walmart: Savings on practically everything
- Target: Live deals on a huge range of products
- Dell: Top deals on laptops, gaming PCs, accessories, and more
- HP: Save big on laptops, desktops, accessories, and more
- Lenovo: Doorbuster deals on all Lenovo PCs, monitors, accessories, and more
- Newegg: Save on PC gaming accessories, components, and more
- Razer: Take advantage of free shipping for a limited time
- Samsung: Holiday deals on laptops, TVs, phones, and more are live
- Amazon: Constantly rotating sales on everything you can imagine
When is Black Friday?
Black Friday is technically on Nov. 29, 2024, but this sales event seems to start a little earlier each year. Retailers increasingly get more aggressive in terms of when discounts start in order to entice consumers ahead of the main event, so you can see early Black Friday deals as soon as October. Black Friday itself can feel overwhelming and be limited by stock shortages, so it's often a great idea to take advantage of those early sales ahead of time.
When is Cyber Monday?
This year, Cyber Monday falls on Dec. 2, 2024. This continuation of the Black Friday weekend was once the online-version of the aforementioned sales event, but as more retailers go online it's not uncommon to see Black Friday and Cyber Monday blend into one another. If you miss out on sales on Black Friday, you may have another chance on Cyber Monday. Better yet, though, is staying ahead of the curve and getting your holiday shopping done weeks in advance.
