Microsoft's Xbox Series X marks the pinnacle of its next-generation vision, hitting the market with a 4K 60 FPS baseline, and supporting up to 8K resolution or 120 Hz refresh rates. The upcoming flagship delivers notable performance gains across the board, currently set for a late 2020 debut.
The Xbox Series X saw an unexpected unveiling at The Game Awards, providing a final name for the flagship system, accompanied by a cinematic glimpse at the streamlined industrial design. Following reports provided a deeper dive into planned system improvements, clarifying technical specifications, and the new creative approach.
More: Xbox Series X vs. PlayStation 4 Pro vs. Xbox One X 3D size comparison
The Xbox Series X design is a significant departure from the current Xbox One family, embracing a broad, cuboid shape with added "chonk" over preceding consoles. While each Xbox One saw an elongated housing mimicking the set-top box, the Xbox Series X better resembles a PC tower silhouette. That includes a larger overall footprint, although with volume better distributed closer to an equilateral shape.
Xbox Series X size and dimensions
Microsoft has changed up more than the console with Xbox Series X, including a revised gamepad. While bringing forward the foundations of the Xbox One controller, a GameSpot interview with Xbox leadership reports a design "ever-so-slightly smaller in subtle ways," following internal research. That makes the standardized USB Type-A port the best point of reference when attempting to gauge the dimensions of Xbox Series X, using formal specification.
Using stills from the Xbox Series X announcement trailer, the console is an estimated 31cm tall, with 16cm width and depth, give or take a couple of millimeters for margin of error. That compares to the 30cm x 24cm x 6cm dimensions of Xbox One X, Microsoft's currently most powerful and smallest console on the market. Those dimensions provide an estimated volume of 7936 cubic centimeters for Xbox Series X, almost double of the Xbox One X's 4320.
That's a sizeable increase between console cycles, although impressive given the hardware Xbox Series X promises to deliver. Microsoft targets a CPU with four times the capabilities of the Xbox One X, GPU delivering twice the graphical prowess, alongside other hardware improvements. That also requires a new cooling system, using just a single fan and upward-facing vent to reduce noise. That's serious power compacted into a fine-tuned setup, proving promising for the coming generation.
Those new dimensions should still be manageable for most Xbox One owners looking to upgrade for the forthcoming console generation. Microsoft has already confirmed the Xbox Series X supports both vertical and horizontal positioning, providing the added flexibility of the sideways-bound original Xbox One console. This was never meant to be a compact product either, focused on bleeding-edge power for the masses. And with Xbox Series X currently scheduled for late 2020, you have almost one year to clear out your entertainment center anyway.
Xbox Series X/S
Main
- Xbox Series X: Everything we know
- Best games coming to Xbox Series X/S
- List of Xbox Series X specs
- What is the Xbox Series X release date?
- How much does Xbox Series X cost?
- Why you can't preorder Xbox Series X yet
- Best Xbox Series X Headsets
