It may have a stupid name, but the XBox Series X is going to be a beast when Microsoft releases it later this year — and to prove it, they revealed a ton of new specs and details about the console this morning. They’ve clearly learned from the backlash over the XBox One launch and are aiming for a device that’s not only powerful, but consumer-friendly.
First off, the technical horsepower speak. The Series X has a GPU that renders 12 teraflops per second, twice that of the XBox One X and four times that of the original XBox One. A flop is a unit of measurement that means “floating point operations per second,” and a floating point is a mathematical calculation you need to make a polygon. A GPU capable of 12 teraflops not only renders more polygons, but at a quicker speed, meaning the Series X can achieve framerates of 120fps, provided your TV supports it.
Another feature called Dynamic Latency Input is aimed solely at reducing any lag between the time you push a button and the time the game recognizes it. The time difference here is barely noticeable for most people, but professional competitive gamers can tell the difference. The Series X will also support HDMI 2.1 cables, which are built to reduce lag.
But the REALLY cool parts are the ones you don’t need any electronics knowledge to understand. The Series X has a new feature called Quick Resume that will let you pause a game, turn the console off, then turn it on later and pick back up immediately from where you left off. We know, even the Switch can do this now, but the Series X will be the first to allow suspension of multiple games at once.
And the backwards compatibility is wonderful. Right out of the gate the Series X will support games originally released for the One, the 360 and the original XBox. You can also use the same accessories from the XBox One. And here’s the real killer…if you buy a game with both One and Series X versions in existence, a new feature called Smart Delivery will automatically upgrade you to the Series X version whenever you get the new console. I don’t break out the word “dope” very often, but that is dope.
Seeing as Sony wants to release the Playstation 5 around the same time this holiday season, their task is now to surpass these features or at least match them. The bar has been raised. Competition is a beautiful thing.
