Is Xbox Series S worth it from Xbox One? A friendly guide to upgrading

Hey friend! Have you been considering upgrading your Xbox One to the new Xbox Series S? As a fellow gamer and tech enthusiast, I‘ve been researching if the Series S is worth it coming from the Xbox One. After diving into the specs, performance comparisons, new features, and value proposition, I think there‘s an excellent case for upgrading. Let me walk you through what I‘ve learned!

The short answer? Absolutely – with dramatically faster loading, buttery smooth 120fps gameplay, and next-gen visual upgrades, the Xbox Series S represents a massive improvement over the 7 year old Xbox One for just $299. Backwards compatibility also lets you bring your Xbox One game library with you. Read on for all the details!

Now, let‘s dig into the key reasons why Xbox Series S is worth upgrading from the Xbox One:

Lightning Fast NVMe SSD Loads Games in a Flash

Hands down, the super fast SSD storage inside Series S delivers the most immediate benefit coming from an Xbox One. Booting up and loading games on the Series S feels amazingly snappy compared to the old mechanical hard drive.

How much faster are we talking? On average around 2-4x speed improvements based on extensive testing by the experts at Digital Foundry:

• Red Dead Redemption 2 – 4 minutes 20 seconds on Xbox One down to 1 minute 55 seconds on Series S
• Assassin‘s Creed Odyssey – 1 minute 52 seconds on Xbox One down to 49 seconds on Series S

The Xbox Velocity architecture in the Series S leverages the SSD, custom hardware decompressors, and DirectStorage API for lighting fast throughput. Booting from cold is super snappy as well – hitting the Xbox button to dashboard in under 10 seconds versus nearly a minute on Xbox One. No more grabbing snacks while waiting for games to load!

Up to 120 Frames Per Second for Ultra-Smooth Gameplay

Now let‘s talk about buttery smooth framerates – another major benefit of the Series S. The Xbox One GPU was only designed to drive games at 1080p resolution and 30fps. Many titles couldn‘t even hit a full 30fps without dips and stutters.

The Series S blows those limits out of the water with support for up to 120fps at 1440p resolution. That means lusciously smooth gameplay up to 4x the frame rate of Xbox One‘s 30fps cap.

For competitive multiplayer games like Call of Duty or Rocket League, the reduced input lag at 120fps is a huge advantage. Even playing single player games at 60fps or 120fps feels wonderfully responsive compared to 30fps. It really improves your moment-to-moment enjoyment.

Digital Foundry tested a range of games and found the Series S capable of 80-120fps on optimized next-gen titles like Dirt 5 and ExoMecha. Even backwards compatible games saw massive framerate boosts through FPS Boost, such as:

• Fallout 4 from 30fps to 60fps
• Far Cry 4 from 30fps to 60fps
• New Super Lucky‘s Tale from 30fps to 120fps

So you can revisit Xbox One games but play them better than ever before thanks to the Series S power. Sweet!

Visual Upgrades with Ray Tracing, Auto HDR, and More

The Series S doesn‘t just load faster and run smoother – it makes games look better too!

Ray tracing is the cutting edge lighting tech that makes lighting, reflections, and shadows appear far more realistic. The Xbox One doesn‘t support hardware accelerated ray tracing, but it‘s built right into the GPU on Series S.

Beautiful ray traced effects have been added to games like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Watch Dogs Legion, and the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy.

The Series S also adds auto HDR for backwards compatible Xbox One titles. This uses an algorithm to convert and upgrade the color and contrast to high dynamic range. It works surprisingly well to make older games pop!

Variable rate shading is another cool new feature that selectively reduces rendering resolution in areas that don‘t need full detail. This saves on GPU resources to boost frame rates for smoother performance.

There are also options like 120Hz display support and AMD FidelityFX for upgraded sharpness and detail. The Series S leverages new graphics technologies to maximize both visual quality and performance.

Keep All Your Gaming Accessories

Transitioning to the Series S is seamless in terms of accessories and subscriptions. All your Xbox One controllers, headsets, fight sticks, wheels, and more work right out of the box with the Series S. No need to re-buy gear.

Your Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass subscriptions carry over as well. And your Xbox One external hard drives can be used for backwards compatible storage. I love that everything comes with you to the next generation.

Small Size, Low Price, and Game Pass Value

Measuring just 10.8 x 6 x 2.5 inches, the Series S is absolutely tiny compared to the chunky Xbox One. It disappears easily onto any TV stand or shelf.

Despite its diminutive size, the Series S still packs way more performance. And it does so at an affordable $299 price that undercuts the Xbox One‘s $499 launch cost.

Microsoft is clearly aiming this at the mainstream gaming market, vs the pricier $499 Xbox Series X aimed more at enthusiasts. But that makes Series S an ideal entry point into next-gen.

And the included 1 month of Game Pass Ultimate (over 100 games) is just icing on the cake. A Game Pass subscription normally costs $10-$15 monthly, so that‘s already $120-$180 value you‘re getting on day one.

Regional pricing can make Game Pass an even better deal. For example, a monthly subscription is just 349 Rs. in India – an incredible value.

Backwards Compatibility Opens Up Thousands of Games

One of the best aspects of Xbox consoles is backwards compatibility. The vast majority of Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles play on Series S right out of the box with upgrades like faster load times, improved frame rates, and auto HDR.

There are thousands of backwards compatible games spanning four generations available to play on Series S. So your existing game library comes with you when you upgrade.

Microsoft also added FPS Boost allowing select backwards compatible games to play at 60fps or even 120fps. For example, Fallout 4 now runs at a buttery smooth 60fps on Series S when it was locked to 30fps on Xbox One.

Thanks to initiatives like FPS Boost and auto HDR, you get enhanced versions of last-gen games for free on Series S!

Let‘s Compare the Specs

Before we wrap up, let‘s directly compare the Xbox Series S and Xbox One hardware specs:

As you can see, the Series S sports a WAY more powerful 8-core Zen 2 CPU, over 3x the GPU performance, faster memory, lightning quick SSD storage, and new capabilities like hardware ray tracing that simply weren‘t possible on Xbox One.

The Series S punches well above its $299 price point. When you consider all the performance benefits, visual upgrades, seamless backwards compatibility, and included Game Pass access, it‘s an amazing value as a next-gen upgrade from the Xbox One for both casual and enthusiast gamers alike.

Conclusion

The Xbox Series S delivers a massive generational leap beyond the 7 year old Xbox One. Backwards compatibility makes it easy to bring your game library with you, while the faster SSD and more powerful CPU/GPU hardware catapult gaming performance to the next level.

Higher framerates up to 120fps provide incredibly smooth, responsive gameplay – a night and day difference coming from Xbox One‘s 30fps limits. And you get next-gen visuals powered by ray tracing and other advanced technologies not found in the last generation.

Given the $299 price undercutting even the Xbox One‘s launch cost, compact design, and included Game Pass access, the Series S is quite appealing both for lapsed Xbox gamers and active players looking to upgrade.

After researching all the specs, features, and performance comparisons, I can confidently say the Xbox Series S is absolutely worth upgrading from the Xbox One. You‘ll get way more than your money‘s worth in terms of improvements to loading, visuals, frame rates, and general gameplay enjoyment. It feels like a true next-gen experience.

Hope this overview helps summarize all the benefits if you‘re considering upgrading your Xbox One to Series S like I was. Let me know if you have any other questions!