Apple's new Macs, which were unveiled last week, are now shipping across 27 countries and regions in the first wave of availability.
People in the US, Europe, and India, among others, have a choice of the new Mac mini with an M2 or M2 Pro processor, as well as the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with either an M2 Pro or M2 Max chip.
People that have pre-ordered are reporting that their new Macs have begun arriving.
Meanwhile, Apple's website gives a delivery estimate of 1 working day for the new machines across India, Germany, and the US.
The Apple M2 Pro chipset is built on...
The Xbox One S All-Digital was Microsoft's first disc-less console and a sign of things to come, especially with the launch of the Xbox Series S. However, Microsoft is no longer producing new Xbox One S All-Digital or Xbox One X consoles.
So, the Xbox One S All-Digital is significantly cheaper than Microsoft's more powerful Xbox One X, and is essentially a streamlined alternative to the Xbox One S. As far as their design, performance, and game libraries are concerned, the One S and the All-Digital are practically the same consoles. The main difference between them is that the All-Digital model doesn't have a disc drive, so it can't play games or movies from physical discs.
If you enjoy looking through their physical game collection to pick their next adventure, the All-Digital's minimalist approach probably won't suit you. If, however, you're looking to drop physical media from your life to go down a simpler, and potentially more convenient route, it could hold some appeal.
Want to know whether to pick up an Xbox Series S instead? Before you make your final decision, let our review take you through the pros and cons that ought to be considered before you invest in Microsoft's all-digital offering. Check out our guide to Xbox One S vs Xbox Series S.
Xbox One S All-Digital Edition: cut to the chase
What is it? Microsoft's disc-less version of the Xbox One S
When did it come out? May 7, 2019
What does it cost? $249 / £199 / AU$349
Xbox One S All-Digital Edition: price and release date
The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition launched on May 7, 2019, and was released with an RRP of $249 / £199 / AU$349, but you can probably find this significantly cheaper these days. That's because, much like the rest of the Xbox One family, the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition has been discontinued since 2020.
So, the chances of finding one brand new are slim, you'll have to rely on second-hand resellers. That said, it's also somewhat redundant at this point. For not much more than the All-Digital Edition's original RRP, you can find an Xbox Series S priced at $299.99 / £249.99 / AU$499. Considering that has full Xbox One backwards compatibility and is also digital only, it's a hard one to argue against.
Xbox One S All-Digital Edition: design
(Image credit: TechRadar)
No disc drive
Same visual design as Xbox One S
Only comes in white
The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition's design is the exact same as that of the Xbox One S - except it doesn't have a disc-drive. The sleek console is conveniently compact, measuring just 11.6 x 8.9 x 2.5 inches (L x W x D) despite its 1TB hard drive and lack of power supply pack. That makes it just a few inches smaller than the Xbox One S.
There is one physical button for power on the face of the console as well as a USB 3.0. Around the back, you'll find an HDMI In port that allows you to pass in a cable box, an HDMI Out, two USB 3.0s, and S/PDIF and Ethernet ports. There's an IR blaster on the front of the console that allows you to turn on other devices, like your TV, audio/video receiver, and cable/satellite box.
However if you like your consoles in loud color schemes – or anything other than white – you're out of luck. Like the Xbox One S, Microsoft's Xbox Design Lab program only allows you to to customize the color of your controllers, so when it comes to the console itself you're limited to white.
Xbox One S All-Digital Edition: performance
(Image credit: TechRadar)
1TB hard drive
4K & HDR streaming
Cloud storage
Spatial Audio
Again like the Xbox One S, the All-Digital boasts 4K resolution - but that's upscaled 4K, not native 4K like the Xbox One X. You'll notice a few more details with the latter, but the former still proves capable. For example, while playing Forza Horizon 3, we had no issue with dropped frames interrupting our experience. However, there's no doubt the game looks better - and runs smoother - on the X.
So far, Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube and US-exclusives Vudu and Hulu all have 4K versions of their apps available on the Xbox One Store, which should cover most of your streaming needs - and you'll need it without the built-in Blu-ray player.
We had no issue with the All-Digital when it came to streaming shows, downloading games/apps or general functionality. The console doesn't take up much room and doesn't sound like an air plane taking off when its running, while the 1TB hard drive allows you to download plenty of games (but we'll get to that a bit later).
Xbox One S All-Digital Edition: game library
(Image credit: TechRadar)
Digital game library
Can play same titles as Xbox One S
Comes with three digital game codes
Here's where the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition will divide players. As the console doesn't have a disc-drive, you can't use physical games with it – at all.
So what are your options? For a start, the console came with three digital codes: Forza Horizon 3, Sea of Thieves and Minecraft. While getting three games straight off the bat is great, arguably Microsoft could have included some newer titles - maybe Forza Horizon 4 instead of 3, for example. Still, Minecraft and Sea of Thieves are still quite popular and all games are family friendly.
Outside of these three games, you can either buy digital versions of the best Xbox One games from the Microsoft Store or take advantage of Xbox Game Pass. We found the Xbox One S All-Digital to be a great companion for Game Pass, with plenty of room to download titles at your will from the services library of over 400 games - old and new.
Even better, Microsoft often runs a deal which gives new subscribers one month of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1 / £1 instead of the standard $14.99 / £10.99.
Xbox One S All-Digital Edition: final verdict
(Image credit: TechRadar)
When the Xbox One S arrived three years on from the original Xbox One, it offered smaller, quieter, higher-quality gaming machine. It soon became the de facto Xbox system. But since then, we've seen the release of the powerhouse Xbox One X console, which offers 4K HDR gaming and the most premium gaming experience on a console. That's now been replaced by the Xbox Series X, too.
The release of the Xbox One X raised the bar for gaming consoles and while it didn't make the Xbox One S necessarily redundant, it certainly highlighted the aged system of the Xbox One S. That's why it's surprising that Microsoft has chosen to release a disc-less version of the S, which is essentially the same console but without a disc drive.
The look is the same, the performance is the same and there's nothing that particularly makes it stand out from the pack. The draw of the original S is that it provides a cheaper Xbox alternative to the X and works for those who don't necessary have a 4K compatible screen. However, the All-Digital takes the same console and makes it a tad simpler.
The issue we had was with the price. While Microsoft is claiming the All-Digital ($249 / £199) is cheaper than the Xbox One S ($299 MSRP / £249 RRP), in reality you can pick up an Xbox One S bundle for around the same price from certain retailers. Still, for those who love the idea of disc-less gaming then the All-Digital may be prove appealing.
Motorola opened the floodgates by releasing four new Moto G-series phones alongside a new Moto E-series entry. We’ll cover the Moto G23, Moto G13 and Moto E13 in this post while the Moto G53 and G73 are in a separate story which you can check out here.
Moto G23 and Moto G13
Moto G23 and Moto G13 share the same 6.5-inch IPS LCD display with HD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. The pair also offer stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos and are equipped with a headphone jack. Moto G23 gets a nicer 16MP front-facing cam while the G13 makes do with an 8MP selfie shooter.
Moto G23 and...
Despite the launch of the Xbox Series X, the Xbox One X is still an incredibly powerful console, especially with a native 4K resolution and HDR playback, so if you're looking for something not quite next-gen, it's still a worthy competitor in Microsoft's console competition.
But in spite of all of this, the Xbox One X isn't perfect. The console's hard drive, locked at 1TB, fills up faster now that most games require 4K texture packs. And even though Xbox Game Pass is a winning service, Xbox still doesn't quite come out on top when it comes to exclusives.
In addition, you get a lot of the same functionality from the Xbox One S, which you'll find comes in at a much lower price point (again, you're better off looking at the newer machines if you want a future-proofed purchase). You can check out our detailed Xbox One X vs Xbox One S comparison for more details on that.
Xbox One X: unboxing video
Still want to buy one of the older Xbox units? Read on for everything you need to know to make your choice.
Xbox One X: Design
If you’ve seen an Xbox One S at some point, you should be able to picture the Xbox One X – if it weren’t for the difference in color schemes, the two consoles would be nearly identical. It's a design style that Microsoft has now left behind for the blockier Xbox Series X and Series S models.
If you’ve never seen a One S before, the Xbox One X is a rectangular box the size of a large Blu-ray player that’s coated with a matte space grey color. It’s a far cry from the bulky VHS player-stylings of the original Xbox One, and the design only becomes more impressive when you consider what’s under the hood.
The noticeable differences here between Microsoft's last console and its latest one (if you can even notice them) are the color change from the white sheen of the Xbox One S to the space grey of Xbox One X, and the shifting of the disc tray from the top-left side of the console’s face to sitting discreetly lower down the front.
These changes are aesthetic, however, and neither add nor take away any functionality from the system... which isn’t a bad thing considering how well-equipped the Xbox One S was.
A small shift in the location of the disc drive is the biggest design difference between the X and the S.
The aforementioned disc tray not only plays the best Xbox One games, but 4K Blu-rays as well. This might sound mundane if you’re not totally up-to-date on what 4K Blu-rays are, but considering that Microsoft’s 4K consoles were the only ones on the market with that ability until the PS5 and Xbox Series X launched, it’s worth pointing out.
Round the back, similarities to the One S continue. From left to right you’ve got a power connector, HDMI out, HDMI in, two USB ports, an IR out, an Optical Audio port and an Ethernet port. To the surprise of no one, the console does not see the return of the original Xbox One's Kinect port – if you haven’t heard, Kinect (Microsoft's motion-sensing camera) has been officially dead for a long time, and Microsoft has even stopped selling the adaptors that allowed it to work on modern consoles.
Controller-wise the new machine is packing a darker gamepad which, for all intents and purposes, is exactly the same mechanically as the one that currently ships with the Xbox One S. You can't fix what isn't broken, apparently.
If controllers are a bit too imprecise for your liking, Xbox One X does support keyboard and mouse controls for some games (Gears 5, The Sims 4 and Metro Exodus as a few examples). It's not the first console to do so (that award goes to the Dreamcast, and even the SNES had its own mouse), but the feature will be welcomed by gamers who prefer this more accurate and responsive control scheme.
Xbox One X: Hardware Specs
Mechanically, it's the same old ergonomic Xbox One controller: but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. (Image credit: Microsoft)
If you’re looking to see the real differences between the Xbox One X and every other console that’s come before it, all you’d need to do is open the lid. It goes without saying, though, that this is no longer the console you want if you're looking for a top-of-the-line machine in 2020.
The console comes equipped with an eight-core CPU clocked at 2.3GHz, alongside 12GB of GDDR5 RAM. It features a GPU clocked at 1172MHz leaving the console with 6 teraflops of graphical computing power. The specs in the Xbox One X are pretty extensive, and helped usher in a new era of 4K HDR gaming in the living room that the Series S and Series X will continue.
Unlike a video card’s dedicated VRAM, the Xbox One X’s 12GB of RAM is split between the system and the GPU (i.e. you wouldn't be comparing apples to apples). So you can definitely buy a gaming PC that's better than this – especially in 2020.
On the CPU side, the Xbox One X is running a custom chip with eight Jaguar CPU cores clocked at 2.3GHz. That’s a 76% increase compared to the CPU inside the original Xbox One and Xbox One S, but probably only puts it in the ballpark of a current-gen Intel Core i3 processor (remember, however, that these numbers don’t translate to PCs very well).
The Xbox One X's rear ports are identical to those on the Xbox One S.
The more important comparison for the Xbox One X specs, and the one Microsoft would rather you focus on, is those of the PS4 Pro. Both were released midway through the last generation, and each aims for 4K gaming, so they are directly comparable.
Sony’s system is a fairly competent competitor – its GPU has 36 compute units at 911Mhz that work in tandem with a 2.1GHz CPU and 8GB of GDDR5 memory. That memory runs into a bit of a bottleneck at the buffer, which is limited to 218GB/s, but it still puts out around 4 Tflops of performance. Point, Microsoft.
Where the Xbox One X's specs falter is with the hard drive – a small 1TB drive that comes standard in every system. It’s also non-negotiable, since the Xbox One is being phased out, and no 2TB model emerged.
This wouldn’t be such a huge sticking point if we knew Microsoft wasn’t capable of installing larger hard drives in its systems, but the existence of the 2TB Xbox One S proves that it is indeed possible and Microsoft willingly chose not to include one here.
Xbox One X: Game performance and library
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
Of course, what’s the end-goal of all this extra horsepower if not a better gaming experience? Thankfully here we’re happy to report that the Xbox One X performs exactly as advertised: Games look great across the board. Whether you’re using a 1080p TV with the Xbox One X or playing in 4K HDR, games look fantastic on the most powerful console of the last generation.
But let’s break down each use case individually.
If you’re a 1080p TV owner, the Xbox One X will do something called supersampling to create better-looking images. Supersampling is a complex term but the basic idea is that the game renders itself in 4K thinking it’s connected to a 4K screen, which means objects are rendered with four times the detail.
All this data can’t be displayed, because it’s still being shown on a 1080p TV with a set number of pixels on its display, but the resulting image is one that's more detail-rich. In practice that means images are going to look a bit sharper. Trees, branches and foliage in general won’t look so jagged, for example, and basic fog on an Xbox One might become more realistic while using an Xbox One X.
Once you see a game running in 1080p with supersampling, it’s very obvious that it looks better than a game running in standard 1080p. But if you’re not the kind of person who takes a minute to smell the roses in games – the kind who can appreciate fine edges on a shrub or a rich, dense fog in the morning – then Xbox One X isn’t going to impress you. That is, unless you upgrade to a 4K HDR TV.
Is the Xbox One X one for your TV cabinet?
On a 4K HDR TV, the Xbox One X unleashes its full power. Games render at up to native 4K, offering offer four times the detail of regular 1080p. Better still, some games feature a wider array of color options, thanks to a technology called high dynamic range (HDR). Skies look bluer, grass looks greener and colors drip from every scene. The results speak for themselves.
But visual upgrades aren’t the only type of upgrades the Xbox One X offers. The other is performance – i.e. the frames per second at which a game runs.
We’ll save you another long-winded explanation but basically, when scenes become really detail-rich and filled with a vast number of objects, the console becomes overwhelmed. Instead of being able to output, say, 60 frames per second, it drops down to 55 or even less. It was a big problem on the original Xbox One, but one that the Xbox One S seemed to do away with under all but the most extreme circumstances.
Xbox One X tries its best to output games at 60 frames per second, a sort of golden number for the industry that matches the native refresh rate of most TVs and mainstream monitors. And while the results are noticeably better on Xbox One X, games still don’t always hit that 60 frames per second number – there are occasional dropped frames and slow downs.
So, what are you to make of all this? Well, Enhanced for Xbox games do look better on an Xbox One X console, whether you’re connected to a 1080p TV or not. Performance, also, is generally great on the console. Games don’t run at a perfect 60fps like you’ll find on mid- to high-end gaming PCs, but most of the time it’s great. This is why you should consider a newer console like the Xbox Series X/S.
(Image credit: Microsoft Studios)
Enhanced for Xbox One X games look and play great. But what makes a game Enhanced for Xbox One X? How many of these games are there? Microsoft hasn't set a minimum standard for what constitutes an Enhanced for Xbox One X title but there are three broad categories that developers are using: enhanced 4K visual assets, HDR visual processing or higher frame rate. Just one of three will suffice.
To that point, it’s possible for games to offer HDR or a 60fps framerate, but not native 4K and vice versa. Developers can pick and choose which enhancements make sense for their games. To complicate matters, Microsoft’s Xbox Chief, Phil Spencer, stated that new games aren’t required to support the new hardware. There was no mandate for developers to take advantage of the Xbox One X’s capabilities.
This would be more upsetting if developers didn't embrace the Xbox One X like they have - but, thankfully, that hasn't happened. These days, most games have an Enhanced version associated with them. And that means there's plenty to play on your Xbox One X.
Xbox One X: Interface
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Before we close out the review, we thought it'd be a good idea to examine the interface for the Xbox One. The Xbox One interface was previously a sort of mash-up of the Xbox 360 blade design and the Windows 10 block-and-pin-heavy design. The latter still applies as of its 2020 update, and it makes navigating between games and apps reasonably straightforward.
One of its most unique features is turning the idea of pins – games or apps that you are really attached to – into full rows on the Home screen. This row might call attention to DLC, note how close you are to a particular achievement, or mention something else that's relevant to you. It’s a novel way to keep you thinking about a game long after you quit out and something we found ourselves appreciating every time we saw it.
Using the Xbox One UI is fluid and well-organized. (Image credit: Future)
Xbox One X: We liked
For gamers who can afford it, the Xbox One X is the pinnacle of console gaming.
Coming into this final review we had some concerns. We thought Microsoft’s most premium console yet might not provide anything of value to the 1080p TV owners out there. We felt that its performance, however good, might not be able to justify its price. And we were scared that games might not get patches for long stretches of time, leaving Xbox One X owners without way of showcasing their hardware. On all accounts, we were wrong.
As it turns out, the Xbox One X is a premium console through and through.
Sure, you might need a discerning eye to spot the differences between supersampled games in 1080p and games played in 1080p on the original Xbox One, but there is a difference. With 4K HDR gaming, however, the proof is in the pudding so to speak. When hooked up to a decent 4K HDR screen, the console plays games at an astoundingly high level of detail. Throw on a 4K Blu-ray with Dolby Atmos sound, and you’ll be treated to the best cinematic experience this side of movie theater.
For its time, the Xbox One X was the pinnacle of console gaming. Now, with the release of the Xbox Series X, that's no longer the case – but it's still no slouch.
Xbox One X: We disliked
But while the Xbox One X has claimed the top spot during its generation, its closest competitors – the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One S – aren’t far behind.
Despite not being able to play games in native 4K, these consoles were around half the price and look nearly as good. Their better balance between affordability and performance will make them a better pick for the vast majority of gamers out there, save for the few who see and appreciate the minor differences in premium, high-octane video quality and lower grade, but-still-awesome upscaled 4K.
Even if neither of these consoles had never existed, however, the Xbox One X wouldn’t be flawless. Its 1TB hard drive could theoretically fill up almost overnight thanks to 100GB-plus downloads for games like Gears of War 4, Forza Motorsport 7 and Quantum Break, if it weren’t for the fact that these massive games will take several hours to download. Microsoft could fix this down the road with a larger size hard drive but, as it stands right now, the world’s formerly most premium console can only store around 10 triple-A games at a time.
Xbox One X: Final verdict
At the start of this review, we said there was a specific type of gamer the Xbox One X's sheer horsepower was designed for. Having read through our review, you're best placed to decide whether or not that gamer is you – or, to put it another way, whether you think you'd appreciate and make use of the extra processing heft and graphical improvements the Xbox One X offers.
The Xbox One X is still a fine machine in its own right, then, but there's no real reason to buy one over an Xbox Series X now if power is what you're after – unless you can find the older console at a deep discount, as the generations change over.
Ultimately, the Xbox One X shows that Microsoft had gotten back on track after the original Xbox One launch. But now, with more powerful machines on the market, it's been surpassed if you want a console that's going to last the distance.
Say hello to the new Moto G series phones – Motorola just launched four G phones (and one E phone), two of which we will cover here, the lower end models are in a separate post. This means that here we will be looking at the Moto G73 and G53.
A lot has changed since the Moto G72 and G52. For starters, both new models support 5G connectivity. Though there are some changes that you might not appreciate. Let’s take a closer look.
Moto G73
The Motorola Moto G73 arrives with MediaTek’s Dimensity 930. This chipset runs its CPU at lower clocks than the Dimensity 920 and the GPU is different...
According to a newly listed code change, Google will set stricter measures when it comes to outdated apps being installed on new devices. Starting with version 14, Android won't allow even sideloading apps that target older versions of the OS.
As of now, Google doesn't allow newly listed apps on Google Play to target Android versions older than 12, but still allows users to sideload older software. Also, Google Play will still allow you to install older apps, which you have already installed in the past.
As we already pointed out, all that is about to change with Android 14....
Three years after the Xbox One, the Xbox One S has been designed to take its place. As the smaller, quieter, higher-quality gaming console, it had a lot to say for itself, which is why it's worked itself up to be one of the most highly-praised consoles to date.
With the Xbox One family now discontinued and the Xbox Series X and Series S now here, that's become a complicated question. In the six years since the Xbox One S launched, the console is still a firm favorite for those that want a high-quality Xbox experience without the higher price.
With the Xbox One S, you'll find the best Xbox One games that are upscaled to Ultra HD (aka 4K) with HDR. It’s worth pointing out that this isn't the 'native' 4K that's offered by the more powerful Xbox One X, but movies and TV shows still take advantage of the room to improve, whether you're playing an Ultra HD Blu-ray or streaming 4K Netflix.
Since 2016, Microsoft streamlined the console even further by releasing the (now discontinued) Xbox One S All-Digital Edition. This is a system without a disc tray that can only play downloaded games from the Xbox Live Store. The good news is it comes in even cheaper than the standard Xbox One S. Impressive when you consider the original One S 1TB console's price, which was: $349 (£299 / AU$499).
The One S remains a fantastic and affordable option. In fact, thanks to Microsoft's Smart Delivery system it could remain a viable option for some time. However, if you're looking for a more powerful, but still affordable, alternative and don't want to be left out of the next generation, then check out the all-digital Xbox Series S. Luckily for you, we have a Xbox One S vs Xbox Series S guide to answer all your questions.
Image credit: TechRadar (Image credit: Future)
Our original review of the Xbox One S below details everything you need to know about Microsoft's upscaling console including its performance, design and capabilities.
If you're interested in Xbox's competition, you're probably wondering how the Xbox One S stacks up against the PS4 Slim that was released around the same time. For you guys and girls we put together a special guide that should answer all your questions: Xbox One vs PS4. More interested in how it stacks up against the PS4 Pro? Watch this video to find out!
Xbox One S FAQ: quick questions answered
Can the Xbox One S do 4K?
Kind of, yes. For those not in the know, 4K is a resolution for your TV. It packs in four times as many pixels as a 1080p HDTV, which makes the picture sharper and a lot more detailed. To be able to watch 4K and the video technology HDR, you need a 4K TV and an Xbox One X or Xbox One S.
If you set your console resolution to 4K UHD, some things on the console, like Home and apps will display at 4K. But games are a bit different. Games on the Xbox One S get upscaled to 4K. What that means is that although the picture tends to be smoother and more detailed than native 720p or 1080p, upscaled 4K isn’t as rich or detailed as native 4K.
Do you need a 4K TV for Xbox One S?
No. You can use any modern TV with your Xbox One S console, all it needs to get you up and running is an HDMI cable. But, to take advantage of the 4K elements, and the 4K game upscaling, you’ll need a 4K TV.
What's the difference between an Xbox One and Xbox One S?
The Xbox One S is slimmer than the Xbox One and runs quieter. But the main difference is that the Xbox One S offers HDR and 4K blu-ray support. Although you’ll need a 4KTV to make use of these features.
What's better Xbox One S or PS4?
The short answer is: it totally depends. Both pieces of hardware have their strengths, and which console ends up being the one for you will come down to what matches your specific needs. The PS4 Pro's games look better, but the Xbox One S is the better-equipped media player. Read our detailed head-to-head to find out more: Xbox One S vs PS4 Pro: which is better?
Is Fortnite free on Xbox One S?
Yes. Not only is it free, but Fortnite is one of a few games that gamers in the Insider Program will be able to use special Xbox One peripheries, including a keyboard and mouse, to play with too.
What is the All-Digital Xbox One S?
The All-Digital Xbox One S is the new disc tray-less console from Microsoft. It plays all the same games as the Xbox One, One S and One X, but can only play games downloaded via the Xbox Live Store. Despite having the same specs, it's cheaper than the standard Xbox One S by about $50 or so.
Advanced electrical engineering. Moore's Law. A miracle. Call it whatever you want, but the Xbox One S defies what we thought was possible, integrating a massive power supply and an expansive 2TB hard drive into a chassis two-fifths the size of the original – 17 x 11.4 x 4.4 inches (L x W x D) if you want to know specifics. How Microsoft pulled it off, we'll never know.
Well... actually, we might. Something tells us it has to do with porous siding that allows for better airflow. A denser design would enable Microsoft to use a smaller fan, while repositioning the hard drive directly behind the disc tray – instead of in the back right corner – would leave a lot extra space that Microsoft could just cut out of the box completely.
Then, Microsoft could move the hard drive, allowing the power brick (essentially a power supply unit that you'd find in a desktop PC) to be seated inside the console instead of sitting next to it, creating less unnecessary clutter on your entertainment shelf. While components have shifted on the inside of the box, the shell of the system has undergone a transformation of its own.
Image credit: TechRadar (Image credit: Microsoft)
There are two physical buttons in place of the capacitive touch buttons for power and eject on the face of the console, and the sync and USB 3.0 ports have been brought from the side of the unit to the lower half of the front face.
Around the back, you'll find an HDMI In port that allows you to pass in a cable box, an HDMI Out that's HDMI 2.0a/HDCP 2.2, two Super Speed USB ports, and S/PDIF and Ethernet ports. There's an IR blaster on the front of the console that allows you to turn on other devices, like your TV, audio/video receiver, and cable/satellite box. The only thing missing is a standard port for Kinect.
Also, if you like your consoles in loud color schemes – or anything other than white – you're out of luck. Microsoft's Xbox Design Lab program only allows you to to customize the color of your controllers, so when it comes to the console itself you're limited to white (unless you opt for one of the special editions that have been released to coincide with various games).
While Microsoft has said that the chipset has remained exactly the same, it has swapped the standard Blu-ray disc drive for a 4K, HDR-capable one that can read Ultra HD Blu-rays, the next generation of physical media.
The Xbox One S is a great match for an Ultra HD TV, although it doesn't quite have a complete edge on Sony's PS4 Pro. The biggest upgrade is a graphical one – 4K resolution. The Xbox One S can either upscale all content to 3,840 x 2,160 for you, or you can leave that to your TV.
We had concerns that the loading and buffering of this content would take eons, and yet content seems to load faster here in an even higher resolution than it did on the original Xbox One in normal high definition. So far, Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube and US-exclusives Vudu and Hulu all have 4K versions of their apps available on the Xbox One Store, which should cover most of your streaming needs.
For apps that aren't yet supported, Microsoft's Universal Windows Apps promise to fill in a lot of the blanks by making it easier for developers to support both the Xbox One S and Windows 10 with a single app. Otherwise, if you're not a subscriber to a 4K streaming service, there's always the option of popping a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray into the Xbox One S.
As a Blu-ray player the Xbox One S performs about as well as most other consoles. There's an optional media remote that's sold separately if you want to use a more traditional remote control, otherwise you'll be using the standard gamepad to control movie playback. We were impressed when we used the Xbox One S as a UHD Blu-ray player. Images looks great, and the interface was easy to navigate.
Opting for a dedicated player might give you more premium functionality like a second HDMI port for outputting audio separate to video, but we found the console more than met our needs.
But what about games?
(Image credit: 343 Industries)
As you might imagine, games look better in 4K resolution – even if it's achieved by upconversion instead of through native 4K read-through. In the time allotted for this review, we checked out two games: Fallout 4 and Rise of the Tomb Raider.
Starting games took the usual 15-20 seconds of waiting, but once started, they generally seemed to play – and obviously look – better on the Xbox One S. Roaming the streets of Diamond City in Fallout 4, for example, we noticed the stadium lightning for the first time ever.
Its surface reflections added almost as much to the scene as the character models themselves. Or in Rise of the Tomb Raider, the full-motion capture sequences had a crisp sheen to them. It was like watching a 4K movie instead of watching a game rendered in 1080p.
Image credit: Crystal Dynamics
These were two limited experiences, and may not be indicative of the entire experience. But from everything we've seen so far, games are smoother, faster and better-looking here than they've ever been on the original Xbox One.
That said, it's important to note that Microsoft won't be making games specifically for the Xbox One S. Sure, some games will have additional HDR capabilities on Microsoft's latest console, but the developers at 343 won't make the game in the Halo franchise an Xbox One S exclusive by any means.
But in order to play games, you're going to need a controller. And to that end Microsoft has introduced a new gamepad launching alongside the new system. The Xbox One S controller is, by and large, an almost exact copy of the original Xbox One controller with small but effective improvements.
Image credit: TechRadar (Image credit: TechRadar)
The first is that the Xbox One controller will be Microsoft's first to natively support Bluetooth. That means should you want to use it as a controller for your PC you won't need a proprietary Xbox One USB receiver plugged in.
Though great in theory, real-world testing has been less positive. You can only connect one controller at a time to your PC, you can't get audio through its 3.5mm jack over Bluetooth, and even then you might be lucky if you get the controller working at all.
The other two changes are a textured grip that makes the controller easier to hold for longer periods of time, and an extra powerful wireless antenna that allows players to sit farther from the screen. While the switch from Xbox One to Xbox One S would've been a perfect time to replace the controller's power source from batteries to a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery, that unfortunately wasn't on the cards.
If you've already got a number of original Xbox One controllers lying around, thankfully you won't have to replace them with the new controllers: they'll work just fine with the new console.
Xbox One S as a platform
If you're just now joining the green team from PlayStation Nation or from the far reaches of casual gaming, you're in luck. Xbox as a platform is the best it's ever been. The App Store is still barebones compared to proper Windows 10 devices, but overall it's vastly improved from where it was when the platform launched three years ago.
Microsoft's subscription game service Xbox Game Pass is a big part of that. Allowing subscribers to access a wealth of Xbox titles past and present for a monthly fee, that includes first-party releases on day one.
Similarly, navigation is getting better with minor improvements – like moving My Apps and Games to the top right of the home screen – that make the interface exponentially easier to get from one place to the other without getting lost.
Xbox Live (now Xbox Network) still feels like a premium service. There's Games with Gold, which allows you to keep your games even once your Live subscription expires (unlike PS Plus). However, $60 (£39.99 / AU$ 79.95) a year can feel a bit steep if you're not online playing a game with a group of friends every day. Thankfully, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate includes Xbox Live Gold, so you'll still get Games With Gold.
The final feature worth mentioning here is Cortana, a feature that works similarly to Siri on iOS, tvOS and OSX, or Google Assistant on Android devices. Cortana can field commands like "Invite my friend Dave to a party" or "Pull up my achievements." Using Cortana is a more intuitive way of controlling and navigating Xbox One, and is a major step forward from the previous Kinect-only voice commands.
But those are just the major systems in play on Xbox One S. Behind them, there's GameDVR, live streaming, SmartGlass functionality, EA Access, Xbox OneGuide, Snap, Game Streaming on Windows 10, Xbox 360 backwards compatibility and Microsoft's own movie store that are all worth deeper looks.
The Xbox One S is a smart upgrade to Microsoft's Xbox One system, but whether you'll want to make the upgrade is a slightly more complicated question. If you've been considering buying an Xbox One already, then the Xbox One S is a no-brainer. But if you already own an Xbox One then your decision will likely have more to do with whether you own a 4K TV that's HDR-compatible.
Xbox One S: we liked
In short, the engineering team at Microsoft deserves a standing ovation. Condensing everything inside the original Xbox One – as well as the massive power brick – into a framework 40% of the size is a feat of engineering.
And while not every gamer will be able to appreciate the Xbox One S in all its 4K Ultra-HD, High Dynamic Range glory, those that can will be absolutely floored by the speed at which content loads over decently quick connections, and how drop-dead gorgeous games look when they're 3,840 pixels wide by 2,160 pixels high.
Xbox One S: we disliked
While there's never a great time to unveil a smaller, more powerful system to someone who's just purchased one of the now second-tier original consoles, Microsoft's original timing did seem questionable. Ditching the Kinect port entirely was the final indicator that Microsoft's motion controller is truly dead, one last slap in the face to everyone forced to buy the peripheral two-and-a-half years ago.
Microsoft's new console poses a problem in the form of a fragmented audience. While some gamers will see games in more vivid colors that are brighter and have higher contrast than those rocking the first Xbox One, others will be stuck with the capabilities of the original console.
Does that mean you shouldn't buy an Xbox One S? Probably not. But it might mean investigating how the game looks and performs on your specific model of Xbox One before plunking down a wad of cash for the latest release.
Image credit: Microsoft (Image credit: Future)
Xbox One S: final verdict
But all that taken into account, it's hard to find anything tangible to dislike about the Xbox One S in its current form. By all accounts, it's a slimmer, sleeker and sexier console than the Xbox console we've had in our cabinets for the past two and a half years. But, given all the advancements, it's hard to fathom how Microsoft plans on selling it for the same price as the current hardware.
Of course, the obvious downside is that anyone who recently bought an Xbox One is now faced with a difficult and expensive decision: is the upgraded performance, 4K HDR streaming and 2TB of storage worth re-buying the system?
If you own a 4K HDR TV or you're running out of space on that measly 500GB hard drive, the answer is an emphatic yes. If you can hold out another 12 months, however, there's an even more powerful system on the way that will blow this one out of the water.
Indian telecom operator Reliance Jio has been launching its "True 5G" services across different parts of India since the commercial launch of 5G in the Asian country last October, and the company today announced that its 5G services went live in 50 more cities of India.
Jio said this makes it one of the largest rollouts of 5G services in the world, taking the total count of cities having Jio 5G in India to 184, with pan-India 5G rollout expected to complete by December 2023. You can check the list of cities that got 5G today below.
Andhra Pradesh
Chittoor
...
The Meraki Go Plus is a compact router with an integrated firewall, comparable to more expensive products but for a fraction of the price. The Go Plus is fast to get up and running using the mobile app. Out of the box, the transfer rate with packet filtering is a decent 500Mbps across all four ports. Even better is the slew of software features, such as VPN and cloud access, provided for free.
The Meraki Go has four 1Gb Ethernet ports for local access and another 1Gb dedicated to the Internet. The included USB port can only be used as a power source for small devices, while a multicolored LED on the front shows the progress of the router’s internal operations. The unit comes with a limited two-year warranty.
Meraki Go Plus: Price and availability
There are presently two versions of the Meraki Go. The Plus, which costs $340, stands out by being fast at processing Internet packets. For $130, the Meraki Go provides the same feature and comes with Power over Ethernet but has a slower processor.
(Image credit: Future)
Meraki Go Plus: Design
The Meraki Go Plus comes well-packed, with the main unit and accessories stored in two separate cardboard trays. Two RJ45 Ethernet cables, a 30W 12V AC power block, and wall mount screws are all provided to make installation as smooth as possible. Instead of providing a user manual, Meraki gives a URL and QR code printed on a small business card where the user can get the complete installation procedure.
The Go Plus is a plain white metal box with the Cisco logo engraved on the top. It can be placed flat on a table or vertically on a wall using two screw slots at the back. A single LED acts as a multifunction status indicator on the front, while a Kensington lock slot on the left prevents the removal of the unit. The back of the case holds all network connections and a 12V power input. Two green LEDs showing link-up and activity are placed above each RJ45 ethernet socket.
Under the hood, the Meraki Go Plus sports a Freescale Quad-core ARM CPU clocked at 1.6GHz. The amount of memory is also remarkable for a router/firewall of this size, with 4GB of DDR and 1GB of flash memory. All active components are passively cooled. The Meraki Go consumes less than 4W when idle and 14W using all ports and features. A reset button next to the power jack allows for restoring the device’s factory settings when things no longer work.
A multicolored front LED shows the device’s status. Orange indicates that the unit is disconnected from the cloud, while rainbow shows that the box is attempting a cloud connection. The firewall performs its firmware upgrade when the LED flashes white, and a solid white means the firewall is connected and fully operational.
(Image credit: Future)
Meraki Go Plus: In use
Configuration of the Meraki Go firewall is performed using the mobile application, which is available for Apple and Android platforms. The first step is registering the device by scanning a QR code at the back of the firewall. For this to work, the device must have access to the Internet through the WAN port. The Meraki Go Plus boots within one minute.
The firewall’s software supports several features, including VPN and client filtering. The user usually uses VLANs to isolate different networks to secure infrastructure. The Go Plus can connect over 50 clients simultaneously without speed degradation using VLANs. On top of supporting packet filtering based on ports and IP addresses, the user can use two connected Meraki firewalls to create a site-to-site VPN, ensuring end-to-end privacy.
Meraki Go offers free cloud connectivity from the get-go. The user can view and control the firewall wherever an Internet connection is available, either from a web browser or the Meraki mobile app.
A nifty feature of the Meraki Go Plus is its ability to view connected users’ trends. For this, the firewall records connection times, IPs, and the busiest time of the day. This data can help business owners understand their customers’ needs and see potential infrastructure problems before it even happens, such as network congestion during peak hours.
(Image credit: Future)
Meraki Go Plus: The competition
A firewall/router combo is a handy device that helps secure a public network quickly while offering control and visibility over connected clients.
Firewalla’s Gold firewall provides similar performance to the Go Plus. The small form factor is also comparable to Meraki’s unit, and with an MSRP of $485, the Gold is more expensive by $100. The Gold also has fewer Gigabit ports, with only four, including the WAN port, compared to five for Meraki. It also has a higher power specification, being based on a more powerful CPU.
Meraki Go Plus: Final verdict
The Meraki Go Plus shines with its discrete and modern design. The hardware performs one task to perfection: filter network packets as quickly as possible. It comes with plenty of software options that will smoothly transition the owner from an unsecured network to one that will withstand many common network attacks. On top of having the basic IP and MAC filtering, the Guest Insights feature brings advanced network analytics to neophytes.
Since Meraki is a Cisco brand, the hardware costs more than similar firewalls. It also feels like the hardware could handle more tasks, one where the USB port could be leveraged and do backups to an external drive.
The PS4 Pro was Sony’s most powerful console before the launch of the PS5, but even then, it doesn’t take away from the fact the Pro is still a significant bit of gaming kit. Its slick design and 4K capabilities mean it still performs incredibly well, even when compared to its next-gen equivalent.
Now that the PS4 Pro has been discontinued finding a brand-new one may pose a challenge. Luckily, a pre-owned one isn’t out of the question, and there’s always a chance you may find a decent standard PS4 bundle, but if you’re looking for the latest specs and gaming experience, looking for PS5 bundles may be a better alternative than just a PS4 pro.
Our review of the PlayStation 4 Pro below details everything you need to know about Sony’s 2016 mid-generation upgrade. We've covered the specs, outlined the capabilities and listed some of the games that are great to play. There are other important things to mention too, like whether you should grab a PSVR headset to go along with the PS4 Pro.
The PS4 Pro has the same impressive back catalogue of titles as the standard PS4. The titles released for the PS4 Pro will continue to work on the original console (as well as the PS4 Slim). While the PS Now service is now defunct, you can still get a wide library of games with a PS Plus Extra or PS Plus Premium subscription.
The big question is: should I get a PS4 Pro? That largely depends on what kind of TV you own, and what kind of console you have at the moment. If you don't yet have a PS4 console, then the PS4 Pro gives you 4K capabilities (on some titles) and extra power over the PS4 Slim, in return for paying a bit more money.
You should also note that Sony's PS4 Pro system has a few deficiencies in the home entertainment department: particularly in not having an Ultra HD Blu-ray player installed. If that's important to you, you might need to look elsewhere. Keep reading for our full review of the PS4 Pro.
PS4 Pro: FAQ
Image credit: TechRadar
What’s the difference between the PS4 and the PS4 Pro?
On one hand, there’s isn’t much difference. Both consoles allow you to play the same games, use the same peripherals, and give you access to the same PlayStation Store – but when it comes to the look and feel of the games you play, you're getting a completely different experience.
The PS4 Pro is Sony’s more premium PS4 console. It plays games in a higher resolution (4K) and often in High Dynamic Range (HDR). It's a little more expensive than the regular PS4 was, but that's because it uses slightly different hardware to get better results in terms of performance. Check out our guide to the main differences between the PS4 Pro vs PS4 for more.
Is the PS4 Pro true 4K?
Yes, but games will need to receive a PS4 Pro patch to enable these more detailed resolutions. We only point that last part out because it's up to game developers themselves to issue those patches and ultimately utilize the more powerful hardware. No PS4 Pro mode, no PS4 Pro performance.
Now, it's worth noting that should you want to see what games in 4K HDR look like, you're going to need a 4K HDR TV - your old 1080p screen probably won't see a benefit outside of a few extra frames.
Is it worth buying a PS4 Pro without a 4K TV?
That depends. Without a 4K TV, you won’t be able to take advantage of the superior viewing offered up by the PS4 Pro. But the Pro does offer plenty of other benefits for those with 1080p screens. For example, many of the games with Pro patches do boast a sharper image while many also run at higher frame rates compared to the standard PS4.
What games are native 4K on PS4 Pro?
Loads of games run 4K natively on the PS4, including Red Dead Redemption 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man and No Man’s Sky. You can check out our full guide to the best PS4 Pro games to see them all.
PS4 Pro: design
(Image credit: Sony)
Slightly bigger than standard PS4
Additional 3.1 USB port on the rear
Upgraded Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
We wouldn't say the PS4 Pro's design is a complete copy of the original PS4's, there are a lot of similarities – the first being the decision to keep the console a flat parallelogram.
When Sony first unveiled the PS4 Pro, there were jokes that the system felt like two PS4s stacked on top of one another, but the second you pull the system from the box that observation becomes less of a joke and more a fair observation.
Compared to the original PS4's 27.5 x 30 x 5.3 cm package, the PS4 Pro takes up a bit more shelf space at 29.5 x 32.7 x 5.5 cm (W x L x H). It's both a little wider and a little taller than the original PS4, and a fair bit heavier, too (though unless you carry your console around a lot, that's unlikely to matter).
The system is encased in a matte black shell, similar to the one used on the PS4 Slim released in September 2016. However, this time around you won't find rounded corners along the edges – the PlayStation 4 Pro is sharp in every sense of the word.
Image credit: TechRadar
Another design difference is the silver PlayStation logo that sits in the center of the top surface, adding a nice touch of elegance. The PS4 Pro also uses a bulkier female connector on its power cable to draw more power, instead of the generic two-prong cable Sony has traditionally supplied with every PS4.
On the front of the console, you might notice that there are no touch-capacitive buttons: Sony has decided to ditch the accident-prone pads for more traditional plastic buttons, but they do the job just the same.
Image credit: TechRadar
Next, let's talk inputs and outputs. You've got two Superspeed USB 3.1 ports on the front of the PS4 Pro and one on the back, used for syncing and charging controllers, as well as connecting your brand new PlayStation VR, should you buy one. HDMI 2.0a, Ethernet, optical audio and PlayStation Camera ports line up along the back next to the power connector.
You won't find an HDMI input port here like you would on the Xbox One, but Sony's workaround to its cable conundrum, PlayStation Vue, is an arguably effective one.
One final point here: while the exterior is nice, Sony has spent more time working on the inside of the console. Inside is a larger 1TB hard drive, which is 500GB more than you'll find on the original PS4 or the base model of the PS4 Slim. There's also an improved Wi-Fi antenna that uses dual-band 802.11ac wireless and Bluetooth 4.0 instead of 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1.
While the swapping out of a Wi-Fi antenna may not seem like a big deal, it helps the PS4 Pro download games faster: a 160MB game (Pac-Man 256) downloaded in under a minute on a 15Mbps connection, something that should have always been the case but wasn't on the original PS4.
PS4 Pro: controller
Image credit: TechRadar (Image credit: Future)
Minor changes made
Can be used in wired or wireless modes
Light bar added to the front
A new system needs a new PS4 controller, and Sony obliges here – the controller that ships with the new PS4 Pro is the same one that will also ship with all PlayStation 4 Slim systems going forward.
It is, essentially, a very small iteration on the DualShock 4 controller you've probably been using for years. There's now a light bar built into the touchpad – a nice feature when you don’t want to turn the controller over in your hand to find out what player you are – but more importantly the triggers have been tweaked and it feels a bit lighter in the hand.
Plus, as we pointed out in the PlayStation 4 Slim review, the controller can also switch seamlessly between Bluetooth and wired mode when it's connected to the system via USB cable. While that might not sound like a huge addition, for a pro gamer it can mean the difference between a win (and a pot of esports prize money) or a loss.
Once you have your new PS4 Pro hooked up, it's time to turn it on and get it set up, and thankfully setting up the PS4 Pro is lightning-fast. You can cruise through the menus without breaking much of a sweat, inputting the basics like which time zone you're in, your Wi-Fi network ID and password, and which language you'd like to use.
Transferring data from an earlier iteration of the PS4 is relatively straightforward: hook both systems up to the same Wi-Fi network, connect them to one another via an Ethernet cable, and you're good to go. We had about 158GB of data on our old PS4, and that took about an hour to transfer to the PS4 Pro.
We really like how easy Sony has made it to transfer the content from one PS4 to the next – and even though we had to wait nearly an hour and a half, when the process was complete we had everything from our old console set up in exactly the same way on our new machine.
Image credit: TechRadar
But let's get to the meat and potatoes here: actual performance. As you might know, the PlayStation 4 Pro's biggest draw is that it offers "enhanced performance" for a growing pool of your favorite titles – including all games released on PlayStation VR – as well as 4K HDR streaming from Netflix.
Increasingly, games built for the PlayStation platform in the future will be taking advantage of the enhanced processing power as soon as they've been released.
Enhanced performance can manifest itself in different ways – one way might be that games will play at 4K resolution at 30 frames per second; another might be more detailed textures, or even the option to choose a higher frame rate at 1080p resolution. It's up to developers to choose how they want their games to take advantage of the upgraded processing power of the Pro in a feature Sony calls "Pro Mode."
There are now tons of games that support Pro Mode in some way, shape or form. You can read our top picks in this PlayStation 4 Pro Games roundup, but some highlights of the list include The Last of Us Remastered, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Special Edition, Titanfall 2 and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.
So what can you expect when you pop in some of these games? We've broken down the performance based on what screen you'll be potentially viewing it on.
PS4 Pro performance for 1080p TVs
Let’s start with the 1080p TV owners. Admittedly, the biggest draws to Sony's mid-gen upgrade are 4K and HDR functionality, both of which you'll be missing out on; but you will see a benefit in the frame rates of some of your favorite titles. In Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, for example, you can expect increased refresh rates that make the action feel a whole lot smoother, while textures get a bit of extra detail as well.
We weren't completely blown away with what the PS4 Pro offers for 1080p TV owners – while extra frame rates are a nice bonus, they're just not enough of an advantage to warrant spending the extra cash. But Sony didn’t design the Pro for 1080p, it was designed for...
PS4 Pro performance for 4K TVs
Here's where the PS4 Pro performance starts to heat up a bit. With a 4K TV in your living room, old games start to take on a whole new light – and that's especially true if your TV is HDR-capable. Games like Infamous: Second Son have been given a facelift to utilize both technologies, making particle effects pop off the screen and contrast ratios spike through the roof.
It's worth making especially clear here however, that the PS4 Pro isn't capable of outputting native 4K for all games – many titles that support 4K Pro Mode have been upscaled to that resolution. That doesn't mean games won't look absolutely incredible on your 4K TV, because they most certainly will, but don't expect as many genuinely rendered pixels as you do on a high-end PC just yet.
Image credit: TechRadar
PS4 Pro performance for PlayStation VR
But there's one last area that we wanted to cover here, and that's how PS4 Pro enhances the PlayStation VR experience: even right from the consoles announcement, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Andrew House was touting the PS4 Pro's ability to enhance PSVR games.
We're happy to report that he's absolutely right – VR games run noticeably better on this machine. PS4 Pro Mode titles feel like they're not only better-looking, with more detailed textures, but they also feel a hair faster in terms of frame rate on the new system as well.
The bottom line? If you're new to the Sony ecosystem and plan on buying a PlayStation VR alongside your console purchase, you should definitely shell out for the PlayStation 4 Pro.
The PlayStation platform, nine years on
Continued growth in services, including PlayStation Now, Spotify and 4K Netflix.
One of the greatest pleasures for a tech journalist is watching a platform blossom from a dawdling little toddler, devoid of any serious content and full of big ideas, to a fleshed out, fully functional battlestation. Nine years on, Sony still stands tall as the king of the consoles – even if Microsoft's Xbox One X gave it a fight for the ages this generation.
The PlayStation Store full of great content to purchase – with literally everything from super-niche indie darlings on there to big budget titles, movies and music available – and if feels like there's always something new waiting on the horizon too.
Image credit: Sony
Every month or two brings with it a platform update that will meaningfully change the way you interact with the system – and that's why we feel so comfortable giving it a good recommendation.
Sure, you can find party chats, Twitch integration and apps like YouTube and Amazon on any platform, but Sony seems to always find a few ways to make you feel like you're part of something bigger, and that's true on the PS4 Pro as well. Sony hasn't skimped when it comes to supporting other territories with video content either.
The Australian PlayStation Store is full of most of the major catch-up TV services, including SBS On Demand, ABC iview, 9Now, TenPlay and PLUS7. Foxtel Play is also available, allowing Pay TV subscribers to stream right to their console. What the Pro adds to the conversation is 4K streaming, with major players including Netflix and Amazon supporting 4K video content on the PS4 Pro.
For the 4K/HDR TV owner, the PS4 Pro's benefits speak for themselves. It offers high-resolution gameplay at higher frame rates that you will notice and appreciate.
However, for non-4K TV owners, especially those who don't think they'll end up with a PlayStation VR, the benefits are a bit murkier. Sure, you still get a nice bump in frame rates and better textures in dozens of games; however, by and large the difference you'll see is negligible. At its heart the PlayStation 4 Pro is just a souped-up PS4 after all.
We feel a slight twinge of compunction when we say "it's just a PS4," as that implies that the system Sony has made isn't an already wonderful piece of technology. But because the original was so fantastic, the bar is higher for the PS4 Pro – a bar that I don't feel like is totally met for the majority of gamers out there.
The lack of a UHD Blu-ray player hurts the value of the system, and while we appreciate 4K/HDR capabilities on a select few titles, the system doesn’t scream "this is a must-buy" to us. If someone asked us to summarize our opinions on the PS4 Pro in one sentence, we'd say: how much you'll appreciate the console and its capabilities comes down to your TV.
Image credit: TechRadar
PS4 Pro: we liked
4K resolution gaming, obviously. If you have the equipment, some of your favorite titles are going to look absolutely incredible on the PlayStation 4 Pro. Add to that High Dynamic Range capabilities (again, if your TV has it) and you have one of the best visual experiences on any console, bar none, with the PS4 Pro.
I also appreciated the two minor tweaks to the inside of the console itself – the larger 1TB hard drive and upgraded 802.11ac Wi-Fi antenna. Games are not only downloaded faster on this system, but – thanks to an extra 500GB of storage – you won't have to make the decision which games to keep and which ones you need to uninstall to clear up some room.
PS4 Pro: we disliked
If I ever find myself in a conversation with a Sony engineer, the first thing I'm going to ask about is the PS4 Pro's lack of a 4K UHD Blu-ray player.
I've tried to avoid the direct comparison to the Xbox One S throughout the review, something that's now even harder to do with the Xbox One X on shelves, but it completely boggles my mind that Microsoft – the company that once thought HD DVD would beat Blu-ray – now offers a 4K Blu-ray player while Sony does not.
That said, the growing catalog of games built to take advantage of the 4K power gets more appealing all the time, while a recently-introduced boost mode, giving marginal improvements to all titles on the system overall, is a welcome (if not groundbreaking) addition.
PS4 Pro: our verdict
Let's pick up a car analogy to really drive this point home: the PS4 Pro is truly a marvelous piece of machinery. It's capable of so much and yet the rest of your setup also needs to match its capabilities.
Sure, the latest model of (insert your favorite car here) might be capable of reaching incredible speeds (read: 4K compatible), but if you're limited by the law to stay under a certain speed (read: using a 1080p TV), then what good is all that speed?
Of course many of you will have now made the jump to a 4K HDR TV, and if so – or if you're keen on buying a PlayStation VR too – then we'd say the PS4 Pro is well worth its $399 / £349 / AU$559 price tag. On the other hand, if you're yet to make the jump to either 4K or VR, then you might want to jump straight into the PS5.
