Xbox Series X vs Series S

Both play the same games and both run Game Pass. The differences are power, storage and the disc drive — and one of those three matters far more than the specifications suggest.

What is the difference between Xbox Series X and Series S?

Power. The Series X is substantially more powerful. It targets 4K; the Series S targets 1440p, often upscaled to 4K output.

Storage. The Series X has considerably more internal storage. The Series S has notably less, and modern games are large — this fills up faster than people expect.

Disc drive. The Series X has one. The Series S does not, and cannot have one added.

Size and price. The Series S is much smaller and much cheaper.

Does the Xbox Series S play discs?

No. It is digital-only, permanently. Every game must be bought from the store and downloaded.

This is the difference that deserves the most thought, because it is not about performance. No disc drive means no used games, no selling games when you finish them, no lending, and no playing the Xbox discs you may already own.

Over a few years of buying games, paying full digital price for everything can easily exceed the money saved on the console. See Digital Edition consoles for the arithmetic.

Is the Series S powerful enough?

For most people, yes — with honest caveats.

It plays every Xbox game. Developers are required to support it, so you are not locked out of anything. On a 1080p television the difference from a Series X is small, and on a 1440p screen it is still perfectly respectable.

Where it struggles: on a large 4K television the gap becomes visible, some games run at lower settings or frame rates, and the storage limitation becomes a constant management task — deleting one game to install another.

The honest summary: the Series S is a very good console for a 1080p screen and a moderate budget. On a large 4K set, it is the wrong purchase.

Which Xbox is best for Game Pass?

Both work identically with Game Pass — the same library, the same day-one releases on the tiers that include them.

But the Series S suits the Game Pass model slightly awkwardly. Game Pass encourages installing many games and trying them, and the Series S has the least room to do that. If Game Pass is your main reason for buying, factor storage expansion into the price — and note that Xbox uses a proprietary expansion card, so there is no cheap third-party option.

Which to buy

Series S — a 1080p television, a tighter budget, you buy digitally anyway, and you value the small size.

Series X — a 4K television, you want physical and used games, or you install a lot at once.

Call 16280 and tell us your screen and budget, and we will give you a straight answer.