Microsoft has been ahead of its game with the reveal and marketing for the upcoming new generation of consoles. We’ve already seen the Xbox Series X, we know its specs and we’ve seen the controller, but a new rumour suggests that’s not all that the company has to showcase this year.
According to a new report [via WindowsCentral], Microsoft is gearing up for the reveal of a more budget-friendly next-gen console. Similar to the relationship between the Xbox One X and the Xbox One S, it’s presumed that the unannounced console(s) will follow the trend, probably with the name “Xbox Series S.”
The report states that the budget console is currently being developed under the name “Lockhart,” and aims to be an “entry point” for next-gen gaming. It’s expected to replace the need of the Xbox One X, which could mean we’re looking at a similar price tag.
While still being affordable, the new console is rumoured to include some elements of Series X though not all.
It’s believed that Xbox is planning to unveil Lockhart in all its glory, sometime in May. If this is true, we can expect to hear more on these unconfirmed reports in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, we now know the official specs for both of the next-generation consoles: the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. Although we definitely are past the years of the “console wars,” it’s pretty interesting to take a look at the two side-by-side – especially if you’re only planning on picking up one console.
The Xbox Series X has the following to boast:
| CPU | 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.66 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU |
| GPU | 12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU |
| Die Size | 360.45 mm2 |
| Process | 7nm Enhanced |
| Memory | 16 GB GDDR6 w/ 320mb bus |
| Memory Bandwidth | 10GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s |
| Internal Storage | 1 TB Custom NVME SSD |
| I/O Throughput | 2.4 GB/s (Raw), 4.8 GB/s (Compressed, with custom hardware decompression block) |
| Expandable Storage | 1 TB Expansion Card (matches internal storage exactly) |
| External Storage | USB 3.2 External HDD Support |
| Optical Drive | 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive |
| Performance Target | 4K @ 60 FPS, Up to 120 FPS |
How will a budget-friendly model stack up?
Featured Image Credit: Microsoft