Who says you can’t launch a new console in the months leading up to E3?
Microsoft announced today the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, a disc-less version of the Xbox One S that has become its base-model Xbox.
Available for $249 USD / $299 CAD when it launches on May 7th, the console looks identical to the Xbox One S, save for the slot-loading Blu-Ray player. In fact, the console is identical internally as well, as discovered by Austin Evans who has an early unit. It makes perfect sense to keep the internals the same in order to reduce costs. This way, Microsoft doesn’t need to redesign the motherboard or rearrange components internally, and can spend this time focusing on a new console.
These decisions actually filter quite far down the supply chain. Not changing the internals means that the company can keep the same box size and shape, the packaging materials that go inside them, the pallets and shipping arrangements they have with carriers to move thousands of these across the world, and still gives them room to call Xbox One X the smallest Xbox they’ve ever made.
This new version of the Xbox One S will be sold alongside the original console and includes a 1TB hard drive to store games, apps, and other content. It also comes with download codes for Forza Horizon 3, Sea of Thieves, and Minecraft in the box.
While the suggested retail price of Xbox One S (with the disc drive) is $299 USD, there are regularly bundle deals with a game or two included, while also knocking about $50-$70 off the console itself. At this point, it is unclear whether or not the new machine will see the same pricing strategy, but time will tell. Should a new console be announced by Microsoft this year for launch in 2020, we can absolutely expect that Xbox One S All-Digital Edition to drop below $200 USD and serve as a great entry point into the Xbox brand.
Xbox One S All-Digital Edition launches in select markets worldwide on May 7th.