Xbox Series S specs just leaked — and they're pretty impressive

Xbox Series S concept design
(Image credit: Reddit - u/jiveduder)

Specs of the Xbox Series S have been leaked revealing a console that will target 1440p resolution gaming at 60 frames per second, despite its reduced power compared to the Xbox Series X

The Verge’s Tom Warren tweeted that the Xbox Series S will have 20 compute units - something he’s hinted at before - and noted they will run at 1.55GHz, which TweakTown combined with other leaked information it’s gathered to create a detailed look into the supposed specs of the Xbox Series S. While the Series S will have the same eight-core, 16-thread Zen 2 architecture CPU as the Series X, it will have a less powerful GPU, delivering four teraflops of graphical power compared to the Series X’s 12 teraflops. 

Give the Xbox One X - currently the world’s most powerful games console - has six teraflops of GPU power and 40CUs, the Xbox Series S could look rather underpowered in comparison. The Series S is also tipped to have 10GB of video memory compared to the Xbox One X’s 12GB.

However, with the new Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU architecture and faster GDDR6 VRAM compared to the One X’s GDDR5, the Xbox Series S could still be the more powerful console given it’ll be running more advanced hardware. 

And targeting a 1440p resolution seems sensible for the Xbox Series S, as that can then be up-mixed to a form of virtual 4K resolution using a technique called checkerboard rendering. This is something the PS4 Pro applies to good effect in some of its latest games. 

As such, if you have a 4K television, you’ll not likely be forced to get an Xbox Series X for 4K gaming, though it will be the machine to get if you want to see next-generation games in all their glory. 

See more

TweakTown’s report then confirmed a lot of details we’ve already heard and postulated around the Xbox Series S. For example, it will be a digital-only console with no Blu-ray drive, allowing for it to be offered at a lower retail price than the Xbox Series X. We’re not sure how much cheaper the Xbox Series S will be compared to it powerful sibling, but some rumors have suggested it could be half the price, so could potentially range between $200 and $300. 

There was no word, however, on the storage space we can expect the Xbox Series S to have other than it will sport a PCIe 4,0 SSD; as it’s a digital-only console we’d expect it to have 1TB of storage given modern games can take up a lot of space. 

The Xbox Series S is expected to be revealed at some point this August, though Microsoft hasn’t mentioned a date for its next Xbox event. Regardless, with increasing amounts of leaks, it looks like the Xbox Series S is indeed on its way. 

Roland Moore-Colyer

Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.