Extra processing power in Xbox One S reserved for HDR graphics, says Microsoft

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Published on June 15, 2016

published on June 15, 2016

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The Xbox One S is slightly more powerful than the standard Xbox One, but Microsoft does not intend for games to perform better on that console than the older, larger version.

Contrary to statements by Gears of War 4 head Rod Fergusson, who said the Xbox One S would improve its games’ frame rates and resolutions, in an official statement to Gamespot Microsoft said the Xbox One S’s extra GPU and CPU was there so developers can make use of the newer console’s HDR support.

“We have the same SOC architecture as Xbox One today,” Microsoft said. “For games that want to take advantage of HDR, we gave developers access to a small amount of additional processing power.”

HDR (high dynamic range) offers expanded color and contrast range, which offers graphics on supporting TVs (many newer ones) that are brighter and more vibrant. Gears of War 4 will be the first game to support this new feature.

The Xbox One S supports both 4K video and HDR, and can now be pre-ordered for $300 for 500 GB, $350 for 1 TB, and $400 for 2 TB for August delivery.