The Xbox Series X All Digital is one of three new consoles revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024.
Although some details are still unknown, such as the exact launch date and UK pricing, Xbox promises the Series X All Digital will feature the “same speed and performance” as the current Xbox Series X.
While we haven’t got our hands on the Series X All Digital version yet, we have reviewed the Xbox Series X and awarded the console a solid 4.5-star rating. With this in mind, we’ve compared the specs of the two consoles to determine the differences between them.
Xbox Series X All Digital doesn’t have a disc drive
The new Xbox Series X All Digital, as you might expect, doesn’t have a disc drive so it can’t play games or films from physical discs. This means that all content must either be streamed or downloaded via an internet connection.
The Xbox Series X however does have a disc drive and can support 4K UHD Blu-Ray discs. Whether having a disc drive is important or not is down to how you intend on using your console. If you’re a fan of physical media and your collection of films and games is a point of pride then it’s hard to imagine you finding common ground with the Series x All Digital, but if you’d prefer ditching the clutter for an all-digital library then it might be the better option.
Both support up to 4K resolution
Both the Series X All Digital and standard Series X support up to 4K resolution. Microsoft promises that the All Digital model will offer “stunning and immersive worlds” and bring popular franchises “to life”.
The Xbox Series X also supports up to 8K HDR which, while impressive, our reviewer did note that “you’ll likely only see 8K resolutions for media playback on streaming services such as Netflix and Disney Plus once support surfaces” and “you’ll also need a top-end telly or monitor to actually see the improvements”.
We don’t know for sure yet whether or not the Series X All Digital will support up to 8K HDR too, as that hasn’t been confirmed.
Xbox Series X All Digital is available in Robot White
While the Xbox Series X is available in Black, the new Xbox Series X All Digital comes in a Robot White finish which is similar to the Xbox Series S console.
Xbox Series X runs on Xbox Velocity Architecture
The Xbox Series X boasts impressively speedy performance thanks to Xbox Velocity Architecture. With the custom SSD and integrated software, games load significantly faster on the Xbox Series X compared to previous consoles, which we found to be the case in our review. There’s also Quick Resume which allows you to seamlessly switch between different titles and instantly resume from where you left off.
While it hasn’t been explicitly confirmed that the Xbox Series X All Digital will be powered by the Xbox Velocity Architecture, Microsoft stated that the digital first players can “experience the speed and performance of Xbox Series X” with the All Digital. With that, we can assume it’ll run on the same processor.
Xbox Series X All Digital is cheaper
There are still a few things we don’t know about the pricing and availability of the Xbox Series X All Digital. Firstly, UK pricing has yet to be 100% confirmed, nor has a concrete release date been given. The only detail made available is a projected release window of “holiday 2024”.
Microsoft has promised that “pre-orders, market availability, and regional pricing” are “coming soon”. What we do know however is that the console has an ERP of $449.99/€499.99.
In comparison the Xbox Series X has an ERP of $499.99/ €549.99. We also know that its ERP in the UK is £479.99, although this could be subject to change.
