It’s probably no coincidence that the Xbox One S shares the naming convention of Apple’s odd-year iPhones: both add useful but not upgrade-worthy features to the first-generation hardware they succeed. The most obvious improvement is that it’s trimmed the fat from its bulky frame, but it’s the new machine’s addition of 4K Blu-ray and streaming playback, as well as high dynamic range (HDR) support that make the Xbox One S most appealing to home theater enthusiasts.
The catch, of course, is that you need to have a 4K-capable TV that supports HDR10 to use all of the console’s new tricks. On an old-school 1080p screen, the S offers no feature benefits over the 2013 Xbox One beyond its ability to occupy less physical space. This review is being conducted using a Samsung UN65KS8000 TV, which IGN purchased for the occasion. (Note that the Xbox One S does not support Dolby Vision, the other player in the HDR format war.)
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