Xbox Series S price and design confirmed, but the SSD leaves a lot to be desired

Xbox Series S
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Update: Microsoft has confirmed the price for the Xbox Series S, but another video has now leaked online revealing a host of specs for the console - and not much storage.

We have a price and an official image of the Xbox Series S.

That's right, just hours after images, a release date and pricing of both the rumored Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S were leaked, Microsoft has decided that it's time to officially confirm the baby of the range - the Xbox Series S.

What's more, we now have an official Xbox Series S price - $299 / £249.99 (around AU$499).

Microsoft took to the official Xbox Twitter account to confirm the console - it's smallest ever, by the way - giving us the first price point of the next generation consoles.

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So what do we know?

As well as the Xbox Series S price of $299 / £249.99, the image which has accompanied the tweet also gives us a good look at the slimmed-down console.

It appears to be exactly the same as the render we saw leaked by Brad Sams on YouTube and Thurrott - plus the pricing matches this leak. You can watch the video below, which gives us a slightly different angle of the Xbox Series S console.

While this render has not been officially confirmed by Microsoft, judging by the image it has tweeted, it looks pretty spot on.

And for an even better idea of just how small the Xbox Series S is, just four hours prior to the console being officially confirmed another video hit the web showing how it matches up to the Series X.

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It appears that we may also know the Xbox Series S release date, after sources told Windows Central that the console, along with the Series X, will be available from November 10 - although Microsoft is yet to confirm this.

However, with accurate pricing and renders of the Series S leaking, it adds more credibility to the leaks suggesting the Xbox Series X price will be $499.

A storage sting in the tail?

We also know that the Xbox Series S will be discless - Sony has made a similar move with the PS5 coming in two variants (disc and no disc).

While this isn't the first time Microsoft has done this - see the Xbox One S All-Digital - the Series S is said to be substantially more powerful, and pack a solid-state hard drive and faster CPU, although we're waiting for specs to be officially announced.

However, a fresh Twitter video leak posted after Microsoft's official confirmation of the console, appears to give us a look at the Xbox Series S specs.

One of the stand-out specs is the storage, or perhaps more accurately the perceived lack of storage, the Series S console will offer.

According to the video (below) posted by @_h0x0d_ on Twitter, the Xbox Series S will come with a 512GB custom SSD.

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On the surface, that's an alarmingly low amount of storage for a next generation console, especially when you consider a chunk will be taken up by the operating system, and that the Series S is an all-digital console, that means no disc tray and any downloaded game will have to be stored on the console's internal storage.

GTA V, for example, is around 45GB in size, which means the Series S may only be able to store around 10 complete next-gen games on its SSD - however, there are a couple of solutions for future Series S owners.

Microsoft will be keen for gamers to sign up to its Project xCloud subscription game streaming service, which will allow you to play games without having to download massive game files onto your system - taking away any worries over the size of the SSD in the Series S.

At launch (on September 15), xCloud will offer gamers over 100 games, but come the launch of the Xbox Series S - which is looking more and more likely to be in November - there could be an even wider array of titles to choose from.

The other positive is the Xbox Series S may be able to use external storage options - at an additional cost to you - such as the 1TB external SSD that has already been announced for the Series X. 

Assuming this storage peripheral will also be compatible with the Series S (it's not been confirmed yet), it will go some way to alleviating any fears of 'storage full' errors.

It's worth noting that PS5 owners may run into the same issue, as the PS5 Digital Edition may come with the same 825GB of storage as the main PS5. Sure, that's more than the Xbox Series S, but with the size of games these days that may only afford an addition 5-7 titles.

We also don't know how much either PS5 edition will be, and the digital variant could turn out to be more than the Xbox Series S. Sony, it's over to you.

Let us know what you make of the Xbox Series S price and design in our Twitter below below.

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John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.