Microsoft officially unveils the budget Xbox Series S: Ray tracing, 512GB SSD, 1440p resolution, and a $299 price tag

For the past few days, rumors have swirled online about the potential specs and price of the Xbox Series S, Microsoft's younger sibling to the flagship Xbox Series X. Some insiders claimed the Redmond company's budget console wouldn't include an SSD, while others were convinced the software giant wouldn't omit this next-gen feature, even from a cheaper device. Fortunately, the latter turned out to be true.

Meet the budget Xbox Series S console:

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Here are the key features and differences between Series S and Series X:

• Price: $299 in the US and €299 in Europe;

• Console is 60% smaller than Series X;

• Custom 512GB NVMe SSD;

• 4K video streaming support and upscaling for all content to 4K;

• Target resolution for games: 1440p at up to 120 fps (likely referring to Microsoft's first-party titles);

• Low-latency gameplay;

• Like the Series X, the Series S will support ray tracing and variable rate shading;

• Series S is an all-digital console, meaning games can only be purchased and installed from the Microsoft Store;

• The console launches on November 10;

Now, the only question is whether Sony will respond to Microsoft's potentially successful budget offering or leave this market segment unchallenged.