Smaller Xbox One APU may be in the works, could lead to slimmer console

Microsoft could launch a slimmer, and possibly cheaper, version of the Xbox One in the future, if information about an upcoming smaller APU for the console developed by AMD is correct.

Eurogamer reports that a (since deleted) LinkedIn profile of AMD's senior manager of SOC (system on chip) physical design showed that he "successfully planned and executed the first APU for Microsoft's Xbox One Game Console in 28nm technology and a cost-reduced derivative in 20nm technology."

Reducing the APU of the Xbox One from 28nm to 20nm means that AMD can reduce the manufacturing costs of the processor because more of those chips will be able to fit onto the silicon wafers used for production. It can also lead to a chip that needs less cooling to operate due to the processor operating without as much power. Microsoft could use all of these changes to launch an Xbox One with the same hardware requirements as the current version but in a much smaller case that could be sold at a reduced cost.

There's no word on when, or even if, Microsoft would released a "slim" Xbox One but it has launched two smaller versions of the Xbox 360 since the original one was released in 2005. It would certainly make sense for the company to make a smaller Xbox One if it had the power to do so.

Are you waiting for Microsoft to launch a "slim" Xbox One before buying it?

Source: Eurogamer

136 Comments

Could it also be that msft bump up the gpu so there's property 1080p gaming?
Yes, because that would be great for all the existing ones.
Yes, that would be better than to reduce the size. Many people including some of my friends have told that they are interested to buy Xbox one if it will have more specification like PS4.
Then those people are idiots.
I agree. Their specs are nearly identical save for memory bandwidth. The Xbox had more than enough "horsepower" for years to come. Meaning CPU... It really will come down to developers learning to program their games towards its strengths. They need to learn to use the efficiencies Microsoft built in. Unfortunately Sony just went the brute force route which is probably easier.
Sooo... your saying that devs can't/wont code games to the ps4's strengths and therefore that gives the inferior spec'd console (xbo) the prize? This comment is blatant fanboy talk. Say devs atart utlizing the xbox one properly, ok, thats a performance boost for the xbox one.. but what if devs do the same for the ps4? Here you have 2 very optimized games, so tell me.. which console will produce the more visually stunning game? The one with better specs. also, for the record the "Unfortunately Sony just went the brute force route which is probably easier." is genuinely the smarter path.. why? devs are bloody lazy, they'll always choose the easier platform, which is never the devices specific effecienices that microsoft wants devs to utilize.
At least you tried to understand what I was saying(I don't think you did but anyways...) whether I'm wrong or not.
Yes Microsoft took the more complicated route. Doesn't mean it's better or worse, just that devs prefer the easier route which makes it the better route unless they care to learn and optimize toward whatever MS is pushing as the way to make games. Sony decided to take the loss on hardware costs (more expensive RAM) and make it up by selling more. Not fanboy talk.
Anyways, didn't mean to bristle you so much. (editing at 6am next day: I was pretty drunk when I wrote this message... I wasn't saying devs won't code for PS4, I was trying to say the other way around. The prefer coding for PS4. Think of how electricity travels... Path of least resistance right? So instead of catering to Xbox they cater to PS4 because it is less work for better results instead of more work for those same results. That's what I was getting at in the first post. As for the original part of this post, I was quite drunk around that time...
No they are not. If not better visuals all around, what then justifies a next gen console? The PS3 and 360 were expected to support 1080p almost a decade ago, and after years of technological advancement, many Xbone games still don't support 1080p. It's pathetic is what it is.
No its not. Its pathetic arguiing about it. 900 is fine even on a 50 inch screen.
The Xbox One is a fabulous console and a great leap over the 360. Peoploe are arguing over a handful of pixels instead of judhing them by the best games, and the best exclusives are currently on Xbox One. I also really like the added value of TV control. PS4 doesnt have voiced based TV guides. It depends on your own value judgement and if people think a hundred or so pixesl is worth all the arguing good for them, but I will consider them an idiot, as its irrelevant in the overall scheme of things.
That's my RIG: Cost was about an Arm and a Leg and took about a week build.
Plays pretty much any Game in 2560 x 1600 like a Champ. Got lucky and managed to get into the Evolve Alpha on both the Xbox One and on Steam.
Can't see the difference in Resolution because a) I'm sitting too far away from the TV hooked to the Xbox One, b) I'm not having both next to each other at the same time to compare and c) the PC version appears just to be a port from the Console Version ( PC Version: "Press 'A' to start" ) Now that the Consoles are so close in Architecture to the PC I expect more "ports" from them where the difference is so diminishing that I can't really care about it. I only mourn the way they develop games using the less powerfull plattform as a base without increasing the fidelity for the PC. So in the end... Why bother?
You're wrong.
xbox one under 720p is still has bettet graphics than ps4 1080p
That's ridiculous, the two machines are specced nearly identical, the only difference is the choice of memory.
They aren't nearly identical. The Xbox has something like 30% fewer shaders than the ps4. That's not nearly identical. DOES it make a 30% difference? Absolutely not! Games on the Xbox one looks great! Nearly as well and often just as well (maybe even with better exclusives) than PS4. But there's no reason we need to defend Microsoft over what amounted to an incorrect decision that they're now paying for. Just because we are fanboys doesn't mean we have to blindly accept Microsoft's decision. Ideally you would support them no matter what, but still point out their flaws. The XBO is not perfect.
MS can't increase the hardware specs in between, they are fixed till the end of generation
Now introducing the new Xbox One Plus! Run all your games 20% faster! P.S. Nintendo has done this repeatedly in their handheld market.
Never after only a year to my knowledge (granted this is not coming out right now, especially since AMD still isn't on 20nm). Which are you thinking of?
Not entirely true! When it comes to big changes, you are right! But smaller ones are no problem. For example the different 360 versions got slightly improved CPUs with each iteration.
sony did it with the PSP too, the psp slim had a faster cpu than the original psp, and I think the psp go got a slight cpu boost too.
No, that would be screwing over of the owners of the current version. Also, why is there such and obsession with 1080p. I'd rather play a 720p/60 fps game than a 1080p/30 fps one, if there is no way to play it at 1080p/60 fps.
well heres the problem, the consoles should have been made to handle 1080p at 60 fps, its laughable that they didn't, thats where this gens tech is, the fact that it cant be done reliable shows that the console is clearly a gen behind (im not sure if the ps4 is able to do 1080p@60 either.. ive heard very mixed things about that..)
They cud have made it 1080p at 1000 FPS but it would have been too expensive. console follow the commodity pricing of mainstream chip manudacture. Have you even seen a 900p game @ a solid 60? Go look at Sunset Overdrive, I can tell you it looks A M A Z I N G! Quit whining, and start playing.
its 30. Does look amazing though.
This.
@Asskikulater Sorry, you are lacking the basics how things work. There is no fixed spec, which enables 1080p@60 fps. Both XBox One and PS4 are very well capable of running games 1080p@60 fps. But given any level of HW performance, the developer can always decide to shoot for better graphics fidelity at lower resolution or framerate or worse graphics fidelity at higher resolution and framerate. This trade-off will always be there independent how powerful you design your HW. Given a fixed HW spec it is very tempting for developers to lower resolution and framerate slightly in oder to reach an overall better fidelity/detail/effect level, which leads to overall better perceived graphics. Part of the reason is, that resolution and framerate are both very expensive with respect to required HW performance while at the same time not giving a significantly improved graphics perception.
We'll for the 360 they used a scaler chip
Wouldn't that feel like a giant f u to early adopters.? Unless they replace all units no one will be happy. They screwed up they can't go back.
Right, cause every time tech advances it's a blatant fu to the customers that bought the previous.
That's not the way consoles work. Every console was redesigned, specs stay the same.
The world of consoles is very different from other tech. The whole point of a console is that it is standard. I don't believe there has ever been a truly successful mid generation upgrade. Customers would definitely be very alienated. I am, however, puzzled why MS didn't foresee this as a major problem. I think everyone's minimum assumption for this generation would be full HD.
The RAM cartridge for the N64 was a huge hit.
/s? If I didn't know what you were talking about I'd be confused.
The guys bellow answered my concern.
I would say early adopters should get a $100-turn-in-voucher, if they for buying a (technically) advanced version of the console.
Dude it should be like $300, any random person can turn in a "working" Xbox 360 or PS3 for $100
It has to be the latest models of them though. It can't just be like the slim or the fat 360
They haven't screwed up though
Upgrade the GPU ? Has Microsoft ever upgraded the hardware in the Xbox 360 ? Sure, they might of done minor things in the slim to make the interface run a little smoother but, upgrade graphics ? Nah, would not happen. The thing about consoles, is you dont see any major upgrades model to model, as it would cause fragmentation in it where older consoles would not be able to run newer games and that would cause a major failue in the system (and personally I would stop bying Xbox systems if this was to happen) If you were one who supported MS, and picked up a Day one Xbox one, would you want them to upgrade the newer systems and you find out a year from now there is games that will not run ? I would be pissed..
They increased the size of the hard drive by 10 fold, increased resolution and sound quality by adding HDMI and lowered prices on the xbox 360 systems, fixed red ring of death issues etc. How is that any different then upping the apu specs and charging more for it? Maybe offer multi TV support as well and ac1900 wireless. =)
It's different because every game ran at the same specs for the entire generation.
Technically adding HDMI increased the resolution to progressive and the 250 GB hard drive on the later version was faster than the original 20GB one with faster loading times.
No. Nor is this topic particularly newsworthy. All consoles in every generation go through this process. 360 and PS3 went through a ridiculous number of die shrinks and optimizations.
That would be taking the console into the world of PC gaming where you have to check your specs before buying a game. The opposite of the very reason many gamers choose console over PC.
Personally I'd like to see a Xbox One 4K edition. Enough power to run all games in UHD and specifically designed to do such (very high GPU memory bandwidth), but priced with a premium obviously. I dont think this would affect current XBO owners because the current console would run all the same games, but at a lower resolution.
No. That is not the point of this shrink. It will essentially keep all hardware the same to keep parity with previous versions of the same console. Instead it will allow for less power usage, less heat output, which should in turn mean smaller console footprint. Also quieter.
I'm all for it.
Xbox one for all things non gaming. I see a market.
Its embarrassing the as big as the Xbox One is, the power brick is external.
Embarrassing? Do you cower in shame when your friends see your Xbox One power supply? Sheesh...
@MrJoo its called an opinion you condescending prick.
I don't think that was condescending at all. It was definitely more smart aleck or wisecrack than condescending. ;)
Rofl, hello pot, meet kettle.
LOL
Benefit is that there is hardly any noise, compare that with jet take off on PS4. I'll take a big cooler console any day over a small noisy console
This
I own both, and neither one is noisy.
I absolutely love the looks of the Xbox one. My personal opinion, but this is the best looking console. Looks great by the tv. Blends in with amp, and doesn't have a stupid bright led that burns your retinas out like a laser. Yes, it would be nice to have built in power supply.
Not really, the less heat producing components in the console, the better the longevity. Remember these consoles are supposed to be taking over many TV functions as well, meaning they will be on for many more hours per day than a pure gaming console. They need to last. Microsoft basically ran a virtual hardware simulation of the Xbox hardware for months to help design the best possible thermal profile for the device. I think they probably know what they are doing.
Xbox One.one
Xbox One 2
Xbox One (M8)
Xbox One and a half.
Xbox central.. Lol jk
Hahaha
I'll probably buy One when the slim comes out. Right now I'm still happy with my PS4 but Sunset Overdrive and Quantum Break are tempting!
Player Sunset Overdrive yesterday and its so much fun! Id find it hard to resist an xbox if I didn't have one and played that game at a mates or in store lol
So why doesn't anyone seem to care that Sunset Overdrive is not 1080p/60fps? I haven't heard anyone complain about that games frame rate or resolution since its released. Leads me to believe that it really doesn't matter except to fanboys in online forums.
As long as its fun, it doesn't matter that much
Because it's an exclusive title and you can't compare those. But when the next multiplat comes out with better resolution and frame rates, you better believe everyone will be all over it.
Because at the end of the day... Both Sony and MS lost in terms of "next gen" marketing blurbs. Neither console is capable of hitting the 1080p.60fsp benchmark. At the very end of the day... if numbers are your only concern, you buy a PC. I doubt we'll see too much more of the complaints over the resolution and FPS.
Played Sunset overdrive, and all I felt was boredom. Just another mindless button masher. I'll think about it when it hits the Gamefly $10 bin after Christmas :)
That's the thing with Games, it's all very subjective. You can't really trust someone else's opinion. You gots to try it yourself, to see if YOU like it.
Very true. I played a bunch of God of War and Kingdom Hearts back in my PlayStation days and loved those mindless button mashers. I wish there was a little more technicality to those games but they were fun and I look forward to that next KH when it arrives on Xbox if it hasn't been cancelled...I no longer follow that news.
A really fun non-button masher is Max: The Curse of Brotherhood. For anyone else that skipped it initially when it came out like I did...
I say instead of making it slimmer figure out a way to incorporate the power supple into the case with extra space. The power brick has always bugged me.
Something that's on the floor out of sight..... Really!
I knew when I posted this that people would respond like this and thought I should clarify that its size wasn't a deal breaker just a minor annoyance. When a person says something bugs them it doesn't mean that's it's the end of the world for that person. Sure it might be out of sight but it's not inaudible. There power supply fan is louder than the actual Xbox fan. I would rather, if they could, incorporate it as well as its cooling into the Xbox than have a slimmer console. I would also love to see an option to get one without a bluray player. Feel free to give me crap about that too.
Dude, no bluray? OMG. I mean, where do you live, in a cave? Internal power supply? Go home dagrepont you're drunk!1!!! I really wanted to give you more crap about it but just don't have it in me. Pun intended.
If it is so big than replace your couch with the power supply and sit on it.
You do realize it's supposed to be hidden behind whatever TV setup you have. So its' looks and size don't interfere with your aesthetical well-being.
Yeah, I've never really understood the issue with the power brick. I don't think I've seen mine from any of my consoles since installation. It's not a laptop or mobile device, so it's not like I'm carrying it around with me.
1080p is somewhat of a hoax, most people don't sit close enough to their display, or, have a big enough display for the seating distance to even see a difference from 720p.
Agree, and it seems like only recently are TVs able to refresh fast enough to make 1080 look smooth.
I'm not sure about that one champ. http://carltonbale.com/1080p-does-matter/ Pretty sure people have five feet from the tv and at least a 32 in screen. Literally took me two minutes to look this up, instead of making false claims about a '1080p hoax' maybe you could research what you fully don't understand.
First, that is just some guys blog, not a peer reviewed scientific study or something. Second, he is talking about creating expensive dedicated home theater environments for audio/video enthusiasts who are often more passionate about the technology than they are about actually watching movies. Movies are usually actual life images with all the detail that goes with it. Games are rendered and just don't have the same level of detail as real life so resolution in excess of the games details accomplishes nothing. Third, when talking about an example of a 50" TV in a typical living room setup he says "So, most consumers will not be able to see the full benefit of their 1080p TV." Anyway, I wouldn't call 1080P a hoax, but at the same time it's silly for people to get so focused on a particular resolution while ignoring all the other factors that have as much or more affect on image quality in games. The reality is that most people will not be able to see the difference between 720 and 1080 in most games on most setups unless they pause the game and start counting pixels.
I agree, it doesn't matter if you don't have 1080p, because other things like shading , and reflections, and other things make the game look a lot better.
I didn't say it was a hoax, I said it was somewhat of a hoax, because you can realize benefits of 1080p if you have the right content and sit close enough to your display in relation to its size. And, have excellent vision. :)
True but consumers are general morons where bigger always mean better even if it makes no difference. Megapixel war anybody?
"True but consumers are general morons where bigger always mean better" If that's the case, XBones should be selling like hotcakes as everything about it, is bigger. But, it's not and it shows as they're doing anything and everything possible to get it into people's hands. Whether it be unbundling kinect, offering Games with Gold, getting rid of paywalls, bundling games, lowering its price, etc. All this would have probably not been done if Xbox wasn't getting their ass handed to by Sony. So, I am very happy and thankful to our "general morons" consumers. I appreciate it, Keep doing what you doing, let me reap more benefits.
I'm sure they will eventually release a slimnmer Xbox One. I still think they should also release a TINY version of the 360 without an optical drive so that a gamer could easily bring all their downloaded/streaming games and media with them on vactions and friends houses and the like.
^^^ this And quiet. If they're not going to put Media Center client on One, this would at least shut me up (about this).
Actually I want to see a stripped down version of the One, no optical drive in the $199 price range. If it was still able to play the entire game library, it would give the low end media players some competition. Microsoft just needs to promote app development the way Roku does. I would also like a Kinnect Lite. Drop the motion sensing but keep voice commands and the video conferencing ability for Skype.
You think the optical drive adds that much to the cost? No way.
why not keep the same size and double the performance with the new 20nm architecture? :/ maybe in a few revisions it could finally do 1080p @60fps or at least keep up with the current settings in future games, its so sad to see how they cripple the gaming industry with those mediocre systems being the "standar"
Won't happen, Why?
The main difference between PC and Consoles (PS4 & XBOX One)...all consoles are the same spec regardless of when you buy it, but PCs vary based on such things like processor speed, storage memory and ram.
So, it will never happen.
Yeah, would be an option but microsoft won't ever do that
Consoles don't work that way. The new systems are fine.
Shut up and take my money
Xbox slim one
and please make it stand. thats the success of 360 and nowps4. standing consoles are more attractive in terms of marketing and in the living room
Right, cause everyone has room for a standing counsel.
The succes of PS4 and X360 are because they stand? Wow. Who knew it was so easy to design a successful gaming console.
It's a very tacky look.
Slim would for sure be nice. I like stuff that takes smallest place possible. If it could be integrated into the TV it would even be better for my own personal taste, but I suppose we are long way from such integration still.
No
Yes
I've been waiting to get my XB1 to make sure the system had no hardware or software problems. As much as I would have loved to get one on launch day, I was willing to wait for them to work out the kinks and a price drop would be nice too (like the one starting tomorrow!) You can't upgrade specs and a slimmer model is the least of my concerns. I'll be picking up a bundle WITH Kinect soon.
lol are you buying an Xbox one tommorow? I can't wait to get the assassins creed unity bundle (with linear) this way you get assassins creed like 9 days before its normal game launch!
Crud, I was thinking of pulling the trigger on an X1 SO bundle for $349 (and wait a little to see if retailers throw an extra game or 1 yr of live the closer we get to XMas). Now I don't know. Might have to wait 1 more year. I can see them launching a Halo 5 X1 Slim special edition next Holiday season. My Wii U should keep me pretty busy until then.
Ditch the optical drive and shrink this behemoth or put more storage in that space.
Actually, I'd buy an online only version with no optical drive. Slimmer too with these CPU changes. Probably only relevant to some markets with fast internet, but there's a lot of those now
If they did break the meta and release the slim with better hardware capable of more 1080p titles and without the esRAM devs complain about, but offer an original Xbox one trade in and get the newer version for just $100, I think most people would actually buy it. I know I would. Xbox would boom in sales of that happened.
I like the trade in idea. I'd go for it, but I'm sure a lot of people would get pissed. It's a hassle, you'd have to shell out even more money for a system people balked at the price for in the first place and devs would all have to patch their old titles to take advantage of the new specs which'll have no money in it for them to do. MS can't win for losing in that scenario.
Just make it small little cheaper before PS4 does and it will eat PS4 alive... Don't care about 900p, so it can stay especially if you are selling it for less than PS4
The only reason for a next Gen console is games. Because they just have no power! I feel like my 360s isn't that much slower than Xbone from the sheer power perspective
Years of optimization and learning about the older consoles gets the most from them. Same every generation. Takes a while for tools and developers to work out the best of each
No, it's just that there is nothing new to the next Gen consoles! It's only a big hype around some really, really underpowered hardware!
Not really following the dev scene, however the Xbox One is significantly superior to the 360. Following generations should be backwards compatibile, which is a definite plus.
Well it's nice that you "feel" that way, but considering they are built on CPU/GPU technology that is from different decades I'm pretty sure there is a difference.
.
Yeah, 360 has 512mb memory. That's lol material.
Means slimer console, cheaper to manufacture........ $400 with Kinect? Win? Pretty sure Microsoft knows what they are doing, considering the game into the scene after they floped ;)
Until now consoles have always brought top of the line hardware to the market, but the "new" hardware was weak even when there only was the whole roumourmill thing going on :/
The Xbox One theoretical hardware performance is lower than the PS4, but greatly larger than the 360. Have to factor that they have software technologies that improve performance for developers. Some people are not willing or able to see the difference. At a far sitting distance, you got to figure that a used Xbox 360 at $75 has a lot more value than the $400 Xbox One. More titles, used games, err...... piracy ;)
I really don't care if they release a smaller one, I won't be mad at as long as it's performance isn't any better, for me, my Xbox one sits in a perfect spot Ina shelf below my TV, I don't see what the big deal is, it's as if most of you look at your Xbox one instead of your tv to play games, really the only thing that needs to be visible is the kinect, the power button, and the disk drive. Having a large console is really good for heat, larger space allows for more heatsinks, and fans
Price drops and hardware redesign within the first year of a console's life? Cup half empty:
WTF MS? Cup half full:
The business of gaming consoles is changing and MS is staying ahead of the curve. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.
I'm patiently waiting to buy a XBox One as a media center + console when they come up with a new revision. New revisions usually are cooler, cheaper and better designed. They also eliminate those little HW problems that the first gen could have.
Already have a "normal size" One so I'm not interested in upgrading until it one day breaks. I really liked the big design, cos it allows for a lot of ventilation and a system that runs cool, which directly correlates with the life expectancy of the console. Also we're not talking about a mobile device, so I don't see why it would have to be specifically small (if you can make it small without compromising anything, I'm ok with it). But obviously it's great that they're coming out with a "slim" version for those who have very limited space in their setups. Also for less power consumption and lower price. They can't upgrade the actual specs for obvious reasons. They would kill the console.
Yes, yes I am.
Great a cheaper and smaller x box one is a must.
Just bought a white Xbox One, so I'm happy with what it is now. I doubt this rumor device would be cheaper than the prevailing Xbox One price at the time it is released. If they come out with it and it is more energy efficient .. I probably would buy that and sell this one on ebay.
I could never wait for a supposed slimmer device to come out. Specifically with consoles, with no improved performance (they just can't, games take +2 years to make). But I kinda understand people who wait patiently forever for something better to come out.
Going by how loud my 360 and PS4 were compared to how silky quiet my One is, it'd be a hard sell to get me to upgrade. I know the article mentioned less cooling required, but I'd be worried that they'd be tempted to make it smaller than the cooling reduction allowed and then it would get louder.
If they release the smaller, cheaper version, I'll definitely buy it.
86X6months.. That's all it took for me... It is cheap if you save. We all had 6months notice before launch.
There will always be smaller...
Nope already have the XBONE
I can't stand the argument of 1080 and not between the ps4 and Xbox one. Like the one guy said, not many folks sit close enough to see the difference so its not a big issue. I thought games were about fun and not entirely visuals? Both are great in my opinion, for what its worth.

Show more comments

Windows Central Newsletter