PS4 Pro & Xbox One S: Cash grabs or worthwhile upgrades?

Just as the dust has begun to settle on a new generation of consoles in living rooms around the world, both Microsoft and Sony are already urging gamers to neglect dusting duties and buy a new console altogether.

The only issue is, rather than ushering in any generation altering changes, the PS4 Pro and Xbox One S are simply upgrades and from the outside seem to be cash grabs to re-fill the pockets of company bank accounts in between console generations.

If there’s one thing gamers love almost as much as gaming, it’s upgrades. You only need to look at hard-core PC gamers to realise a powerful gaming engine is almost more important to gamers than actual games. So are the upgrades on offer worthy of our gaming dollars or are Microsoft and Sony taking advantage of our love of an upgrade?

From the outset, this answer seems to depend on the type of gamer you are. If you’re a stickler for the greatest graphics available then these upgrades may just be worth putting the duster away and pulling out your wallet for.

In case you haven’t heard of 4K resolution and HDR (high-dynamic range technology), both very simply ensure the greatest possible image on screens right now and both are available with the upgraded consoles though to differing extents.

Whereas the Xbox One S has gone all out by including a built-in Ultra-HD Blu-Ray player to truly take advantage of 4K resolution which offers four times the pixel count of 1080p, the PS4 Pro hasn’t with Sony saying it wants to focus on videogames rather than entertainment. Bought separately, a Ultra-HD Blu-Ray player doesn’t come cheap, retailing at well over $400 in Australia suggesting an Xbox One S is value for money at $550.

Meanwhile both the Pro and S are equipped with the latest HDR technology meaning both systems are capable of providing a very good gaming picture, 4K or not. Though it must said the S, is going to offer the best graphics when 4K is utilised.

What the PS4 Pro lacks in the graphics department it makes up for in GPU. Compared to the PS4’s 1.84 TFLOP, the Pro comes with a much stronger 4.2 TFLOP. Though the RAM remains the same, this GPU upgrade will undoubtedly make the Pro run a lot faster and smoother.

As well as this boost to GPU, the Pro gives PlayStation fans their first chance to own a one terrabyte PS4.

Squeezing in this much improved hardware does mean unlike the PS4 Slim and Xbox One S, the PS4 Pro is actually a bigger console than the original.

Two centimetres deeper and wider in size, the PS4 Pro weighs 500 grams more than an average PS4.

To compensate somewhat and make use of this bigger size, the Pro has managed to squeeze in another USB 3.0 port which should prove handy facilitating PS VR porting.

Both consoles also now come with in-built power drives making them both more portable than their originals.

So as we sit in an early limbo between console generations, another that may or may not happen if the Xbox Scorpio has anything to say about it, are these supercharged consoles worth splashing the cash on?

Well if you can’t wait for the crispest possible graphics on a console, the Xbox One S may have your name on it. While if you’re after a faster and stronger PS4 it may be time you turned to the Pro. If you’re none of the above and already own an original iteration of this generation, I recommend saving your cash for new consoles altogether down the track.

Whatever your choice, let’s get those dusters out and give your current console a little TLC, they deserve it!

Posted in Blog, In the News, Technology