At E3 on Sunday, Microsoft finally pulled back the curtain on its secretive Project Scorpio hardware, which is now known as the Xbox One X. At $499, it will be the premium option in the Xbox lineup, delivering more power than any console before it when it launches on Nov. 7.
That includes Sony's PS4 Pro, the One X's closest equivalent. Both tout 4K gaming capabilities, but there are some differences in what that means for each console, and how adept the hardware is at pulling it off. In addition, the two are similar in how they'll treat existing and future games; both aim to be as inclusionary as possible. But the PS4 Pro costs $100 less than the Xbox One X, so what's causing the discrepancy, and is it worth paying for?
Hardware
In no uncertain terms, the Xbox One X is more powerful than the PS4 Pro across the board. Teraflops (trillion floating point operations per second) are a means of measuring raw graphical power, and the One X boasts 6 TFLOPS compared to the PS4 Pro's 4.2 TFLOPS.
The One X has a higher bandwidth as well (326GB/s vs. 218GB/s) for transmitting visuals through the memory and onto your display faster. The Xbox also offers 12GB of (newer) memory compared to the PS4 Pro's 8GB, which is important for outputting the high-resolution textures they're aiming for at 4K. Its eight-core processor clocks at 2.3GHz, also up over the PS4 Pro's eight-core 2.1GHz processor, but these two are much closer than the graphics.
Both come with 1TB of storage, but the Xbox One X includes a 4K/HDR Blu-ray player, an omission from the PS4 Pro that bothered some fans paying for a high-end console. The two are fairly similar physically, and the One X is definitely smaller than the relatively colossal first Xbox One. The One X measures 2.4 by 11.8 by 9.4 inches (HWD), while the PS4 Pro comes in at 2.1 by 12.8 by 11.6 inches. Between the superior components and Blu-ray player, you can see where the extra cost comes from.
4K Gaming
The question is, then, what tangible benefits do you get from the increased power and price? If you weren't sure, neither the standard Xbox One nor PS4 are capable of 4K gaming. The Xbox One X can smoothly play games in 4K—true, native 4K resolution—and some titles, like Forza Motorsport 7, will be able to hit 60fps (others, such as Destiny 2 according to Bungie, will be locked at 30fps). The PS4 Pro touts 4K gaming as well, but with the weaker hardware, there are some technical tricks and caveats to that claim.
Both are also capable of high-dynamic range (HDR), which results in much better brightness and colors—perhaps even more than 4K; HDR really should be seen in person to be believed.
Some of the PS4 Pro's titles run at 30fps in 4K, for instance, and support for older titles is inconsistent. Most crucially, it sometimes runs games at a less-than-4K resolution, but uses some clever upscaling techniques (including what's called checkerboarding) to make almost-4K resolutions look like 4K.
Microsoft definitely has the leg up in claiming smooth 4K gaming performance, and can say so with no qualifications. This difference is relatively niche in the grand scheme of things and more geared toward tech-heads, but that's also the target audience for these high-end consoles. They will already need to own (or be prepared to buy) a 4K television, which is another big expense.
What Microsoft has said on games is promising, though we'll have to see if that actually comes to fruition. Importantly, all Xbox One games will work on the One X and vice versa, so you won't be left out by not buying the new console. The same is true of the PS4 and PS4 Pro.
For Xbox, Microsoft said a handful of existing first-party games will receive free patches that bump up the fidelity to 4K, including Forza Horizon 3, Halo Wars 2, Killer Instinct, Gears of War 4, and Minecraft, as well as some third-party games. Upcoming titles (not technically console exclusive, as they'll be available on Windows) with 4K gameplay include Forza Motorsport 7 and Assassin's Creed: Origins, both announced at E3. Microsoft also announced backward compatability with the original Xbox, so even your old discs will work in Xbox One consoles.
The Decision
You have to wonder how much most consumers know or care about the minute details between the consoles. The biggest issue is probably price: Microsoft has the uphill battle of selling its version of 4K gaming for $100 more, which is hard to do on a retail box or 30-second sizzle reel.
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Still, the Xbox strategy seems more cohesive than the somewhat scattershot PlayStation approach, and if Microsoft can get the message of consistent 4K 60fps across as an advantage over the PS4 Pro, it may sway those on the fence. There are many configurations of console ownership out there, whether you own a PS4 and an Xbox One, have one and want to stick to that platform, or are considering a switch. The Xbox One X is the purest version of this new 4K console experience, but it will cost you.
The PS4 Pro and Xbox One X are not essential by any means; they're aimed at early adopters and performance enthusiasts, so both are luxury buys. An extra $100 for a similar experience might be a bridge too far, even though the games look great. If you don't own an Xbox, however, and can cope with the price, the One X would be a tremendous way to go all-in on the platform.
The choice may come down to which game library you prefer (and I would say Sony has the better exclusives, for the record). But if I'm already committed to spending at least $400 on a luxury console, I'd probably convince myself to go with the superior Xbox One X over the PS4 Pro. If you'd like a much more affordable entry point to either platform, the Xbox One S and PlayStation 4 Slim are reasonably priced options without most of the premium features or hardware.