Gamers eager for the next-generation of video games stayed true to their "shut up and take my money" meme, buying millions of Xbox One and PS4 consoles in November.
However, the record-breaking sales haven't brought to light which new system will be favored over the next decade, so the Xbox One vs PS4 comparison needs an update.
That's good because we know a whole lot more about Microsoft and Sony's consoles today than we did when they were officially announced in early 2013.
With PS4 in hand and Xbox One in, well, two hands, we've extensively tested everything: the final specs, the graphics performance, right down to the latest firmware updates.
- Order Xbox One now from: Amazon | Zavvi | Tesco | GAME
- Order PS4 now from: Amazon | Zavvi | Tesco | GAME
Xbox One vs PS4 dimensions, design
Looks do matter when you're buying expensive electronics that are going to sit front and center in your living room entertainment system for the next ten years.
The hardware specs are comparable, but Microsoft and Sony really contrasted when it came to the designs of Xbox One and PS4.
It towers over everything (though you're advised not to stand it up vertically), and completely dwarfs our smallest electronics like the app-filled Chromecast. Xbox One is a menacing gaming beast that looks like a black Monolith straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's 13.5 in x 10.4 in x 3.2 in and it's completely filled with vents. No Red Ring of Death this time around.
The PS4 presents a sleeker design that has a unique angular shape to it. The widest regions of Sony's half-matte, half-gloss machine are 10.8 in x 12 in x 2 in.
That's fairly compact, especially when weighed against the Xbox One. And on the subject of weight, PS4 is 2.75 kg while Xbox One is a more hefty 3.56 kg.
PS4 also hides its ports rather well, though, as we pointed out in our video comparison of the consoles, this makes it difficult to plug cables into the back of the system in a pinch.
The future of gaming, in association with O2 Guru
PS4 vs Xbox One CPU, graphics chip comparison
It's what's inside that counts, and even though Nvidia thinks these specs are comparable to a low-end CPU, Xbox One and PS4 multiply the power of Xbox 360 and PS3. More importantly, they boast smarter designs internally, drawing from mistakes made last generation.
Nvidia rival AMD can be found inside both systems. Xbox One has a custom 1.75GHz AMD 8-core CPU, a last-minute upgrade over its original 1.6GHz processor.
That's actually the CPU speed thought to be behind PS4, which contains a similar custom AMD 8-core CPU with x86 based architecture. Sony hasn't confirmed the official speed.
This would represent a roughly 10% increase in processing power for Xbox One, though it's certainly going to be some time before developers can fully take advantage of accelerated hardware on either side of the console war.
The opposite is true when it comes to the graphics processor. PS4 boasts a 1.84 teraflop GPU that's based on AMD's Radeon technology. Xbox One graphics chip, also with an AMD Radeon GPU, has a pipeline for 1.31 teraflops.
PS4 has an edge when it comes to RAM
One of the more controversial areas under the consoles' matte black hoods is the memory. It's not the amount of memory that has everyone ready to fight about RAM - both Xbox One and PS4 contain a meaty 8GB of RAM - it's the type of memory used.
Xbox One has 8GB of DDR3 RAM, while PS4 has a distinct advantage with faster 8GB GDDR5 memory. But wait, there's more. Both consoles require a portion of the RAM to run the operating system.
PS4 reserves up to 3.5GB of memory for its operating system, leaving developers with 4.5GB, according to documentation. They can sometimes access an extra 1GB of "flexible" memory when it's available, but that's not guaranteed.
Xbox One's "guaranteed memory" amounts to a slightly higher 5GB for developers, as Microsoft's multi-layered operating system takes up a steady 3GB. It eeks out a 0.5GB win with more developer-accessible memory than PS4, unless you factor in Sony's 1GB of "flexible" memory at times. Then it's 0.5GB less.
More clear cut is the wireless connectivity situation. PS4 makes room for Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11 WiFi bands b/g/n, while Xbox One has a clear advantage by including the older 802.11a band and both 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels. PS4 limits connections to 2.4GHz, which is likely to have more interference.
The hard drive situation is a toss up. PS4 comes with a 500GB spinning hard drive and supports user-replaceable internal drives. Xbox One's 500GB spinning hard drive cannot be upgraded even though an Xbox One teardown found that it's a standard-looking hard drive. Instead, users will eventually be able to add external storage to the monster-sized system, something that isn't supported by Sony.
Xbox One vs PS4 front and rear ports
The front of the PS4 and Xbox One are devoid of remarkable characteristics. They both have Blu-ray/DVD combo drives to the left and their respective, muted-color logos to the right. PS4 has a pair of USB ports tucked between its sandwich-like halves where the disc drive is located.
It's all around back for Xbox One. That's where it has two USB ports (a third port is on the side), HDMI in, HDMI out, S/PDIF for digital audio, a proprietary Xbox One Kinect port, an IR blaster connection and an Ethernet port. To the far right is a K-lock in case you want to lug this system around to LAN parties.
Sony went with a minimalist approach when it came to PS4's rear ports. You'll only find an HDMI out, S/PDIF, Ethernet and PS4 camera port (marked "AUX") around back.
Xbox One is more feature-packed in this area thanks to its HDMI in and IR blaster connections used for its TV cable or satellite box functionality. PS4 lacks this passthrough technology, opting to stick with gaming as its top priority.
Price and availability
When all is said and done, if the feature-set is a stalemate in gamers' minds, the Xbox One vs PS4 price and availability come to the forefront of the debate.
PS4 launched with a tempting deal: $399 (£349, AU$549) for the console and DualShock 4 controller. Xbox One is more expensive at $499 (£499, AU$599) for the system, Xbox One controller and Kinect.
That gives Sony a clear advantage at face value. Sure, the Xbox One does come with its Kinect camera, while the PS4's camera is a separate $59 (£54, AU$89). But PS4 is still cheaper even when the cost of the console and camera are combined (except in Australia).
It should be noted that the PS4 is hard to come by right now and it wasn't readily on store shelves during the peak Christmas shopping season. Retailers were heavily promoting that Xbox One was readily available in stores, possibly swaying some gamers and, more likely, parents eager to buy any next-generation gift in stock.
What's included with Xbox One, PS4?
With differing console prices, it's important to dive deeper into what's included in the Xbox One vs PS4 console bundles and, more importantly, point out what's not included.
Xbox One launch bundles came with the console, one controller and the Kinect camera. The box also contains an HDMI cable, wired mono headset and a stingy 14-day free trial for Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold online service. There's no USB charging cable, as the Xbox One controller uses batteries out-of-the-box.
All pre-ordered Xbox Ones systems and those bought at launch (and a couple thereafter) have "Day One 2013" in bold letters on the cardboard box and at the center of the controller. A nice little perk for all of the Xbox loyalists out there.
PS4 launch bundles came with the console, one DualShock 4 controller and no camera. It has an HDMI cable (Sony learned its lesson after some backlash for not including one in the PS3) and a 30-day subscription to PlayStation Plus. Instead of a wired mono headset like the Xbox One, PS4 comes with a wired mono earbud.
Xbox One Kinect vs PS4 Camera
Microsoft and Sony are still pushing controller-free camera inputs, even though the first Kinect and PlayStation Move didn't exactly wow gamers three years ago.
One company is betting on its camera more than the other, though. Microsoft designed its 1080p Kinect to keep track of up to six skeletons at once and process 2GB of data per second. It can pick up heart rates, facial expressions and 25 joints, thumbs included.
More importantly for some frustrated users of the previous Kinect, Kinect 2.0 can now detect people as close as three feet from its industrial-sized camera lense. Its 60% wider field of vision compared to the Xbox 360 Kinect remedies the annoying "stand 6 feet away" error messages we experienced last time around.
Microsoft's always-listening (except if you turn that feature off) time-of-flight camera is only supported by a handful of games like the jet-ski-filled Kinect Sports Rivals Preseason demo. The camera-based controls work rather well, but we're looking for full games that utilize Microsoft's powerful new tool, and not just ones that use its built-in microphone.
The PS4 Camera, formerly called the PlayStation Eye, isn't as monstrous and that's a good thing for the most part. It's easy to appreciate the compact size of this camera bar that still managed to feature two 1280x800px cameras. However, the lightweight construction means that the cord sometimes dictates where the camera is pointed on its flimsy stand.
Like the Xbox One Kinect, we're still waiting for more PS4 games to take advantage of Sony's new camera. Its ability to recognize faces for logins and receive voice commands for hands-free shortcuts like the Xbox One is convenient. But when it comes to games, we can only toy around with the Sony's preloaded The Playroom augmented reality game for so long.
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