Leave a commentPS5 vs Xbox Series X and Series S: Specs, Features & Availability in Qatar Explained

Console gamers in Qatar are excited! The much awaited next generation gaming consoles of Sony and Microsoft are going to hit the Qatar market by mid November. The PlayStation 5 (PS5) by Sony on one side and the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S by Microsoft on the other side. In this buying guide, let’s take a deep look to find out how the Xbox Series X and Series S stacks up against the PS5.

PS5 vs Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S: Full Tech Specs Comparison

First of all let’s look at the tech specs for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S in a handy table. The better specifications are highlighted with bold text.

If you examine the chart above, you can see that the Xbox Series X has slightly more powerful specs. Whether the Xbox Series X will necessarily deliver slightly better performance and graphics than the PS5, though, is hard to say.

Looking at the hardware involved, there doesn’t seem to be a tremendous difference between the CPUs, although the Xbox Series X’s is slightly faster. The GPU processing power — 10.28 tflops for the PS5 and 12 tflops for the Xbox Series X and 4 tflops for the Xbox Series S  — seems a little starker. A tflop refers to how many operations per second a piece of hardware can handle.

But remember: Just because a GPU offers 12 tflops of computing power, that doesn’t necessarily mean that every single game will take full advantage of them. It also depends how well a game is optimized, particularly third-party games that will have to offer relative parity between their PS5 and Xbox Series X versions.

The SSDs may also have a big effect on game performance. The consoles will come with built-in SSDs, games should load much faster than before. But so far, only Sony has provided concrete details about how quickly its SSD could load games, and how the PS5 compares to SSDs currently on the market. This is another metric that will likely vary from game to game.

For the moment, we’ll say that the systems seem quite powerful, and that the Xbox Series X has a potential edge, especially when it comes to rendering graphics over PS5.

When comparing Series X and Series S, the big differences between the two is that the Series X has a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray drive, but the Series S is digital-only, so you’ll have to download your games rather than buy them on disc. And yet, the disc-based X also has double the amount of internal storage with 1TB as opposed to 512GB, and more RAM at 16GB compared to 10GB.

PS5 vs. Xbox Series X and Series S design

The Xbox Series X has a fairly conservative design. Microsoft’s next console will resemble a vertical PC tower, with a sleek black chassis and a small, tasteful Xbox logo in the upper-left corner. There’s a disc drive on the front of the console as well. The whole thing looks pleasantly geometrical, and you’ll also be able to position it horizontally, in case your entertainment center doesn’t have enough vertical space.

Instead of a big, black near-cube like the Xbox Series X, the Series S is a slab that’s downright slim in comparison (you can nearly fit two into one Xbox Series X). It’s only small when compared with the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5, though, as the Series S is about the same size, if not a bit bigger, than the Xbox One X.

Notably, the PS5 will also be available in two different configurations: a standard version with a disc drive, and a Digital Edition without one. Naturally, you’ll be able to play physical titles on the former, but not on the latter. The price between the two models will probably vary as a result, but so far, we haven’t had any confirmation of the PS5’s price.

It will be difficult to say which console looks “better” until we can see them side by side in a physical space. For the moment, the Xbox Series X and Series S looks more traditional, while the PS5 looks more experimental. Which one you prefer will depend almost entirely on your own aesthetic preferences.

PS5 vs. Xbox Series X and Series S backwards compatibility

Both Sony and Microsoft have been very open about how backwards compatibility will work on their systems. At present, the Xbox Series X appears to have more robust options, but the PS5 should have plenty of older games to play as well.

Microsoft has promised that every Xbox One game will be compatible with the Xbox Series X. Furthermore, Microsoft’s Smart Delivery system ensures that if you buy an Xbox One game that’s also available on the Xbox Series X, you’ll automatically get the Xbox Series X version once you upgrade your console. Additionally, a handful of select Xbox 360 and original Xbox games will also work with the system. (If an Xbox 360 or original Xbox game currently works on the Xbox One, it will also work on the Xbox Series X.) That’s pretty straightforward.

Another potential benefit of the Xbox Series X is that it will run many backwards compatible games better than their original systems could. Microsoft has committed to upscaling some favorite old titles, making them run at 4K resolutions or up to 120 fps frame rates. While it’s not clear yet which games will get this treatment, it’s safe to say that at least a handful of old games will look and play better than ever before on the Xbox Series X.

The Xbox Series S will still be able to play older games, but Microsoft has confirmed that it won’t include their Xbox One X enhancements, like higher resolutions, where applicable. So in most cases, you’ll essentially be playing the version of the game that was designed for the less-powerful Xbox One S (although in some cases, games might benefit from more modern hardware such as a faster solid-state drive).

Sony’s approach is a little less concrete. The PS5 will use a sort of universalized software to run PS4 games on the PS5. Games that were optimized for the PS4 Pro will still have their enhancements in place. But because the software is sort of a catch-all application, not every title is guaranteed to work equally well.

While Sony never promised backwards compatibility beyond the PS4, it now seems clear that PS1, PS2 and PS3 games will not function on the PS5. Sony has stated that most of the top 100 PS4 games (by playtime) run very well on the PS5 so far, and should be available for launch. But we’re not yet sure whether Sony will release backwards compatible games piecemeal, or let users try anything and see what works. In any case, it’s not quite as inclusive as what Microsoft has promised.

PS5 vs Xbox Series X and Series S exclusives

We have a much better idea of what to expect from Xbox Series X in terms of exclusive games. Halo Infinite is still the platform’s biggest title (although it won’t be available at launch), but we’ll also have Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. A surprise reveal of Fable 4 means that Xbox fans will eventually have a new entry in the popular fantasy franchise, but it probably won’t be a launch title. Forza Motorsport 8 and State of Decay 3 will also make their way to the Xbox Series X. The former is the latest in a long line of high-fidelity racing sims; the latter is a survival game set in an open-world beset by zombies.

One interesting thing about Xbox Series X exclusives is that, strictly speaking, they’re not exclusive to the console at all. Every Xbox Series X game from a first-party studio will also be available for the PC. Additionally, they’ll all be available for the Xbox One, at least for the foreseeable future. Microsoft seems to be prioritizing an ecosystem over an individual console.

All Xbox One games and accessories will be compatible with the Xbox Series X, although that won’t always work the other way around.

The Xbox Series S will still be able to play older games, but Microsoft has confirmed that it won’t include their Xbox One X enhancements.

We also know about quite a few PS5 exclusives, including Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and  Horizon: Forbidden West. At present, these titles appear to be true PS5 exclusives, so you won’t be able to play them on PC. There’s also Final Fantasy XVI, which will release exclusively on PS5, at least as far as consoles are concerned. There may also be a PC version.

On the one hand, the Xbox Series X has an edge on exclusive titles, since you don’t necessarily need to own an Xbox console to play them. On the other hand, the PS5 may have an edge for the exact opposite reason. It depends on whether you think console exclusives are good or bad — and whether you own a gaming PC.

PS5 vs. Xbox Series X and Series S virtual reality

One area where the PS5 has a clear advantage over the Xbox Series X is in virtual reality. The PS5 will be fully compatible with the PlayStation VR headset (and, presumably, the PSVR library of games). At the same time, there may also be a new PSVR headset in the works for the PS5, at least eventually.

Microsoft, on the other hand, has no plans for an Xbox Series X and Series S VR headset. We never got one for the Xbox One either, suggesting that Microsoft may not be terribly interested in this kind of technology. Whether this elicits frustration or indifference will largely depend on how invested you are in VR tech.

Conclusion

It’s important to remember that while we now have a respectable amount of information on the consoles, we’ve yet to get any hands-on time with either one. We don’t have solid launch libraries, and we don’t really know how games will play once they’re in our hands. Without those, we can’t determine which system will “win” the console war — if either. Remember that if a console is profitable and well-received, it hasn’t really “lost” anything.

However, the Xbox Series X does look a little bit better when we compare PS5 and Xbox Series X, at least on paper. It has more powerful hardware, better backwards compatibility and an attractive design. The Xbox Series S, on the other hand is a less powerful product and is digital only. PS5 will also be launching a digital only version, albeit, with no power disparity and performance difference.

All in all, console gamers across Qatar are excited to get their hands on these new consoles and we at Startech Store can’t wait to bring these to our customers in Qatar. Expected availability of PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S in Qatar is mid-November. Do follow us on our Instagram page to know the exact price and exact launch date in Qatar.

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