Xbox Series S Handles Backwards Compatibility Enhancements Differently Than Series X

This week has been a big one for Xbox news, and more details about the next-generation consoles continue to come to light. Microsoft will release Series X and Series S on November 10, both supporting backwards compatibility with previous generations. However, the exact way they handle enhancements for those games works a little differently from one another. The Series S is the cheaper option and is designed for 1440p resolution, rather than the Series X's 4K.

As a result, Microsoft says Series S will not apply the exact enhancements seen on Xbox One X, although it will still offer improvements. A Microsoft spokesperson told GameSpot, "Xbox Series S was designed to be the most affordable next generation console and play next generation games at 1440P at 60fps. To deliver the highest quality backwards compatible experience consistent with the developer's original intent, the Xbox Series S runs the Xbox One S version of backward compatible games while applying improved texture filtering, higher and more consistent frame rates, faster load times and Auto HDR."

Xbox One X enhancements often revolve around running games at 4K, which isn't the focus for Xbox Series S. But the system will still see visual improvements when playing backwards compatible games, including its impressive ability to introduce HDR to games that don't natively support it.

To put it another way: You won't get Xbox One X's exact enhancements while playing backwards compatible games on Series S, but you'll still get some sort of enhancements. For many consumers, this is probably not the feature that will make or break a decision to purchase the Series S.

For more information on both consoles, check out everything we know about Xbox Series S. We also put together a nifty article comparing Xbox Series S and X to help you make your decision between the two consoles.