Now that the two new consoles are right upon us it’s about time we make the decision. When choosing a console you need to look at every small detail from the manufacturer. There are a lot of similarities between the two new console options the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. However, there are still a few things that set them apart. One of them being the UI resolution in the consoles. According to a new finding, the Xbox Series X UI only runs at 1080p native resolution.
One of the main selling points for this generation of consoles is the ability to run games and content at 4K and enjoy features like Ray Tracing and HDR. Interestingly both of the new consoles offer exceptional amounts of performance in said departments. However, the actual console experience includes more than just gaming. The console UI is an important element, not only does it define the ecosystem of your platform it is the only thing you besides gaming on the console.
With that said it is essential that the UI of a console is exceptional. Sony and Microsoft have taken a different approach to their UIs. Sony unveiled its new PS5 UI today with a first impressions video. Not only does the new software include some major design overhauls it also runs at 4K HDR natively. On the other side, John Linneman from Digital Foundry updated that the Xbox Series X UI only runs at Full HD. Not only will the UI look less sharp than the PS5 it will also have lower color depth. This is not really a great decision from Microsoft if you keep in mind that even PS4 Pro did native 4K.
Well, the big problem for me, more than anything, with the Xbox dash is the low resolution. I was disappointed with Xbox One X only offering 1080p UI rendering when PS4 Pro did native 4K but for 1080p UI to continue on Series X…that’s really not acceptable to me.
— John Linneman (@dark1x) October 15, 2020
Does UI Resolution Make a difference?
As we said earlier the UI resolution may not look like a big deal to you right now but users spend a lot of their time on the console while looking at menus and options with small on-screen text. Moreover, since the console does support 4K gaming when you jump back to the UI from a game it will obviously look less sharp and blurred.
On the other hand, going for a lower resolution UI will offer some key advantages as well. With the UI running at a lower resolution your console will use less processing and memory resources. These resources can then be deployed to actual games and might yield better performance. Furthermore, since Microsoft is using a lower resolution they can, in turn, provide the same UI to older generations of Xbox as well. Microsoft released the new UI for Xbox One systems yesterday. Xbox Series X and S will offer the same basic user experience more or less.
However, since the consoles are yet to launch the Ui is still subject to change. Microsoft can even go for higher resolution just with a software update but we highly doubt that will happen. The Xbox Series X and S launch on November 10 and the PlayStation 5 launches on November 12 or November 19 depending on your region. Be sure to let Us know in the console which console you’re looking forward to and why.