Xbox One Slim Release Date, Features & Price: XB1 Fat is 'Ugly'?

The Xbox One Slim is set to be released in 2015. This version is expected to be better in terms of performance and aesthetics compared to its predecessor Xbox One, which was released in November 2013.

In Podcast Unlocked by IGN, Destin Legarie, Ryan McCaffrey, Marty Silva and Mitch Dyer discussed the features of the upcoming game console. McCaffrey shared that someone who works at AMD stated on LinkedIn that he "successfully planned and executed the first APU for Microsoft's Xbox One game console in 28-nanometer technology and a cost-reduced derivative in 28-nanometer technology and the 20-nanometer part has since been removed".

So the new GPU/CPU chip is smaller by 8 nanometers, which generates less heat and can produce more APUs. Furthermore, it is also cheaper to produce and is less likely to experience power breaks, based on the same IGN podcast.

In a report by Network World, AMD is responsible for designing the system on a chip (SoC), coming up with a smaller process design that results to a thinner gaming console. The AMD insider, who is said to be the Senior SoC Physical Design Manager of the company, also reportedly stated that he "assembled and grew two cross-site execution teams for 2 successive XBOX APU revisions. This included developing key technical leads into senior positions allowing for successful execution and future team expansion to handle more SOCs."

McCaffrey added on the podcast, "They over-engineered the crap out of it on purpose, which is fine."

McCaffrey and the rest hoped that the new Xbox One Slim would be as small as the current PlayStation 4 or even smaller. They further compared the size of the Microsoft gaming console against Sony's, wondering why Xbox One is so big. McCaffrey theorized how Microsoft was primarily a software company while Sony was mainly a hardware company, so Sony had the advantage in producing the better hardware. He concluded that he hoped for a future where both companies could work together, working on their specific fields of expertise respectively, instead of being exclusive.

The IGN experts also predicted that the new Xbox One Slim will likely be introduced at E3 and released in September 2015. They added that the "fat Xbox One" might be offered at a significantly lower price by then. Tech Times predicted that the slimmer console might release at a retail price of $299, because of the reduced cost of production.