Earlier this week Microsoft officially revealed the Xbox Series S – a smaller, sleeker, and more affordable console than the Xbox Series X, that makes a few sacrifices to hit the $299/ £249 / AU$499 price point.
One of those areas is the hard drive, coming in at just 512GB. Considering that some 4K titles already take up over 100GB of space, and the fact that the all-digital Xbox Series S doesn’t have a disc drive, buyers might be wary of picking one up.
Thankfully there’s a solution to that potential problem, and it conjures up some memories of the good old days when consoles couldn’t save your progress without a bit of help.
- OnePlus 8T launch to set new standard for OnePlus phones
- Nintendo Switch Pro next-gen upgrade CONFIRMED 😲
Microsoft has announced that Seagate will be offering storage expansion cards for both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. In other words they’re a 2020's take on the memory card; something that fell out of fashion during the early days of the Xbox 360.
The cards plug into the back of the console, adding 1TB of extra storage to your Xbox. Microsoft promises that they take advantage of “the full speed and performance of the Xbox Velocity Architecture”, meaning they should be just as fast and reliable as the internal SSD.
The downside is that there won’t support external hard drives plugged into the USB port. If your games aren’t on the internal hard drive or one of Seagate’s expansion cards, you won’t be able to play them.
- PS5 wins shadow war: Xbox loses nerve as PS5 price and release date remain cloaked
- Sony PS5 is getting a new feature that Disney+ fans will love
There’s no word on a price or release date just yet – or on the Samsung 980 Pro SSD for the PS5 – but for gamers who prefer to keep things digital, don't want to fork out for the pricier Xbox Series X, this is a great option.
Upgrade to smarter living
Get the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products straight to your inbox.
You’ll be able to pre-order the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S from September 22, ahead of their November 10 launch date, and we expect Seagate’s expansion cards to go on sale around the same time.
- Amazon Prime day 2020: here's when the big sale starts