Double Hardware

There are 26 days left to stop speculating and various wishes about what we expect or want the new generation of Xbox to our screens . On May 21, we will definitely see what was true and what was false in so many rumors that we have been able to read during all these months. Until then, it is worth reviewing the main news, alleged leaks and other comments that the future console has aroused during the wait.

From hardware specs to console software, to possible features and restrictions that have fueled the debate for the past year.We've seen and heard all sorts of speculation about Durango, the code name for the new Xbox. VGleaks has been the main source of some rumors that have a month of review ahead of them while we wait for Microsoft to definitively reveal what they have prepared.

Powerful hardware and return to x86

Rumors surrounding the specifications of Microsoft's new console suggest that Redmond could return to an x86 architecture of AMD's hand. Roughly speaking, in its guts we would find a 64-bit, 8-core CPU running at 1.6 GHz, accompanied by 8 GB of DDR3 RAM and its own D3D11.1 GPU running at 800 MHz.

Completing these specifications, one last rumor indicates that the motherboard of the console would be accompanied in some way by the SOC of the 360 , which could be used in parallel with the new Durango hardware.In this way, Microsoft would make sure to maintain the backward compatibility of the games on its console despite the change from a PowerPC architecture to x86.

As expected, the console would come with a sizable internal hard drive ready for installing games and downloading all the content that Microsoft intends to provide through its online platform. Of course, nothing to abandon the disc format in games. The new Xbox will in this case opt for a Blu-Ray drive that can read discs up to 50 GB.

Two consoles instead of one

Perhaps the strangest rumor of all those that have been accompanying the future Xbox is the possibility that together with a classic-style console we will see a second device oriented towards the consumption of television content. Under the name of Xbox Mini or Xbox TV we would have a kind of HTPC to accompany our televisions for a price that could be less than 100 euros.

This second Xbox would come with the 360 ​​chip inside, similar to the one present in the full console but without the new Durango hardware. This Xbox Mini would not have a disc drive either in order to maintain a small size and prices. But it would allow access to Xbox Live games in addition to the rest of the platform's audiovisual content.

The presence of this second version of the console would explain the persistence of rumors about the permanent connection and the controversy raised around it. Everything indicates that the complete console will not require an internet connection to run its games and that the rumors would have more to do with this second version of the console.

Same controller and Kinect 2.0

The other fundamental element of a console and that often goes unnoticed in rumors is the controller.Little is known about the new Xbox controller but everything indicates that will maintain the shape of the current one with improvements in some of the sections. Thus, on the one hand there are rumors that the response of the digital pad would have been improved, while others suggest that the batteries of the wireless controller would see their duration increased, still maintaining the possibility of using AA batteries.

But if Microsoft has one thing in mind when thinking about how to control your console, it's Kinect The new version of the increasingly ubiquitous peripheral movement detection system improves practically all of its sections, increasing the field of vision and improving detection in environments with variable lighting. In addition, the new Kinect will be able to detect much smaller objects much faster than the current one.

The improvement is not trivial because Kinect will continue to gain ground in our interaction with the console.The Kinect SDK has been receiving features from Microsoft for some time, many of which could be included in the new version of the device. More if the last of the rumors is true.

Windows 8 as system

And it is that Microsoft's master move could be in the operating system of the new Xbox. There are already those who dare to affirm that the console could come with Windows 8 running inside it. Specifically, it would be a special version of the operating system, possibly Windows RT, which would be limited to the Modern UI environment, preventing access to the desktop.

The undoubted advantage of this decision comes from the ability to use applications and games from the Windows Store on our Xbox. For developers, this would mean multiplying the options, being able to publish their games on the Windows Store and reach millions of people who can download or buy them to have them directly on their televisions.

The latter would undoubtedly be a spectacular icing on the cake for the entire Windows ecosystem that Redmond has been building between computers, tablets and smartphones. By adding one of the world's best-selling entertainment devices to the pack, Microsoft could continue its goal of providing a complete experience across all types of devices like no other company can provide right now on the market. In less than a month we will finally leave doubts.