Tweet
Twitter user @Doug_DragoX apparently has access to the Xbox Series X, or just "Xbox," or the "Xbox Formerly Known as Xbox Series X" depending on what day of the week it is.
So far, all we've really seen for the upcoming Xbox have been some official CG renders and mockups from various sources. We also haven't gotten a good look at the back of the device, even in these officially released renders. Either Microsoft has been hiding the mysteries of the universe back there or they haven't necessarily finalized the design. It's also a possibility that they're hiding a surprise back there that they just don't want the competition to know about.
But then Doug here comes along and just says "to hell with it" and posts two photos online that show off the front and back of the Xbox.
If the tweet is removed, you can find both of his included photos below. The highlight will be the image of the back of the device since we already know what the front looks like.
Is the Xbox depicted in the photos real? Initially it was tough to say for sure. We've already seen some very elaborate mockups that have been debunked before. However, this one does seem to lineup with some earlier leaks by credible insider Brad Sams via Thurrott. In addition, Brad Sams "confirmed" that what Doug leaked on Twitter is indeed the real deal.
On the back we're looking at a few things. First,we see some rectangular sections for ventilation. Next, we see the typical ports as you would expect to see on a new piece of hardware. There are two USB Type-A ports, HDMI, optical audio, ethernet, and power. Amongst these known ports is a big rectangular slot that sticks out like a sore thumb.
What could it be? John Linneman from Digital Foundry speculates that it could be used for storage expansion. He thinks that Microsoft may sell NVMe drives in a cartridge format that can just plug into that rectangular slot in order to expand storage. This would be in lieu of using a USB drive for external and added storage. USB would just be too slow and would potentially bottleneck the rest of the Xbox hardware.
It is also speculated that the cutout near the top of the back panel is perhaps being used on these pre-production models to facilitate access to the internals in case they need to be serviced.
This all begs the question: Why in the world did Microsoft not include any USB Type-C ports on this thing? How is it that it's 2020, we're about to start another console generation and we're still not including at least one Type-C port on new hardware? I sure hope that there are still some last-minute coming and that Type-C will be added.
Also, good job to Doug for leaving the serial number completely visible in the photos. Not only will that make it easier for Microsoft to know who leaked the photos, but you end up with situations like this...
