This story is part of Holiday Gift Guide 2020, CNET’s gift picks with expert advice, reviews and recommendations for the latest tech gifts for you and your family.
The Xbox Series S has been released — but it will likely still be tough to find in stores and online for quite awhile. To recap, this is the $299 step-down model from the $499 Xbox Series X. It plays all the same games, but it’s capped at 1440p resolution (versus 4K), and only has half as much storage (500GB vs. 1TB) — but that’s expandable with add-on drives, and Microsoft auto-loads less capacious textures to better optimize space. If you don’t have a 4K TV, this is your most affordable choice.
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But the Series S sold out quickly on preorder day back in September, and most of us were consigned to waiting until Nov. 10 to claim a console. Which raises the question: How much inventory will there actually be this week? That’s hard to say, because Microsoft has said little about how many units it will put on sale.
This much is true: While Sony has announced its PS5 launch will be online-only, both flavors of the Xbox are available both online and in-store as of Nov. 10. Of course, we expect limited quantities through the rest of 2020.
Still, at least one CNET editor was able to score the Xbox Series S on Amazon, which is currently promising delivery by the end of the week. Inventory there has since disappeared, but if you’d like to try your luck, we’ve rounded up all the major retailers currently offering the console for sale.
Best Buy was the last retailer standing back during preorder day in September, but it’s just one of many stores now offering the Xbox Series S.
Amazon’s order page includes both versions of the next-gen console — the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
This is where to go to buy an Xbox Series S at Newegg.
Here is Walmart’s Xbox Series S order page.
If you would like to buy the new Xbox from GameStop, here is where to go.
Target has the Xbox Series S, too.
Microsoft will offer the Xbox Series S for $300, or as part of the Xbox All Access plan, which includes the Series S and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and costs $25 per month for 24 months.
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Xbox Series X and Series S offer a fine-tuned, streamlined…
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