14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is not ready to make an official announcement about a coming hardware revision for the Xbox One, but evidence is mounting that the gaming division of the company is working on a Slim model that will come with a variety of improvements over the device that many gamers own.
A leak from the Brazilian government, reported by Yahoo, is saying that a new and slimmer platform is being created and that the wireless technology associated with it will be improved, with the NDA associated with the specifications set to expire after E3 2016.
This might mean that the company is planning to make an official announcement about the Xbox One Slim during the coming trade show and might move to then quickly deliver it in stores to boost sales of its current-gen home console.
The new device might lack a dedicated disc drive while also offering a quieter experience and consuming less electricity than the current version does, although it seems that there's no plan to add a major boost to performance.
Microsoft needs to boost sales of the Xbox One, which third parties say currently sits around the 20 million unit mark, especially given that the PlayStation 4 is rumored to be moving quickly towards 40 million.
Xbox One Slim might be linked to the coming Anniversary edition of Windows 10
Microsoft has been saying that it is looking at ways to improve the hardware of its gaming console and that it will only launch new versions when it can deliver an improved experience to the end user.
The company has also revealed that a new major firmware update for the Xbox One will be delivered to those who are part of the Preview program in late May or early June and that some elements of it are linked to the coming update for Windows 10.
The plan is to better integrate the gaming specifics of the two ecosystems, adding a unified store with extra features for gamers and tweaking some of the elements associated with UWP.
An Xbox One Slim version is a good way to keep interest in current-generation consoles high, especially given that Sony is also rumored to be getting ready to announce a new PlayStation 4K.
Apparently, the new home console will add a new GPU, created by AMD and featuring a boost regarding power, and is designed to offer extra resources for the PlayStation VR virtual reality device that is arriving in October of this year.