Rumors of an “Xbox One Slim” or “Xbox One Mini” have been around since before the Xbox One launched. While never officially confirmed as in development from Microsoft, numerous sources had claimed a sort of Apple TV-esque device was originally planned to launch alongside the main console that perhaps wouldn’t play full Xbox One games but could run the console’s numerous media consumption apps.
This “Xbox One Mini” obviously never came to be but rumors persisted of another smaller Xbox One that could potentially be as powerful as the current version but would come without a disk drive and a much smaller physical design.
Back in August there were rumors of an “Xbox One Slim” being announced alongside the Surface Pro 4 and Microsoft Band 2 presentation in October but, while those devices did get a reveal, the new Xbox One model did not and Microsoft’s Phil Spencer even went on record denying plans for the device existed.
Even after the denial, the rumors have persisted that a new Xbox model is being planned to compete with Apple’s Apple TV which would play Windows Store games and sell for a much cheaper price than the full Xbox One console. It is hard to tell though if these rumors are based on legitimately planned hardware or simply due to potential product pitches for devices that will never see the light of day (which is quite common in most tech companies).
Regardless if these rumors are true or not, it’s almost a guarantee that the Xbox One will get a redesign somewhere in its lifecycle as this has happened with almost every game console in the past two decades as the price of technology cheapens and hardware is refined. Whether Microsoft will ever release a cheaper spin-off device in the vein of the Apple TV is unclear and will probably depend on how much of a competitor the new Apple TV becomes for the Xbox One.
There is undoubtedly interest in an Xbox One hardware redesign though and in our Microsoft 2016 Wishlist, we even mention a redesigned Xbox One as something we’d like to see. What do you think? Would you be interested in a slimmed down Xbox One or different device for Windows Store games and media? Let us know in the comments below.
