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Xbox One 500 GB Console - Black [Discontinued]

TLDR Review: Xbox One 500 GB Console

By ShopSavvy Team

Published: December 28th, 2025

Pros

•Sets up quickly with a fast initial update and seamless sign process.
•Restores previous Xbox Gold account data smoothly, keeping your digital content intact.
•Supports higuality streaming from Amazon Instant Video and Netflix with excellent picture and sound.
•Delivers enhanced spatial sound and DTncoded audio output, great for home theater setups.
•Features superior sound and graphics processors compared to the Xbox 360 S, improving the multimedia and gaming experience.
•Integrates smoothly with home theater systems, serving both as a gaming console and multimedia hub.
•Automatically recognizes and accesses extensive networked music libraries quickly.
•Offers significantly expanded storage options versus prior models, though confined to the internal 500 GB drive.
•Runs quietly and stays cool without overheating.
•Controller feels comfortable and familiar with improved triggers and a greatly enhanced ad.

Cons

•The console is relatively large, and the external power supply adds to the setup bulkiness.
•Hard drive is noemovable, which limits easy internal storage upgrades (though external drives are supported).
•No native backwards compatibility with Xbox 360 or earlier generation games, which may disappoint users wanting to revisit old favorites.
•Kinect functionality for gaming remains limited and inaccurate despite its usefulness for voice commands.

Bottom Line

The Xbox One 500 GB Console remains a solid gaming and multimedia centerpiece in 2025, especially if you prize smooth streaming, good sound, and a reliable, quiet machine. However, if you’re looking for a slimmer design, native backwards compatibility, or more flexible internal storage options, you might want to explore newer Xbox models or alternatives that better suit those needs. Overall, it’s a versatile console that balances gaming and entertainment but comes with a few dated hardware limitations.

How we researched this

About this review: We pulled together findings from professional reviews and hundreds of user reviews, and cross-referenced them with ShopSavvy's pricing data from 4 retailers to give you the short version.