Windows 10 news now smartphans: Microsoft wants to bring its new operating system to your Android smartphone.
Wait, WHAT?!
Yeah, that's right, Microsoft wants to wrangle your unrestricted OS, throw up a bunch of electric fences and restrict the amount of apps you'll be able to download.
OK, maybe not quite like that, but the Softies have announced plans to allow users to trial a custom ROM on the Xiamoi Mi 4 that removes all trace of the Android OS for an almost complete version of Windows 10.
It's Microsoft's attempt to steal users from the Android ecosystem and switch them over to Windows Phone, but it'll be some seriously hard work considering the reduced number of apps available on the platform.
Will anyone actually choose to make their Android run Windows Phone? Only time will tell.
Or, well, no.
Choosing an operating system may seem simple but can result in restrictions on what applications you can run, and if not executed properly, can result in slow running services and websites which will not load.
There are two popular operating systems for businesses, each available with different options. Let's take a look.
Windows
With 75% share of the OS and software market, Microsoft products are regarded as the standard option for most businesses. Windows Server 2008 and 2012 are the current options for Microsoft Server OS.
Most IT admins are comfortable using either flavour. You can also run Hyper-V on either alongside other applications, minimising hardware requirements. Microsoft includes the ability to operate applications over the internet using Remote Desktop Services, enabling end-users to run software without installing it on their PCs.
One big consideration to make when selecting Server operating systems is how long you intend to run them for.
According to Microsoft's website, 2008's mainstream support will end in 2015, with extended support ending in 2020. If you are looking to run physical servers, you will likely keep the physical hardware for around five years before a hardware refresh.
This will mean your product's support will end before you upgrade your hardware. Using an operating system beyond its lifecycle opens your business up to potential security issues, as you're no longer covered by Windows updates.
Cost is also an important factor; licence fees are expensive. The more employees you have, the more expensive it will become. Choosing older versions to reduce costs will come with the caveat of shorter support lifetimes.
Linux
As a free operating system the developer market has embraced Linux; you can download, modify it and re-distribute it without spending any money.
However, Linux itself is not a complete operating system (it is just a kernel) and requires an additional set of software to be bundled with it. These bundles, known as distributions have hundreds of flavours available; more popular ones include Ubuntu, SUSE and Red Hat.
SUSE is popular with the enterprise market and is used by the Open University and the London Stock Exchange. Linux operating systems often have a smaller footprint and resource load. The distribution can be configured with as many, or as few, components as required, to ensure the most effective use of your environment.
Linux is installed on over 95% of the world's best supercomputers demonstrating that it is the fastest performing OS with the smallest resource footprint.
Linux distributions also offer alternatives to popular Microsoft products such as Microsoft Exchange, meaning that you can continue to enjoy free versions of known products for free.
If you already use Microsoft and are looking to migrate to Linux in stages, SUSE (for example) is compatible with Active Directory, Exchange, SharePoint and Novell GroupWise. This means that you can introduce your Linux system gradually into your Windows environment and allow some bedding in time before phasing Microsoft out.
Recently, SUSE partnered with Microsoft to enable Hyper-V node management using SUSE Cloud, allowing you to run a mixed environment where required. Red Hat can also co-exist with Microsoft and Unix servers using a combination of Microsoft Active Directory and the identity management features within Red Hat.
No OS is perfect; one of the major downsides of Linux is that as it is a lesser known platform you will find it harder to administrators with the skills to configure and support the system in-house. These skills are generally less common in the market and therefore can be more costly.
Final word
Selecting the right platform is important for the health of your business. It's worth building a test system running your preferred OS so you can spot any issues and check security and performance prior to going live, with minimal disruption for your users.
It's been confirmed by Microsoft that Windows 10 will work at a lower resolution than both Windows 8 and 8.1 when it is released this summer.
At the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in China, the company confirmed that Windows 10 desktop PCs will only need a minimum resolution of 800 x 600 pixels in order to run the new OS, according to PC World.
Windows 8.1, meanwhile, required a minimum screen resolution of at least 1,024 x 768 to access the Windows Store to run applications in the Modern user interface. Things are even more stringent for Windows 8 users as "snap apps" require a minimum resolution of at least 1,366 x 768.
The other minimum requirements mirror that of the past two versions of the OS. This means that Windows 10 requires memory of at least 2GB for 64-bit or 1GB for 32-bit, minimum storage of 20GB for 64-bit or 16GB for 32-bit and at least DirectX 9 installed.
Another difference is the screen sizes that the Windows 10 Professional and consumer versions can run on. The Professional edition requires just a 7-inch screen, whereas the consumer iteration needs an 8-inch screen. However, both of these will be more relevant for tablet manufacturers than PC makers. Windows 10 also ships with the UEFI 2.3.1 firmware interface and each copy of the OS will have a Trusted Platform Module built-in.
Alongside this Microsoft also revealed the requirements for Windows 10 smartphones will be released at the same time as the fully featured desktop version and include a ream of different options for manufacturers of mobile devices.
Earlier this week at the same WinHEC summit, Microsoft EVP of operating systems Terry Myerson said that Windows 10 will be landing this summer without a specific date. The new OS will be a free upgrade for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 users. Even those who own pirated versions of Windows will be able to take advantage of that offer.
How to download the Technical Preview
The latest version of the Windows 10 Technical Preview (Build 10041) was released to the "fast" ring yesterday with a number of tweaks including start menu transparency, enhancements to the Virtual Desktop experience, new languages in Cortana and a lot more besides.
Anyone can download the Windows 10 Technical Preview by signing up as a Windows Insider right now to try it out before its commercial release lands in the summer.
Another day, another new “most affordable Lumia” from Microsoft. Or at least that’s how it seems. Months after outing the $81 Lumia 435 (and slightly more expensive $93 Lumia 532), Microsoft is back with another: the $70 Lumia 430.
Beyond the (unlocked) price and dual SIM capability — something which is popular in India and other parts of Asia — the Lumia 430 is what you’d expect from a budget Microsoft offering. The four-inch device comes with a two-megapixel camera, and specs that are identical to its Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 cousins. It is powered by a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon, with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of on-device storage. The latter is, of course, upgradable via a MicroSD card.
These days there’s more interest in the services bundled on these low-cost Lumias, and once again Microsoft is stuffing in a veritable range of things. Skype, 30 GB of OneDrive storage, and Office all come pre-loaded. The device will initially run Windows 8.1 (with the latest Denim update), but Microsoft confirmed that it will be eligible for the Windows 10 upgrade when it lands later this year.
So there you have it. The Lumia 430 — which is your cheapest route to Windows 10 on mobile, should you desire it — goes on sale next month, initially in “select markets” in the Middle East, Africa, APAC and Russia. It will head to India, where it could do well — on paper, at least — at the end of April.
Machine learning is improving everything from image and speech recognition to predicting when machinery will fail. It's what makes Cortana smart enough to crack jokes and predict sports matches, as well as tell you when to leave early for your meeting because the traffic is bad. But there's still a long way for digital assistants to go before we can really trust them.
We're still testing computer systems that try to help us, not on facts but on how well they communicate, claims Bing's search director Stefan Weiz in his recent book, 'Search'.
"In systems like Siri or Cortana, 30 to 40% of all interactions people initiate are social or silly questions that probe the reality of the 'assistant' rather than inquiries the system was intended to answer. We want (and need) to believe we're engaging with someone who understands not only math but our humanity."
Chit chat with Cortana
That's why Microsoft built the 'chit chat' system into Cortana that lets her sing songs and do imitations. "Humour has been a major focus for MSR in our partnership with the Cortana team," head of Microsoft Research Peter Lee told us. "Chit chat is a lightweight machine learning system and we can keep increasing the number of domains Cortana is able to chit chat with you about."
The problem is how quickly Cortana can keep up with what's going on when it comes to breaking news rather than the seasonal humour the Bing team adds in, like tracking Santa or joking about the Seattle Seahawks.
"In Cortana or any digital assistant there's the freshness of what Cortana knows about," Lee explained to us. "Cortana is continually learning. You can have a chit chat conversation ask about who is going to win the Seahawks game coming up next Sunday. But on the evening where things are erupting in Ferguson Missouri, it is not always obvious that Cortana will have the freshness of knowledge to interact."
That's why, although Microsoft is having a lot of success with the currently popular deep learning systems for services like Skype Translator and the new image recognition in OneDrive (where you photos now automatically get tags like 'flower' and 'beach'), it's not putting all its eggs in that basket. "We're getting much smarter in coming to realisations about when to use deep neural networks or probabilistic models versus other learning techniques," Lee explains, and the next step is more dynamic machine learning systems that stay fresh.
"With traditional models of machine learning you spend this enormous effort to get a huge corpus of data and train the system offline and deploy it. But we find in more and more situations that model isn't good enough. As machine learning becomes a more and more integral part of everything that we touch and interact with, I think the issues of maintenance of that intelligence and the freshness of that intelligence will become more and more important," Lee warns. The problem is something he calls 'ML rot'.
"Right now, typically machine learning systems are static and their effectiveness sometimes degrades over time. Although work in machine learning is always advancing, a specific machine learning system isn't. At some point you have to gather a bunch of experts and go through huge efforts to train it and start anew. That's not scalable. You need a process where non-experts are able to maintain and advance machine learning systems, and where machine learning systems are more amenable to continuous learning."
Halo rankings
Cortana isn't the only Microsoft system that's doing more of this continuous dynamic learning. "In Halo the TrueSkill ranking system uses a probabilistic model that is much more dynamic," he told us. Your ranking is how Halo suggests other players to play against. TrueSkill tracks both how good the system thinks each player is, and how certain it is that the skill rating is right. The more you play, the more certain the system gets about how accurately it's ranking you, and it has to do that in just a few games even though there are millions of people playing.
The same tools can be useful at work too. TrueSkill is built with Infer.NET, the same system that Clutter uses to work out which email messages you'll want to see, using descriptions that are easy to write – and to update when you want to improve the system.
Clutter learns from your behaviour, and at the moment it takes up to a day for it to change how it treats messages you've dragged back into your inbox when it mistakenly thought they weren't interesting. Delve, an Office 365 service that tries to prioritise the documents and attachments that people have shared with you, can take a couple of days to spot new documents you need to know about.
If we're going to rely on these systems, they have to get faster. After all, we expect search engines to know about news as soon as it happens. "Businesses will increasingly get to the point where they want intelligent agents to be aware of the very latest thoughts, utterances, emails and documents by all of their colleagues, all of the time," predicts Peter Lee. "Even a machine learning system that retrains once a day will be too slow and unintelligent."
This afternoon, Microsoft released a new Windows 10 build for participants in its beta program for the forthcoming operating system.
The build (“10041″ for those keeping score) includes a number of new features and fixes that we’ll get to in a moment, but more importantly Microsoft has retooled its release program to get new, fresher code more quickly into the market. The more than 3 million people who are part of the Windows 10 testing group who elect to receive faster updates of less-solid code will now receive them at an accelerated rate.
Gabe Aul, the public face of Windows 10’s update cycle, tells me that Microsoft has changed its federation process for builds, allowing the company to more quickly get code into the hands of users who want a leading-edge experience. Testing will still occur inside of Microsoft before builds are released to those users, and Windows 10 users who select the slower build cycle won’t be affected. According to Aul, public users on the faster release schedule should expect around a build per month.
Microsoft is setting the tone for how it will build and release future Windows varietals. If it can lay a decent process with Windows 10, the next version of Windows — call it Windows 47 — will have a market-grokkable path from birth to launch.
What’s New
According to a blog post, Microsoft has fixed a number of known bugs and introduced the following set of new features:
Cortana on Windows 10 is now available in “China, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.” It will be interesting to track on a by-country basis how popular the voice-activated digital assistant becomes.
Interface improvements to both the Start Menu and virtual desktops.
Now when a user clicks on the Wi-Fi icon, it won’t fire up the full Settings window. Instead, the motion will launch a smaller, “fly-out” from the Start Bar that will likely save you time. [Author note: Thank god.]
Improved location for handwriting recognition and a stronger Photos app.
All told, it’s a decent mix for an interim build. I’d wager that we won’t see too much more from the company until its Build developer conference , but would love to be wrong.
Microsoft is effectively doubling down on its bet that getting the public onto its new operating system quickly, providing updates as it can, is a winning move. Given the number of testers that the company has accumulated, the strategy seems to be working.
Microsoft dropped an interesting piece of information today amid its confirmation that Windows 10 will go on sale this summer.
Near the end of its announcement, the Redmond-based company casually revealed that it is testing Windows 10 with “power users” of Xiaomi’s flagship Mi 4 Android smartphone. The initiative, which Xiaomi stressed is not a partnership but merely assistance with the trial, is an interesting one because it again shows Microsoft’s new ‘platform agnostic’ approach.
Neither Microsoft nor Xiaomi provided specific details of the Windows 10 software being trialled, but TechCrunch understands from sources that it effectively overrides Android, turning the Xiaomi phone into a Windows 10 device complete with Microsoft services. (Which the company hopes will dazzle Android owners into making the switch.)
That’s to say that the software doesn’t offer a dual boot option, which Microsoft has pushed in the past in India. This is a ROM, based on Windows, that operates much like software from Cyanogen — a company Microsoft was incorrectly linked with an investment in— and other custom ROMs developed by the likes of Tencent and Baidu in China.
The ROM is thus designed to go beyond Microsoft’s Android apps and offer a native-like Windows experience on Android phones.
That’s a pretty powerful concept, and it is no surprise to see Microsoft testing it in China, where consumers are more inclined to install ROMs. There’s a greater spirit of customization in China, particularly for Android users since third-party app stores are the norm as Google Play is severely restricted there.
Microsoft, of course, has big plans to make this software available on more devices in time.The company told The Next Web that full availability will be announced soon (update: full statement below), but it is starting out with Xiaomi — almost certainly because it has a strong community of users who provide feedback on the company’s weekly software updates. Xiaomi’s receptive audience is ideal for such a pilot.
A good idea though it may be, getting adoption for an Android ROM in China is no easy thing. Just ask Baidu, which recently shuttered its Android software efforts due to low interest — that’s despite the company’s vast reach and distribution potential as ‘China’s Google’.
As for Xiaomi, people are often quick to rush to the idea that it is at odds with Google since it doesn’t offer the U.S. company’s services on in MIUI platform in China. Xiaomi’s emphatic comment that its involvement in Windows 10 is not a partnership — coupled with Hugo Barra recent explanation that it is not pushing its suite of services to users outside of China — suggests that this is not tactical; Xiaomi is just giving it users another ROM to tinker with.
The news could be taken in a cynical way in the U.S. — where what’s good for the users is often convenient because it’s good for the business too — but Xiaomi really has cultivated a sizable and trusted community, so we’re inclined to believe its rhetoric on this occasion.
Update: Here are more details from Microsoft:
As part of the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft will partner with Xiaomi to offer Windows 10 free downloads to a select group of Xiaomi Mi4 users. Xiaomi Mi4 users will get the ability to flash their phones with the new Windows 10 OS and provide feedback to Xiaomi and Microsoft on their experience. This partnership will allow Xiaomi and Microsoft to get direct user feedback and continue to improve the experience for China. Microsoft is thrilled to see Xiaomi embracing Windows 10 and offering this great value to their customers. We’re excited to see the feedback we receive from this audience.
Xiaomi is a leading phone manufacturer in China undergoing significant global expansion. We are excited to partner with them in China and jointly gather feedback from Chinese users on their experience with Windows 10 to jointly collaborate on product and services development for the platform.
Availability will be announced in the months to come.
If you're eagerly awaiting the launch of Microsoft's new Windows 10 operating system, you only have to wait a short while longer. At the Windows Hardware Engineering Community (WinHEC) summit in China, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 will be officially available this summer.
Despite revealing the launch window for Windows 10, Microsoft EVP of Operating Systems Terry Myerson did not give a specific date.
"We continue to make great development progress and shared today that Windows 10 will be available this summer in 190 countries and 111 languages," Myerson wrote in a blog post on the company's website. "Windows has always been global with more than 1.5 billion users around the world and here in China hundreds of millions of PCs operate Windows today."
Taking Windows further
Once considered the operating system for desktops and laptops, Microsoft is unifying its branding efforts under the Windows 10 moniker. Windows 10, as a brand, will be used for smartphones, tablets, PCs, laptops, Internet of Things(IoT) devices, and even on the Xbox home gaming console.
Microsoft has launched a number of initiatives with Windows 10, including making a push for universal apps that run across different screens. Most recently, Microsoft announced that it would be bringing greater security and convenience to Windows 10.
New systems that ship with Windows 10 and support biometric security hardware will allow users to forego the password and use a fingerprint, face scan, or iris scan to log into Windows and apps, websites, and networks. Microsoft is calling its new native biometric authentication system Windows Hello.
"I can't wait to see how amazing companies around the world will continue to innovate with devices running Windows 10," Myerson said in a statement. "Working together I know we can create some incredible experiences with Windows 10 that will truly delight our customers."
Moving to 10
Microsoft previously announced that consumers on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 on their PCs for free within the first year of release. Microsoft has not announced what the upgrade pricing would be after the debut year for Windows 10.
Windows 10 is currently in technical preview and users can join the Microsoft Windows Insider program to trial the new OS before its commercial release. In addition to Windows 10 for desktop, a separate but concurrent technical preview is also in place for Windows 10 for phones.
One slide at the presentation of Kushagra Vaid, GM, Server Engineering, Cloud+Enterprise Division at Microsoft resumed beautifully the extent of Microsoft's clout in cloud.
Vaid was a keynote speaker at the DCD event in CeBIT 2015 in Hannnover and was particularly candid and open about what the company learnt since starting doing business on cloud.
The company currently offers more than 200 cloud services in more than 90 countries worldwide. It serves more than a billion customers and a whopping 20 million businesses.
Some of the numbers were already in the public domain but it was refreshing to get them all combined on one slide.
There are more than 400 million active users on Outlook.com, more than 3.5 million subscribers to Office 365, more than 250 million active OneDrive users and a staggering 50+ million active users of Office Web Apps.
These numbers however pale in comparison with the 30 trillion objects currently stored in Azure or the one trillion expected annual Active Directory authentications on the same platform.
Microsoft has more than one million production servers scattered around the globe with 15 major data centres.
All data is triplicated by Microsoft to ensure that none is lost in the event of outages. Customers can also request data to be double-triplicated across primary and secondary regions to maximise redundancy.
Update: As our PS4 vs Xbox One comparison heads into 2015, we consider Microsoft's price drop and how it contrasts with Sony's specs, games and graphics power.
Now more than 15 months into this PS4 vs Xbox One comparison, sales have proven that Sony is more popular with early adopters of the next-generation of video games.
PlayStation 4 has surpassed 18.5 million systems sold worldwide, while Microsoft's numbers for the end of 2014 indicate 10 million Xbox One consoles have shipped to stores.
But those are overall sales statistics - all meaningless, as the latest Xbox One price drop and subsequent surge in popularity in December made the debate a little more even.
Microsoft is mounting a come-from-behind campaign, adding more "Only on Xbox" games to its library this year to join must-have next-gen exclusive Titanfall. It is also the sole console with EA Access, and Microsoft has added some much-requested features - like the ability to take screenshots - in recent months.
Sony is preparing PS4 for a streaming and virtual reality future with PlayStation Now, PlayStation TV and Oculus Rift-rival Project Morpheus. This year's exclusive games include Uncharted 4 and The Order 1886. It's also stepping up its entertainment game, morphing Music Unlimited into the Spotify-powered PlayStation Music and doing the same for Video Unlimited.
And both consoles are rumored to be getting a 4K hardware refresh for their second birthdays.
"We have have the advantage in powering gamers through the next decade," say both companies. To see if that's true, our Xbox One vs PS4 comparison needs another update.
Xbox One vs PS4 hardware design
Deciding between PS4 and Xbox One is like peeling back an onion, and it starts with the outermost layer, the hardware design.
Xbox One's dimensions make it a menacing gaming beast that measures 13.5 in x 10.4 in x 3.2 in. It's also riddled with vents, a design decision to avoid another Red Ring of Death overheating scenario.
It towers over every other device (though Microsoft advises not to stand it up vertically), and completely dwarfs our smallest home theater gadget, the app-filled Chromecast.
PS4 has a more distinctive angular shape with an overall stylish design. This half-matte half-gloss console measures a slimmer 10.8 in x 12 in x 2 in at its widest regions.
These dimensions make Sony's machine more media cabinet-friendly, at least next to Xbox One. The new Xbox also weighs a heftier 3.56 kg vs PS4's 2.75 kg.
PS4 has the advantage of hiding ports too, though as we illustrated in our video comparison, this can actually make it harder to plug cables into the back of the system.
In this way, Xbox One represents functionality over form. A lot of the internal specs are comparable, but Microsoft and Sony really diverged when it came to the designs of Xbox One and PS4.
That may matter since you're buying into an expensive console that's going to sit front and center in your living room entertainment system for the next ten years.
Xbox One vs PS4 front and rear ports
More clear cut is the wireless connectivity situation. PS4 makes room for gigabit ethernet and 802.11 WiFi bands b/g/n, while Xbox One includes all of that plus the older 802.11a band.
Xbox One also supports both the 2.4GHz and newer 5GHz channels that are compatible with dual band routers. PS4 limits connections to 2.4GHz, which is likely to have more interference.
Both systems have 500GB hard drives, but only PS4 allows user-replaceable internal drives. An Xbox One teardown found a standard-looking drive inside, but replacing it voids the warranty.
Instead, the Xbox One June update finally allowed gamers to add external storage to the monster-sized system. There are strings attached. The drive needs to be 256GB or larger and USB 3.0 compatible.
External storage isn't an option that Sony supports in its "go big or go home" internal approach.
PS4 and Xbox One are void of remarkable characteristics on the front. There's a Blu-ray/DVD combo drive to the left and their respective, muted-color logos to the right. PS4 has a pair of USB ports tucked between its sandwich-like halves next to where the disc drive is located.
It's party in the back Xbox One connections. That's where it has two USB ports, HDMI in, HDMI out, S/PDIF for digital audio, a proprietary Xbox One Kinect port, an IR blaster connection and an Ethernet port. To the far right is a K-lock in case you want to lug this system around to LAN parties.
Sony went with a minimalist approach when it came to PS4's rear ports. You'll only find an HDMI out, S/PDIF, Ethernet and PS4 camera port (marked "AUX") around back.
Xbox One is more feature-packed in this area thanks to its HDMI in and IR blaster connections used for its TV cable or satellite box functionality. But are you really going to use this feature? PS4 lacks this passthrough technology, opting to stick with gaming as its top priority.
Is PS4 or Xbox more powerful?
PS4 and Xbox One multiply the power of Xbox 360 and PS3. More importantly, they were built with smarter internal designs, drawing from mistakes of last-generation consoles.
Chip manufacturer AMD benefitted the most from these upgrades. Xbox One has a custom 1.75GHz AMD 8-core CPU, a last-minute upgrade over its original 1.6GHz processor.
The PS4 CPU remained clocked at 1.6GHz and contains a similar custom AMD 8-core CPU with x86 based architecture.
This represents a roughly 10% increase in processing power for Xbox One, but the opposite is true when it comes to the all-important graphics processor.
PS4 boasts a 1.84 teraflop GPU that's based on AMD's Radeon technology. The Xbox One graphics chip, also with an AMD Radeon GPU, has a pipeline for 1.31 teraflops.
Microsoft claims that as of June's Xbox One update, Kinect-free games can reclaim 10% of the GPU that was reserved for system level processing like Kinect-related skeletal tracking data. But developers still have to take advantage of this cache in new games or patch titles.
Right now, the PS4 specs make room for faster graphics rendering than Xbox One, especially when combined with Sony's choice in superior system memory.
Best PS4 vs Xbox One specs for RAM
Even more controversial is the memory under the consoles' matte black hoods. It's not the amount of RAM at issue - both are future-proofed with 8GB of RAM - it's the type of RAM used.
PS4 has a distinct advantage with faster 8GB GDDR5 memory, while Xbox One went with the slower bandwidth of the 8GB DDR3 variety. But, wait, there's more to it.
Neither system allocates all of that RAM to game developers - some is reserved to run their operating systems.
PS4 reserves up to 3.5GB for its operating system, leaving developers with 4.5GB, according to documentation. They can sometimes access an extra 1GB of "flexible" memory when it's available, but that's not guaranteed.
Xbox One's "guaranteed memory" amounts to a slightly higher 5GB for developers, as Microsoft's multi-layered operating system takes up a steady 3GB. It eeks out a 0.5GB win with more developer-accessible memory than PS4, unless you factor in Sony's 1GB of "flexible" memory at times. Then it's 0.5GB less.
The PS4 and Xbox One specs have similar AMD architecture at their core, but contrast like apples and oranges when it comes to memory. Only developers can determine how this battle is won.
PS4 vs Xbox One graphics comparison
Putting all of these specs to the test, developers have had months to build and demo games to us. We're finally seeing the side-by-side results.
The graphics comparison between multi-console games, like the recently released Grand Theft Auto 5 and Metal Gear Solid 5, have given us the best PS4 vs Xbox One graphics benchmarks.
A gameplay video on YouTube of GTA 5 pans between the two next-gen versions of the game with a definitive answer. The PS4 GPU is able to handle more foliage in environments.
Yes, you literally have to get into the weeds to see the differences, though both the PS4 and Xbox editions of GTA 5 look stellar compared to their last-gen counterparts.
In the Metal Gear Solid 5 comparison, there's slightly more clarity to the PS4 version. Specifically, distant textures and moving objects appear softer among the otherwise identical Xbox One visuals.
It's a trend we're seeing from PS4 games that achieve a 1080p resolution at 30 or 60 frames per second when their Xbox One counterparts run at 720p or 900p at 30 or 60fps.
That's the case with Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty: Ghosts, The Witcher 2 and Thief. It's even more evident in Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition where it's 60fps on PS4 vs 30fps on Xbox One.
Battlefield 4 is one of the few PS4 games with a native resolution of 900p. Alas, it was still just 720p on Xbox One. Not that it matters. Both versions were plagued with glitches for months.
This is in no way a deal-breaker for the Xbox One, and here's why. First, it's almost impossible to tell the difference without a side-by-side comparison. You won't miss the extra grass in GTA 5.
Second, everyone's hopeful that as developers mature with these two year-old consoles, the gap will close and games on both systems will prove what next-generation gaming is all about.
DirectX12 could make that a reality, with Microsoft promising a preview version of its Direct3D 12 graphics toolset by the end of the year. It could make up for the slower DDR3 RAM.
Third, the differences are more noticeable in the Xbox One and PS4 graphics comparisons that include Xbox 360 and PS3. Both Microsoft and Sony leave their last-generation graphics chip architecture and RAM limitations behind, and it shows.
Xbox One vs PS4 price difference
It's expensive to be an early adopter, and the PS4 and Xbox One prices prove just that in each of the countries the systems have launched.
One year ago, the PS4 price was the more tempting deal: £349 for the console and DualShock 4 controller. Xbox One was more expensive at $499 for the system, Xbox One controller and Kinect.
An official Xbox One price drop has made this comparison a moot point going forward. The new list price is £349 without Kinect, but with a game included.
In the UK, Xbox One bundled with Sunset Overdrive is £349, just £20 more than standalone PS4 that's still officially £329.
That's a better price than at launch, but as always other countries have it better. In fact, the Xbox One has had two official US price drops and the cost comparison is actually in Microsoft's favor there by $50.
In Australia, Xbox One is now AU$499 selling with multiple games included and retailers are selling the PS4 for $549 with one game for free.
The early PS4 vs Xbox One price difference gave Sony an lead at face value, and gamers didn't seem to mind that the PS4 camera was a separate purchase. Also, for almost a year, it was the only console of the two being sold in countries like India, Japan and Turkey.
Price and availability made for Xbox One's assured shortfall in the beginning. Now, the price point is moot. Can it catch up?
What's in the box?
There was more value in the original Xbox One Kinect bundle, accounting for some of the initial price difference, so it's important to dive deeper into what's included and, of course, what's not included in the box.
At launch, Xbox Ones came with the console, a controller. and the Kinect camera. These systems also had "Day One 2013" emblazoned on the cardboard box and at the center of the controller.
That's a nice perk for Xbox loyalists, though not worth the premium they paid. Subsequent Xbox One bundles have included Titanfall or Sunset Overdrive for the same price, while newer, cheaper systems make Kinect optional.
All Xbox One boxes contains an HDMI cable, wired mono headset and stingy 14-day free trial for Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold online service. There's no USB charging cable, as the Xbox One controller uses batteries out-of-the-box.
Inside the PS4 box is the console and one DualShock 4 controller. Wires include an HDMI cable (Sony learned its lesson after backlash for not including one with the PS3) and a micro-USB cable for the controller.
Don't throw out the box right away. Tucked inside is a 30-day subscription to PlayStation Plus and a wired mono earbud, contrasting with the just-a-cheap Xbox One headset.
The price difference between the PS4 and Xbox One was a sticking point for gamers over the lasts twelve months. Microsoft reshaped the argument at E3 2014 with price-matched Kinect-free Xbox One. The question is, will gamers bite in the new year?
The controllers
The most important aspects of the PS4 vs Xbox One controller comparison include comfort, size and battery life, but a lot of this is going to come down to personal preference.
The good news is that both conform to your hands better vs the less ergonomic Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.
The Xbox One vs Xbox 360 gamepad comparison illustrates some of the 40 design innovations like a tweaked D-Pad and extra rumble effect via "Impulse Triggers" in the shoulder buttons.
Our PS4 vs PS3 gamepad comparison shows even bigger improvements thanks to the fact that the DualShock 4 is larger this time around. Its handles are easier to grip in long gameplay sessions and its dual analog sticks have a recessed divot. Precision movement is now easier.
The PS4 controller's front touchpad and mono speaker are a unique way to interact with games, and developers are starting to find ways to adopt this technology into their controls schemes.
Which controller is better? There's a lot of satisfaction with the PS4 gamepad, but that may have more to do with people's surprise at how much more comfortable the DualShock 4 is compared to the DualShock 3. That wow factor may wear away soon.
The Xbox One vs PS4 controller comparison ends up being a matter of opinion. Some gamers are accustomed to Sony's parallel dual analog sticks, while plenty of others opt for offset analog sticks that have been part of the Xbox universe since the beginning.
Xbox One Kinect vs PS4 Camera
A robust games list for Xbox One Kinect and PS4 Camera has been slow to materialize, even though Microsoft and Sony insisted on sticking with controller-free camera inputs.
The good news is that the new Kinect technology is promising, tracking up to six skeletons at once and processing 2GB of data per second. It can pick up heart rates, facial expressions and 25 joints, thumbs included.
The camera's 60% wider field of vision compared to the Xbox 360 Kinect remedies the annoying "stand 6 feet away" error messages we experienced last time around.
Xbox One Kinect is certainly powerful, it just needs more games. Right now, there are few reasons to keep the 1080p camera plugged in.
There's a free Kinect Sports Rivals demo that's fun, and the full version came out this year. It also supports two Xbox-exclusive workout games, Just Dance 2014 and a pair of Harmonix titles: Fantasia: Music Evolved and Dance Central Spotlight. Fighter Within, though, is far from playable.
PS4 doesn't have as much to offer at this point either, but it's hard to find in stock. Formerly called the PlayStation Eye, it features two 1280x800px cameras in a body that's slimmer than the Kinect.
Unfortunately, the PS4 Camera games list is also slimmer. The included robot mini-game The Playroom has been updated since the console launch, but little else besides Just Dance 2014 requires the device.
In the future, Project Morpheus will utilize the PS4 Camera for virtual reality, but the a long-off prospect of VR games doesn't really explain why the camera is often sold out.
The best PS4 and Xbox One games
The PS4 and Xbox One games list is still now over 100 each, but only a few of the releases in the last year stand as exclusives that make deciding between the two matter.
Titanfall stands above all others on Xbox One if you're into playing Call of Duty-style first-person shooters in which you double jump with a jetpack, wall-run and hop into a giant mech. Sunset Overdrive feature just as crazy-frantic gameplay, while Halo: The Master Chief Collection lets us relive old classic.
Xbox One launch titles Dead Rising 3 and Ryse: Son of Rome provided over-the-top action early on, and Forza Motorsport 5 was the only first-party racing game at launch of either console. It's been joined by the more arcade-like exclusive Forza Horizon 2.
Call of Duty Advanced Warfighter and CoD: Ghosts, while not exclusives to Xbox One, has downloadable content (DLC) that is going to be a timed-exclusive (by a month) held over PS4 gamers' heads.
Xbox One games in development include the Halo 5: Guardians, the next Gears of War game, Quantum Break, Fable Legends and LittleBigPlanet-like Project Spark.
PS4 exclusive Infamous: Second Son couldn't match the groundswell of attention generated by the Titanfall beta in the spring, but it's superpower-filled gameplay is nonetheless entertaining. Even newer exclusives to PS4 include LittleBigPlanet 3 and DriveClub
Killzone: Shadow and Knack are the two Sony-made games that released on discs at launch, but the console is benefiting most from remakes like The Last of Us and digitally distributed indie games.
Resogun and Mercenary Kings were really driving up the points for PlayStation Plus in our book. They were free in April with a subscription to the Sony's paid service.
Further out, we're looking forward to The Order 1886, Uncharted 4 and The Witness the most.
Indie games on PS4 and Xbox One
Our most-wanted PS4 games list doesn't end there because Sony got out in front of supporting independent game developers.
Octodad: Dadliest Catch from Young Horses and Transistor from Supergiant Games came to Sony's console in April and May. Outlast from Red Barrels Studio made the PC-to-PS4 transition in February.
At first, Microsoft maintained that Xbox One games would need to be fronted by a publisher. That changed when the company announced that it would allow self-published games and, in the future, every console would act as a developer kit.
We're still waiting on this "free Xbox One dev kit," a potential game-changer when PS4 developer kits cost thousands of dollars. Until that shift happens, Sony has the attention of the indie developer crowd thanks to its early lead.
Xbox One vs PS4 apps
The Xbox 360 and PS3 proved to be more than just gaming machines and Xbox One and PS4 are no different. Of course, most are shared across both platforms.
In the UK, both systems share Netflix, Crackle, Amazon Instant Video (formerly Lovefilm), Sky Now TV and Demand5.
Exclusive Xbox One apps include YouTube, Ted, Twitch and region-specific services like 4oD, Blinkbox, Eurosport, Muzu.tv and Wuaki.tv. Microsoft-owned apps Internet Explorer, OneDrive, Skype and Xbox Music and Xbox Video are all here too.
That contrasts with PS4's UK app offering. Sony's console features BBC iPlayer, BBC Sports and BBC News, VidZone and Sony's Music Unlimited and Videos Unlimited services.
In Australia, app-deprived gamers have access to VidZone and Quickflix and Sony's own apps. Xbox One delivers a better lineup: Crackle, MLB.TV, SBS ON DEMAND, Ted, TENplay, Twitch and YouTube as well as most of Microsoft's apps.
Are Xbox One vs PS4 backward compatible?
Sony and Microsoft keep teasing the ability to bring old games to their new systems in a variety of ways, but we're still waiting for Xbox One and PS4 backward compatibility.
Right now, Sony's PlayStation Now is in open beta - but only in the and it costs money to rent games like The Last of Us, God of War: Ascension, Dead Space 3 and Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes on the PS4.
Sony has expanded its Gaikai-based video game streaming service to PS Vita and PlayStation TV, with plans to add even Bravia TVs, and then include PlayStation and PS2 to the so far PS3-only lineup.
But when will all of this exciting PlayStation Now content from to the UK? Sony is on the record saying that you can expect to see it sometime in 2015. That's not too far off.
Microsoft could take the same route with Xbox One backward compatibility. The company is working on Xbox 360 emulation for the newer console, but doesn't have plans to bring it to fruition right now.
None of these options are foolproof yet. That means you'll need to keep your Xbox 360 and PS3 in order to replay Halo 4 and Uncharted 3. You can't sell the old systems, and that means people won't be able to readily buy them - they're more likely to purchase them directly from Microsoft and Sony.
Other PS4 and Xbox One differences
The look of the console, the feel of the controller and the appeal of the games list are the main differences from which consumers will decide on PS4 and Xbox One.
However, there are other factors at play one should consider before buying into a new system. It's a good idea to converse with friends, keeping mind of their potential bias.
Since there's no such thing as cross-platform multiplayer, you may be split up when playing Call of Duty on PS4 when all of your friends own it for Xbox One.
Both Microsoft and Sony are charging for multiplayer this console generation, whereas PS3 gamers got to log into matches Scott-Free.
Sony sadly moved closer to Microsoft in this way, while Microsoft moved closer to Sony by tearing down the Xbox Live app paywall. You no longer have to subscribe to stream Netflix and other apps.
Microsoft also supports MP3 and DLNA playback with the Xbox One, whereas Sony neglected to add such compatibility. It's promised to rectify that in a future firmware update, but hasn't supplied us with an update in several months.
The PS4 vs Xbox One comparison has evolved in the last ten months, mostly because Microsoft's plans have shifted, from Xbox One price drops to more lenient paywall policies to graphics specs upgrades.
These two next-generation consoles are now on a more even video game playing field, which means Sony and Microsoft are going to start throwing Uncharted 4 to Halo 5 Guardians at you, and that's a win for all gamers.
For me it comes down to the variety of games, and PS4 has that sewn up right now. You can play all the biggest games on both consoles, but if your tastes are eclectic, Sony's indie and in-house lineup is irresistible.
PS4 for me. The majority of multi-platform games run better on it, the PS Plus subscription service serves up a stream of good, cheap games – even better if you also have Vita and PS3 – and it looks nicer in the living room. Is that a valid reason? Damn straight it is.
I have both because I like having options and access to everything (I even own a Wii U). For me it's about the games, but if I had to choose I do like the Xbox One's interface more because I can bark commands at it.
Hugh Langley - UK News Editor, TechRadar
It has to be the PS4 right now. Between PlayStation Plus, PS Now, Vita cross-play, and the promise of Morpheus, the whole PlayStation ecosystem feels like it's growing into something truly terrific. That said, don't get comfortable, Sony - the Xbox One is definitely beginning to close the gap.
