Microsoft's Disc Free Xbox One could launch before E3

There has been growing rumours for the past few years about a optical disc free Xbox One launching and even the next generation of Scarlett consoles are rumoured to ship with a optical medium free SKU.

Windows Central reports that Microsoft's first disc free Xbox One console could be on the shelves as early as April this year. The console is internally referred to as Maverick (they probably love Top Gun) and it will be referred to as the "Xbox One S All-Digital Edition" at retail.

This will essentially be a SuperSlim Xbox one S, and the first current gen console to ship without physical medium support.

Consoles are normally made cheaper during their twilight years as manufacturing are constantly being more streamlined so this rumour is really not unexpected and considering that on Amazon.com the cost of a replacement 4k Blu Ray drive is listed at approximately $40 (Around R550) and that there will probably more cost saving measures and optimisations implemented i.e. smaller PSU, case etc. the console will probably retail for close to R1000 less when it releases.

Even though the console will launch at a cheaper price I would still recommend the standard One S as an entry point as the native 4K blu ray player does add a lot of value to the console if you do a pricing comparison then you will see that the cheapest standalone 4k upscaling (not native 4k) blu ray player is listed at just under R2000 locally on Pricecheck, and considering that you can essentially pick up a complete Xbox One S with a game or 2 thrown in for roughly R3500 to R4000 it really is a no brainer.

Even with their credibility of being correct most of the time, Windows Central does state that these sorts of rumors, should be taken with a pinch of salt until it is officially confirmed.