Xbox Series S as my personal PC

Since the first Xbox, Microsoft took the easiest path: they created a gaming PC and sold it as a console. Before Steam Machine, Steam Deck, or Legion, Microsoft sold a gaming PC disguised as a console. Time has passed, and the Xbox has always been essentially that. So, developing any application or game for the Xbox has always been quite simple if you already know how to do it for a PC.

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The year is 2023, and the web browser is omnipresent in almost everything. Chromium is ubiquitous (or nearly so), and everyone ends up developing their applications to run in the browser. This makes it easier for those like me, who have a work and personal computer, to reach the point of not needing an actual computer. The work computer runs Windows 11 and has everything one would expect (Office, Firefox) and serves me for approximately 8 hours daily. In the remaining hours and on weekends, I mainly occupy myself with the iPad and the Xbox, which is an unusual choice for most people.

The truth is, there's nothing extraordinary about it; for my use (gaming + web), it serves me well. I realized this when I was looking for a new computer for my mother after the state government in RS asked for the Chromebooks they had provided to teachers in 2020. When searching for a new computer, I discovered that my usage was more sporadic than my mother's, so I focused on listing what I used daily for personal access. The list includes:

If you notice, it's all essentially through a web browser. There's nothing there that can't be accessed by a modern browser. Luckily, the Xbox Series S has had one for a while. The Xbox Edge browser is the same (or nearly the same) as the one on Windows. Furthermore, the Xbox natively supports Bluetooth headsets, keyboards, and mice. If you encounter any issues, you can buy an adapter (although I think it's quite rare). Finally, the Xbox has 10GB of GDDR6 RAM, an SSD, an 8x Zen 2 Cores processor (3.6GHz), and an AMD RDNA (4 TF). Essentially, it's more than I need for my web browsing.

The keyboard has a few moments when it acts a bit quirky, and the Xbox overlays the virtual keyboard on the screen, but pressing “ESC” makes it disappear. The mouse has a stylized pointer, which I don't particularly like, but it's not bothersome (especially since I've learned to do everything via the keyboard lately). The browser is fast and responds very well, perhaps even better than Chrome or Firefox that I use at work. I can't speak about extensions because the only one I used was uBlock, and currently, I use PiHole directly on the router, so all ads are blocked there. YouTube runs smoothly in 1080p without hiccups. The Xbox's WiFi card seems to be much better than my old laptop; the signal is stronger, with the Xbox hitting 120Mbps where the other marked 45Mbps.

As a bonus, I also use it in conjunction with Game Pass Ultimate and have the games I play the most without major complications (Path of Exile, Diablo 2 Resurrected, Diablo 4, Age of Empires 4, and now Starfield). I do miss some of my Steam games, for example, but it's not a big deal.

In summary, my setup consists of: