Back in 2020, I wrote about how the newly launched Xbox Series S console was the perfect console for a second room, as the Xbox Series X took centre stage and the main focus. Never did I think that the second room in question would be the kitchen. But that’s how things have panned out with the Xbox Series S Toaster.
As an Xbox focused site that dips in and out of various forms of tech, we see a range of different items pass through our doors, all begging to be reviewed. It goes without saying that Xbox accessory staples – controllers, headsets, battery packs – are always front and centre of our coverage. Yet we have also had much joy with the XGIMI Horizon Projector, Secret Lab gaming chairs, and even the Nerdytec Couchmaster CYCON².
Toasters though? Yeah, we never expected to find ourselves focusing on kitchen appliances.
It’s that which we are doing with the Xbox Series S Toaster though. Following on from Microsoft’s attempt to inject humour into the world with the Xbox Series X Fridge, the Series S-styled toaster is a quirky bit of kit that any self-confessed Xbox fan should have in their kitchen. If that person likes toast too, then better still. I guess it would be useless if toast wasn’t your bag.
Designed and styled to look about as close to a Series S console as you can get, the Series S Toaster is a wicked looking bit of kit. It’s fairly sizable in length, much bigger than our previous toaster, but it is also pretty thin. Covered in white and black detailing, to the untrained eye, many would pass this off for a Series S console. If they squint.
Except that is, until they check out the top.
A top-loading toaster, the sheer length of the unit – dimensions are 192 x 382 x 116 mm (H x W x D) in case you are interested – means you’ll have no problem slotting in a couple of pieces of bread, no matter whether they be from a small or large loaf. All fit well, putting to bed issues that this may well only be suitable for one slice at a time; a rumour not helped by the insistence of the marketing team to slap a single piece of toast on the outer box. Why did they do that? It raises questions that didn’t need raising.
For us, we basically live off small seeded slices, and have found this toaster to happily deliver a couple of pieces of toast as per normal. Just be aware, anything over your standard loaf may see the Xbox Toaster leaving you wanting. But, isn’t that the case of any toaster?
It cooks well too. A digital countdown display is found etched inside a ‘Browning Control Knob’, aka cooking dial, on the side of the toaster. Working between 1-6 on the ‘where shall I stick this dial’ range, we’ve found something around the region of ‘4’ to cook toast to our liking over the course of a couple of minutes. Obviously, personal tastes will differ but the toaster has been created to deliver light, medium and dark toastings. That dial also plays host to a reheat option. If you’ve been distracted during your breakfast creation, this will happily warm things up again, without overcooking. Have we ever used it? Aside from a quick test, nope. Toast is for eating, and it’s for eating quick.
That dial fits nicely alongside ‘defrost’, ‘cancel’ and ‘bagel’ buttons. Do we need to explain what they do? Nah, didn’t think so, but we will anyways. Basically, that defrost option will slowly warm your bread or pastries whilst the opportunity to go bagel cooking is there if you need it.
The pièce de résistance of the Xbox Series S Toaster though is found in the heating elements. You see, slam some bread down and let the heating elements get to work and you’ll find the toast that pops out the other end to have a big Xbox logo emblazoned on one side. A neat trick yes, but unfortunately we’ve found that this means a uniform crispness is not delivered; the logo’d area always a bit soft to the touch. It’s not like the Xbox logo is massively highlighted either, although various bread types do allow it to shine through more than others.
For many, that’ll hardly be an issue. In fact, we’d suspect that hardcore Xbox fans who want to find some joy in their lives will not worry one jot about such inaccuracies. For us, we were merely disappointed that our toast wasn’t quite to our exact liking. Can you be a food snob over a piece of toast? Damn right you can.
Chuck in a thin, but useful retractable crumb catcher sitting neatly along the bottom and the Xbox Series S Toaster has everything you would expect of a toaster, plus the opportunity to drop a big X on your toast. Downsides? It feels a bit plasticky, the dial isn’t the smoothest to rotate and the buttons do feel a bit tacky. Aside from that, it does the job.
For all the toast in the world though, we guess there will be one big question that needs answering. A fairly simple one. Does Xbox Series S Toaster play games? In a word. No, Xbox Series S Toaster does not play games. But it does cook bread, turning it into some great looking – and tasting, depending on your bread of choice – toast.
If you want to inject some gaming fun into your kitchen and have a proper love for Xbox, you should not hesitate to get your toasting needs completed by the Xbox Series S Toaster.
We always knew the Series S would be the perfect console for a second room. But perhaps we didn’t think that would be the kitchen.
You’ll find the Xbox Series X Toaster over at Currys. It’ll cost you around £29.99.
