I'm sorry but this just comes over as opportunistic (again). He clearly spends a lot of time reading GAF:

During Microsoft's Build 2016 Developer Conference, Xbox boss Phil Spencer held a small roundtable to discuss the changes coming to Xbox One and Windows gaming. During that chat, the rumors of PlayStation 4.5 and a possible Xbox counterpart came up. Spencer offered his own thoughts on the gossip and how it could apply to Xbox One and re-emphasizing earlier sentiments about the possibility of upgrading your Xbox One.

"I’m not a big fan of Xbox One and a half. If we’re going to move forward, I want to move forward in big numbers," Spencer said. "I don’t know anything about any of the rumors that are out there, but I can understand other teams’ motivations to do that. For us, our box is doing well. It performs, it’s reliable, the servers are doing well. If we’re going to go forward with anything, like I said, I want it to be a really substantial change for people – an upgrade."

The speculation surrounding PlayStation 4.5 are in relation to its upcoming VR push and the possible need for more power that some believe could result in 4K gaming (we're not so sure). Microsoft has no current plans to support VR on Xbox One, but we did speak with Xbox's head of advanced technology group, Jason Ronald, about the possibility of VR or HoloLens support. You can read that story here.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2016/04/01/i-m-not-a-big-fan-of-xbox-one-and-a-half-says-xbox-boss-

BEFORE GAF:

http://www.polygon.com/2016/3/1/11121666/xbox-one-hardware-upgrades-phil-spencer-microsoft

Hmm that's an interesting and rather quick change of opinions! I though it was and April Fools thread first

So... he changed the entire PR and focus based on GAF? Seems you're reading too much into things.

Maybe he just means if they were to do mid Gen upgrades it would be more than what PS4.5 is rumored to be. Which I am perfectly cool with. Release another $500 monstrosity with better hardware in multiple areas. I'll buy that.

Hell, Microsoft skipped forward TWO numbers with Windows 10. That's what you call a substantial upgrade.

XBox 480p confirmed.

He started this whole mid cycle upgrade nonsense.
Plus the ps4.5 rumors started with 4K gaming, guess he wants the XBox to do 8K gaming for a substantial upgrade :)

If you're not a fan of the Xbox One then adding another half of it ain't gonna fix it

Whether he's a fan or not, Sony makes gaming exciting again. OTOH Microsoft hasn't done or shown anything interesting for some time, on the contrary, the latest news of Xbox losing exclusives made me lose the little interest I had in their console, everything hinges on Scalebound now and there's a rumor it's going to PC too. I hope they have a Xbox Slim ready because I got no space for a huge console, so I dont want a Xbox 1.5, give me the Slim.

Now that really would be something

The X1.5 has already been released years ago. It's called a PC.

Clearly, what he said last month was just a ploy to get Sony to lay its cards on the table, ha.

Or it's a bunch of pr fluff to help cover up that they're totally working on an Xbox One.5