Your first is paragraph is wrong. There are games that actually have increased graphics settings on Pro and X1X. Its not just resolution and performance. They vary and some might be small, but they exist.

Some games actually increase graphics settings like textures, shadows, draw distance and other settings if you're using a premium console. 1st party X1X games for example tend to have increased visual settings and/or better textures than base X1.

Ray tracing isn't necesarily a crucial feature and many games may not use it because it can be very demanding. Next gen consoles might also use advanced image reconstruction techniques which make low resolutions look significantly higher. Developers have a lot of new options in the coming gen. Even something like ray tracing can be adjusted to be less demanding, as can many effects. Series S could lower visual settings to keep resolution higher if developers feel they should.

It's certainly possible Series S could have content in the ballpark of 720p if developers are really pushing PS5 and Series X GPUs hard. But as you pointed out, it would likely be exceptional visuals as was RDR2 for the 8th gen. Dynamic resolution has also been a great feature to keep image quality sharper.

There is no way this is true, like at all

1 - There is no reason for a 300 dollar price point, consumers are more than willing to pay minimum 400 for next gen

2 - 4 Teraflops Is way below the current generation xbox X, even below the ps4 pro, that wont happen

3 - Microsoft will not risk the bad marketing and the jokes again this generation, launching a new gen console weaker than the current gen

4 - Microsoft will not risk launching a base console way weaker than ps5 base console, they cant afford it as they don't have the exclusives to swing them, unless they are trying for a reason to get out of the console market, possible

5 - If this is true then Ill definitely wait a couple years before I buy into Xbox again, because the future is too uncertain, unlike the ps5 which is guarantee huge success and many exclusives for at least 7 years.

This is why TFlops can be deceiving.

1. XBO X has 6TFlops, very similar to an RX 580. An RX 5500 has only 4.8 TFlops, but slightly higher performance than a RX 580. And that's the 4GB RX 5500 version, which gets choked by it's lack of VRAM. In other words, at 4.x TFlops Lockhart would still get about One X GPU performance - and would get much stronger CPU performance. More on that below.

2. XBO X gets choked by the weak CPU, especially when it comes to higher framerates. The CPU is one of the reasons why this Gen was almost always locked to 30 FPS, as the CPU made it impossible to reach 60 in many times. Hence also the obsession with 4K when gamers were asking for higher FPS. This limitation would be gone with Lockhart, allowing the player to choose between better graphics and higher FPS.

3. There are diminishing returns for more performance. Reaching 6 TFlops for instance would mostly be only slightly better looking, but certainly much more expensive to produce.

4. At that price, it would allow Microsoft to cash in those who are strapped for cash for a bigger console yet deliver One X visuals. This could hurt Sony much more than you seem to imagine, as the early life is crucial for the future of the console.

I don't know man. I kinda expect all next gen games to have exceptional visuals and Ray Tracing to become the norm, especially when MS first announced the 12Tflops Series X. For me it would be perfect if both MS and Sony launched a high-end console at $599. Maybe that is expensive, but we live in a world where teenagers walk around with $1000 phones and if there is no cheap option, I'm sure they would still sell great if consumers clearly see the value from the start. We would get eye-ball-melting graphics and prices would go down a few years later anyway. 

I;m sure Lockhart will perform better than the X1X and I understand that Tflops don't tell the whole story. But isn't the gpu the most important part of a console and the last thing you want platform holders to cheap out on? Anyway you spin it, 4Tflops doesn't sound like a generational leap from say the 360 to ps4. It would be an incredibly unbalanced console where the gpu becomes a major bottleneck and no way in hell it could do Ray Tracing, which is one of the main reasons to get excited about next gen.

But on a positive note, I don't think Lockhart will be their base console and that it'll launch along side Series X. It's far more likely that it will come later as a Xcloud console. Since E3 got canned, MS will be doing a GDC livestream next week where they'll talk about things like Ray Tracing and their vision for next gen. As I've been ranting about for 2 weeks, Cloud gaming and GP will likely be MS's main focus for next gen.

Xbox Series X + Project xCloud = New Chapter in Gaming

https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/games/events/gdc-2020

Why are you even mentioning 1080p games on PS5 when a 7 year old PS4 is aiming for that resolution?

PS5 games will be from 1800p to 2160p just like PS4 games are from 900p to 1080p.

Raytracing can be optional you know? Like video options: 1440p 30 fps with Raytracing or 4K 30 fps without it.

RDR2 on Xbox One X is native 4K, why would I expect anything less than 4K from 2020 8K capable console?

1080p games on 2020 console... please don't make me laugh.

Raytracing can be optional you know? Like video options: 1440p 30 fps with Raytracing or 4K 30 fps without it.

RDR2 on Xbox One X is native 4K, why would I expect anything less than 4K from 2020 8K capable console?

1080p games on 2020 PS5... please don't make me laugh.

What makes you think going from 4 to 6 Tflops will result in only slightly better looking games? The Xone had about 30% less Tflops than the ps4 and we've seen games running in 1080p on ps4 vs 720p on Xone. Just imagine what the difference would be if that's 300% less Tflops. A 1080p game on ps5 would be running in 540p on Series S. Would that really be worth saving $100 or $200 over?

That's a scenario that won't happen though. I'll be truly shocked if we get any 1080p games on PS5 and XSX next gen. Most devs are going to aim for 1800p or above on PS5 and XSX in my opinion, just like they did on Xbox One X. While I can't find any info about the current 4K tv adoption rate, I found a late 2018 article that said that it was already over 25% in early 2018, with forecasts pointing to 50% by the end of 2019. The rate is expected to keep increasing over the next few years. And while those are US numbers and 4K adoption is said to be much lower in emerging markets, 4K tv prices have now fallen to point where huge 4K growth is expected in emerging markets over the next few years. I just can't see many developers aiming for lower resolutions in order to push graphics further, especially since they have both MS and Sony in their ear asking them to aim for 4K and 60 fps on PS5 and XSX if possible.

If I'm right and the lowest resolution PS5 and XSX games we see this gen are at around 1800p, XSS will be able to manage 900p on those same games with about the same graphics settings. Maybe we see a handful of 1440p games on XSX and PS5 late gen, when PC starts to pull way ahead and devs begin struggling to scale their games properly, but you know what? Though a drop to 1440p on XSX and PS5 would result in a drop to 720p on XSS, I decided to do a test just now, and watch the Hellblade 2 trailer at 720p on my 1080p monitor, and I must say it doesn't look bad at all, a bit fuzzy for sure, especially thanks to Youtube compression artifacts, but I think if it was running natively at 720p on XSS with about the same graphics settings as the XSX version, it would be quite acceptable. Having some 720p games late gen on XSS would not turn me off from buying it personally. Now obviously If I had a 32" 4K monitor instead of my current 21" 1080p monitor, then obviously 720p wouldn't be acceptable on that screen like it is on my smaller 1080p screen, but XSS isn't really meant for people who already have 4K tv's or monitors, it's largely meant for those like myself who have been slow to adopt 4K. Many people who buy an XSS early gen will trade it in for an XSX or the mid-gen refresh Xbox later on in the gen, after they get a larger 4K screen, I know I probably will if I end up buying an XSS on launch (which will only happen if there is a disc-drive variant or external disc drive accessory).