Sometimes it's what you don't see that's something new. In the case of Xbox One we've never seen Microsoft place the console vertically, as most people probably place their Xbox 360 consoles (in order to save space). Speaking with Gamespot, Microsoft's Albert Penello explained why placing it vertically may not be a very smart idea:
"We don't support vertical orientation; do it at your own risk. It wouldn't be a cooling problem, we just didn't design the drive for vertical. Because it's a slot loading drive, we just didn't design it for both".