Today's best technology deal
Selected by TechHive editors
Special offer for quality products
Selected by Techconnect editors
At a list price of $50,
Aims to be a relatively cheap Android TV streaming dongle for 1080p TVs. Like other Android TV devices, it provides Google Assistant voice controls, Chromecast support, and an exquisite menu for recommending content to watch.
However, all of this is spoiled by the performance of the Mi TV Stick, which ranges from average (in apps such as Netflix and HBO) to unusable (in Hulu). The possibility of combining remote remote control and more interesting Android TV devices is coming, that is,
-Xiaomi Mi TV Stick does not provide much support for it.
Like Amazon’s Fire TV Stick and Roku’s Streaming Stick+, Mi TV Stick is a fingertip-length device that can be plugged directly into the HDMI slot of a modern TV. Depending on the arrangement of the HDMI ports on the TV, you may need
Makes the Xiaomi TV stick suitable; fortunately, Xiaomi now has one in the box.
For technical specifications, Mi TV Stick uses Cortex-A53 quad-core processor and Mali-450 GPU, with 1GB RAM and 8GB onboard storage space. These components are similar to those used by Xiaomi in its previous Android TV players,
with
, But its RAM is half of these devices, and does not support 4K video.
In practice, hardware will bring a slow experience. When scrolling the menu, the system usually fluctuates between a smooth frame rate and an unstable frame rate, and it may take more than five seconds for the main screen to reload after exiting the application. Even if you just press a button on the remote control, it often fails to produce an immediate response.
For whatever reason, Hulu seems to have brought the most serious of these problems. Scrolling on the app will cause the Mi TV Stick to freeze for a few seconds at a time, and occasionally trip, or even crash back to the home screen. Crashes often occur during media playback, usually when trying to fast forward or adjust the device volume.
The fact that Xiaomi has not solved the problem of one of the most popular streaming services does not inspire confidence, especially since some early adopters of Mi TV Stick have already
Since August last year. Xiaomi said that performance issues in apps like Hulu may be related to the EU version of the hardware, rather than the US version that will be launched later this year. After the release of this version, we will re-evaluate, but at the same time, since the EU model is currently being sold on Amazon, buyers must proceed with caution.
At the same time, the remote control is also a disappointing choice, although not surprising, because it is almost the same as the 2018 Mi Box S. (The only difference is: it now has a shortcut button for Amazon Prime Video.) The minimalist remote has a hollow, cheap feel; more importantly, it lacks an infrared transmitter for direct control of TV volume and power. The best thing you can do is to control the internal volume of the Mi TV Stick (up to the maximum volume you set on the TV itself), or use HDMI-CEC to control the connected sound system. In 2020, there is really no excuse for this omission.
The Xiaomi Mi TV Stick remote has volume buttons, but the lack of infrared support means that it cannot directly control the volume of the TV.
It’s also worth noting that apart from Micro-USB, there are no other ports on the Mi TV Stick that can provide power. Although some Android TV devices can pass
, This does not apply to Mi TV Stick. Neither the Xbox One controller nor the USB thumb drive could be registered via the USB-OTG cable, and plugging in the USB keyboard caused the device to restart.
The Xiaomi Mi TV Stick runs Android 9.0.
The hardware of Mi TV Stick is particularly disappointing, because the underlying Android TV software is already very good. The usability of the app (once it becomes the Achilles heel of Android TV) is no longer a problem, because the platform now provides almost all the streaming services you might want. With Amazon
, The emergence of HBO Max and Peacock on Android TV even gives the platform a certain advantage. (
)
The Android TV home screen takes some time to adapt, but it can be very useful if you spend some time customizing it to your liking. At the top of the screen, in addition to the mandatory preview content line, there is also a customizable quick-start application shortcut line. Below is a series of "channel" rows from different applications that provide suggestions on what to watch. By scrolling to the left of any channel row, you can delete it or rearrange its order on the main screen.
Android TV provides a customizable home screen row, each row has recommendations from different applications.
Although you still have to dig into each application to view its full catalog, you can view recommendations from Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Disney+, and other streaming sources at a glance. The only problem is the "Next Play" line of Android TV, which should help you quickly restore all the programs you have watched. Many streaming sources continue to ignore this feature of Android TV, making it largely useless.
Other logos of Android TV also appeared on Xiaomi Mi TV Stick. Using the Google Assistant button on the remote control, you can directly launch videos in supported applications (such as Netflix and HBO Max); search by genre, actor or director; control smart home devices; or in Spotify and YouTube music, etc. Play music in the app.
Google Assistant is good at performing detailed genre searches on Android TV.
The built-in Chromecast support is also convenient when you use a phone or tablet and want to launch videos without having to grab the remote control, and when you want to listen in private, the system works well with Bluetooth headsets.
The built-in Chromecast support means that you can use the apps on your phone (including Plexamp, as shown on the left) to play media on the TV (as shown on the right).
But in some respects, Android TV still doesn't seem to be perfect. Google Assistant has some weird blind spots-for example, it can't search the Amazon Prime catalog, and an error occurs when trying to launch CBS All Access content-and using Google Photos album as a screen saver does not seem to work as expected. The same on Chromecast devices. Android TV also lacks single sign-on capabilities for the TV Everywhere app, similar to those available on Apple TV, Fire TV, and Roku devices. Overall, it has become a powerful TV operating system with some unique advantages.
Although Xiaomi only recently launched the Mi TV Stick in the United States, the possibility of Google buying cheaper Android TV devices is imminent. The device is code-named "Sabrina" and is allegedly called
, It is likely to be announced on September 30, the price is between 50 and 60 US dollars. There are rumors that it will be different from Mi TV Stick, it will support 4K streaming, and it may have
start up.
Those who want low-cost Android TV devices will be wisely waited to see what Google brings. However, even with its own advantages, the Xiaomi Mi TV Stick is difficult to sell.
At the same $50 asking price, you can get
or
, Both provide better performance, a more powerful remote control and 4K HDR video support. We can only hope that Google will provide a better alternative to these budgets better than Xiaomi.
Cheap Android TV streaming is a good idea, but the execution in this case is a mess.
Jared Newman talks about personal skills from his remote Cincinnati early outpost. He also published two newsletters,
Seek technical advice and
Seek the help of abandoning cable or satellite TV.
TechHive can help you find the best technical option. We guide you to find products you like and show you how to make the most of them.
Visit other IDG websites:
