Google Android TV comes to new 4K HDR Xiaomi Mi Box S for $60
Google's TV operating system tries to take on Roku, Amazon and Apple with a little help from Xiaomi -- again.
- Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
Android TV is taking another stab at the living room.
Unlike the $35 Google Chromecast , Google's big-screen Android TV operating system appears only on relatively expensive devices, namely the $200 Nvidia Shield and Sony TVs, for example.
Today Google aims to close the price gap a bit by building Android TV into a new device. The Xiaomi Mi Box S costs $60 and will be available Oct. 19, with preorders starting today.
Google Pixel 2018 event
The Mi Box S delivers 4K and HDR video (HDR10, not Dolby Vision) from compatible services. It uses the latest version of Android TV, 8.1, with a new interface allowing more customization. It has Google Assistant built in, allowing voice commands with the included Bluetooth remote. There's a quad-core CPU, and like other Android TV devices it has Chromecast built in too.
Android TV has plenty of apps -- more than 3,000 total -- and the Mi Box S includes Netflix, Vudu, YouTube and SlingTV, for example. On the other hand the Mi Box S doesn't have Amazon Prime Video, which is available on all of its competitors as well as the Nvidia Shield.
The Mi Box S succeeds the original Mi Box in the US, which launched in 2016 for $70. The new, less expensive S faces tough competition once again from 4K HDR streamers like the $50 Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and $50 Roku Premiere+, but could find a following with Google fans who can't swing the premium for a Shield.
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