Xiaomi has quietly launched a new 4K Android TV streaming device. The all-new Xiaomi TV Stick 4K, which was spotted on the FCC database in September, has now appeared on the company’s global website with key specs and features. We don’t yet have the price and availability details though. Hopefully, the Chinese firm will reveal those details too soon.
Xiaomi TV Stick 4K: Design and specs
The Xiaomi TV Stick 4K keeps the overall form factor of the original Mi TV Stick from last year. It sports an identical dual-tone finish but one of the shades is now longer. And that’s because the device itself is slightly longer than the 2020 model (92.4mm vs 106.8mm). If it matters, the new model is also significantly heavier at 42.8 grams (vs 28.5 grams). Thickness and width don’t change much though.
Other notable changes in appearance include the prominent Xiaomi branding replacing the “Mi” logo. The company is phasing out the “Mi” branding across its products.
The remote control also expectedly does away with the outgoing logo in favor of the Xiaomi branding. Otherwise, it appears to be the same unit, identical down to the position of the physical buttons and their shapes. We have the dedicated Google Assistant button up top, below the power button. The Amazon Prime Video and Netflix shortcuts also retain their place on the remote.
Moving on to specs, the star of the show is 4K support. The original TV Stick from Xiaomi maxed out at 1080p, so this is a major upgrade here. The device is powered by an unnamed quad-core Cortex-A35 processor and the Mali-G31 MP2 GPU. The processor could be the Amlogic S905Y4 SoC that powers T-Mobile’s new TVision Hub Google TV streaming stick.
Xiaomi is offering the device with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. There’s no SD card slot here though, so 8GB is the maximum storage space you’ll ever have on the Xiaomi TV Stick 4K, which could be problematic at times. It runs Android TV 11, which is also found on the aforementioned T-Mobile TVision Hub. Android TV 12 may be already here but Google’s own Chromecast with Google TV is still running Android TV 10.
For connectivity, the Xiaomi TV Stick 4K boasts Bluetooth 5.0 and dual-band Wi-Fi. It, of course, supports all popular audio and video formats as well as decoders, including Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision, and DTS HD. The device features a micro USB port for power input
When will Xiaomi TV Stick 4K hit the market?
As said before, we don’t yet have the pricing and availability details of the Xiaomi TV Stick 4K. But the Chinese firm is famous for undercutting the competition with its pricing. So we expect the new streaming device from Xiaomi to sell for lesser than $50, which is what most competing solutions cost. That said, the original Mi TV Stick is currently priced at $54.99 in the US. So, things may not be as expected. We will keep you updated as and when the company shares more information.
2021-12-18 15:06:33