Xiaomi has announced the Mi Box 4S Pro as their latest streaming media player. While it’s currently only available in China and, according to Android Authority, they “have no global [release] plans to share at the moment,” the device is significant in that it’s their first one capable of 8K video playback.
Xiaomi’s Mi Box line has been relatively well received in the US and other regions, starting first with their original Mi Box and followed up by its refreshed version, the Mi Box S. Prior to the release of the 2020 Chromecast with Google TV and Tivo Stream 4K, the Mi Box line was one of the few ways to get an inexpensive device running the official version of Android TV. More recently, Xiaomi released the 1080p Mi TV Stick to less favorable reviews.
Xiaomi has released several variants of their newer Mi Box 4 line, all of which have not been available in the US, but none have been as interesting as this new Mi Box 4S Pro, thanks to the device’s 8K video support through its HDMI 2.1 port. Not much is known about the device’s other specs, but we do know it has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. It runs MIUI, Xiaomi’s own fork of Android, but, should it eventually be released outside of China, I’d expect it to run Android TV.
Most surprising is the Mi Box 4S Pro’s inexpensive price of 399 yuan, which is about $60. That price is only 100 yuan, or about $15, more than the similar 4K-only Mi Box 4S. While 8K TVs are just starting to hit the market and we’re likely still far from 8K content being commonly available, it’s interesting to see that supporting the next generation of video resolution on a streaming media player isn’t going to break the bank.
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Will it work with the Denon 2020 model AVRs or will the HDMI 2.1 bug in the AVRs prevent it from showing 8K video?
It’s Xiaomi, it won’t work, period. Pairing issues with the remote, sluggishness when you turn it back on after being off for some hours, Disney+ only offers stereo sound, resolution at 720p every time you restart the box, then in the afternoon… a whole set of bugs…
This is mostly good to use under the leg of an uneven chair and/or table.
The question for me is what year do I upgrade my current TV for 8K.
In 2016 I upgraded a year “too early”, as it was missing features that were added the following year that haunt me to this day:
*No Dolby Vision at 60HZ
*Judder of 24 FPS
content at 60 Hz
*eARC
*Does not convert LL DV (Xbox)
While liveable, it created headaches for most streaming devices not named Apple TV and The Shield.
The Apple TV was and is a lifesaver in that regard.
I just recently bought a S to use on my other TV at 1080P just because I love buying streaming boxes and I didn’t have an Android TV box on that one. It is not terrible. It is actually pretty decent.
Two words:Data Caps
*If you have them, running a device like this could cost you more than your car.
yes comcrap just announced it will be imposing data caps in ALL states it operates in now come jan 2021
but will not be strictly enforced till Apr 2021
just in time for COVID 19 and 8K
guess I will be switching to RCN
In the first paragraph, line five, there is supposed to be their as in possessive.
But good information overall. Missed your posts while you were at Amazon.
“Most surprising is the Mi Box 4S Pro’s inexpensive price of 399 yuan, which is about $60.”
i think equally as surprising is 2GB of RAM
seems awfully low to me
“should it eventually be released outside of China, I’d expect it to run Android TV.”
Androis TV? or Google TV?
or is there any difference really
if it runs the same OS version as the new CC and is priced at $60
it will really give the new CC some competition
especially with it having a full sixe USB port
adding USB peripherals to the new CC with it’s lone type C port
is an expensive proposition