Xiaomi Mi Box S lacks competitive specs, price for 2018
The new Mi Box S just hit store shelves at WalMart, and there are plenty of people who are excited about it.
But I’m not buying one, and if you’re a prospective cord cutter on the hunt for a 4K HDR streaming device to replace cable TV, you can do a lot better.
I usually don’t judge a product before I put my hands on it. But the Mi Box S is going to be an exception this year. The Xiaomi Mi Box S is a second-generation to the original released 2016. When Mi Box fist hit the U.S. market in 2016, there was a wave of excitement about a new streaming box with Android TV software.
But that quickly changed once people started running into problems with software updates and lack of support.
I’m not out to slam Xiaomi. They make plenty of fine products. And there are a number of other low-priced Android TV boxes that you can find for sale on the web that perform even worse than Mi Box. I’ve owned a NVIDIA Shield for more than a year and a half so I’ve enjoyed Android TV at its best.
Excitement over the original Mi Box released in the U.S. just two years ago has been short lived because of a litany of unaddressed issues. Here’s five reasons why I’m not buying the new Xiaomi Mi Box S.
Reason #1: Lack of support
Google has amassed a small grave yard of unsupported Android TV devices. The ASUS Nexus Player came out swinging in November 2014, picking up a devoted following only to be discontinued two years later.
Remember, Razer’s Forge TV? It didn’t last half as long. Then, Xiaomi’s Mi Box rolled out in 2016 and people continue to complain on Reddit and elsewhere about its lack of support. There’s been no substantial sign of breaking this streak. Only the NVIDIA Shield TV has a proven track record of Android TV support by…. NVIDIA, not Google.
Reason #2: Mi Box S: same specs while competitors improve
The specs for the Mi Box S are pretty much identical to the 2016 Mi Box. There’s a slightly better remote with voice control and Google Assisant. But there’s no Dolby Atmos support.
| Xiaomi Mi Box (2016) U.S. | Xiaomi Mi Box S (2018) U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Output resolution | Up to 4K 60fps | Up to 4K 60fps |
| Processor | Quad-core Cortex-A53, 2.0G | Quad-core Cortex-A53 |
| GPU | Mali 450 750MHz | Mali 450 750MHz |
| RAM | 2GB DDR3 | 2GB DDR3 |
| Storage | 8GB on board | 8GB on board |
| Connectivity | WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| 2.4GHz/5GHz Bluetooth 3.0, 4.0 | Bluetooth v4.2 | |
| Audio | DTS 2.0+ Digital Out, Dolby Digital | DTS 2.0+ Digital Out, Dolby Digital |
| Plus, Up to 7.1 pass through | Plus, Up to 7.1 pass through | |
| Ports | HDMI 2.0a x 1 port (HDCP 2.2) | HDMI 2.0a x 1 port (HDCP 2.2) |
| USB 2.0 x 1 port | USB 2.0 x 1 port | |
| SPDIF Out / 3.5mm audio output | SPDIF Out / 3.5mm audio output | |
| x 1 port | x 1 port | |
| Power | Power | |
| Software | Android TV 6.0 | Android TV 8.1 Oreo |
When Mi Box first hit the scene in 2016, the Roku Ultra was priced at $129. The Roku Premiere+ was $99 (and didn’t even offer 4K).
In 2018, Roku and Amazon support Dolby Atmos and 4K HDR with streaming sticks priced between $40 and $50. The new Roku Premiere costs $40. For $10 more, you can get a better remote with the Roku Premiere Plus. The new Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K 
is also priced at $50.
Reason #3: No Ethernet port on Mi Box S
There’s no Ethernet port! What? Why? No! I could forgive a blunder like this in a first generation streaming device. If the latest Mi Box was actually a streaming stick, then it’s fine to have no Ethernet option. You know what you’re getting.
But to design a streaming box with only Wi-Fi – even with 802.11ac – is a mistake. Streaming Live TV is remarkably better when you can hardwire your over-the-top box to your router. It’s been pretty confusing why any streaming box manufacturer would believe that cord cutters and streaming enthusiasts wouldn’t want the option of an Ethernet port.
Reason #4: Gamepads and Accessorties drive up the price
Want to play some games on Mi Box S? Probably. That’s one of the benefits of Android TV software. The Mi Box S already costs $60. But you’ll need a compatible gamepad. And if you don’t already have one, you’ll have to spend about $20 for a third-party gamepad.
So now, you’ve spent about $80 for the Mi Box and a gamepad. It’s not exactly a cheaper option for 4K HDR streaming at that point. It’s also a little ridiculous that Wal-Mart is the exclusive retailer of the Mi Box S, yet doesn’t carry the official Xiaomi gamepad for it. Not having an Xiaomi gamepad available at the same retailer suggests a disconnect with customers. You need to know your audience.
Bottom line: Instead of blowing $80 for essentially a not-so-great device, put together another $100 in your budget and buy a NVIDIA Shield.
Reason #5: Major streaming apps aren’t available
There’s no support for Amazon Prime Video, DirecTV Now, Hulu with Live TV and Philo. Sure, you can side load some apps, and maybe get them to work. Good luck with stability and necessary updates. Over the long haul, side loading apps isn’t a great option. And for many, it requires some tech savvy that not everyone has patience for.
Why not just buy something that’s plug-and-play? It’s 2018 and most devices that you buy are ready to go out of the box. The lack of Prime Video on Mi Box S isn’t Xiaomi’s fault. It has more to do with the ongoing fight between Google and Amazon.
NVIDIA Shield and Sony, which has Android TV on some TVs, apparently worked out their own deals for Amazon Prime Video apps.
Is a Mi Box S worth it?
Unless some dazzling software update happens down the road, I don’t see Mi Box S being a real value. The exception may be for the Android TV enthusiast that wants to try out every device that’s running the Google-made operating software. The bottom line is the NVIDIA Shield is the only worthwhile Android TV box.
Do you own a Mi Box? If so, tell fellow readers about your experience using it in the comments below.
Founder and Editor of The Cord Cutting Report. Before launching the site in 2016, he worked for more than two decades as a staff writer or correspondent for a number of daily newspapers, including The Boston Globe. His enthusiasm for tech began with the Atari 2600. Follow @james_kimble
Now it’s 2019 and I’ve owned the shield and the Mi Box I was really sold on the shield until the updates made things wacky like the remote control it doesn’t work at all now or only when it wants to. The Mi box is getting the same updates and is having no problems and works very well it’s more responsive than my Shield,all the $$$ i paid for my shield im disappointed.
This new Mi Box is really ridiculous. The one and only change compared to the previous Mi Box 3 is 3 extra shortcut buttons on the remote. I have 4 Mi Box units at home and they are doing their job real good. One of the unique things I like most about it is the neat remote which includes just the minimum buttons you need for full operation including voice interface. For me more buttons are actually less.. No issue to have two extra clicks to get into Netflix!
Support is really not an issue since you just don’t need it. The product works!
LAN port could be nice, but you can get a USB3.0 converter for $6-7 online if you want wired connection (don’t buy the USB2.0 converter for two bucks since these have really poor performance).
As for Android 6.0 vs. 8.1 – no reason to include it in the comparison since the existing box gets this upgrade automatically.
My only explanation for this move is commercial to promote Netflix with a dedicated button (as well as the annoying Google Assistant..)
As a pure Android TV platform, Mi Box 3 from 2016 is still one of the best deals around!
I have owned one for about 2 years. The updates came on a regular schedule. In fact in 2017 I got an update to 7.1 then in 2018 I received 2 updates to 8.0. 8.0 is amazing: clean, fast, great streaming quality. Only thing: the first 8.0 has a couple of bugs. The most annoying was that overnight you had to unplug the unit because it would go in standby and would not wake-up. A month ago they released a fix: the unit works flawless in 8.0 now. I can watch youtube in 4K, I can watch MKV movies, I can basically do anything. Again I bought in 2016 at Walmart for $59 and 2 years late got an update to 8.0 which made it incredible stable
About sideloading: anything can be sideloaded. Yes I installed Amazon prime video. That was the other headache but now that there is a fix, this is the only unit I need at my house. Not bad if you ask me!
I actually just ordered one of these boxes. I’m pretty much all in with Fire TV devices, but there are a couple of apps that I have to sideload and don’t work all that well with Fire TV. But they work great on Fire/Android tablets. This box is cheap enough that I’m willing to give it a try and wouldn’t mind paying $60 just for a box that only runs 1 or 2 apps because they are important apps to me.
I have had both the Nvidia Shield Pro and the Mi Box since they first came to market. I agree that the Shield is superior to any other Android device available, but the Mi Box has worked quite well for me also. I only use them for streaming movies, tv, and for an occasional YouTube stream, so I cannot say how the Mi Box does for gaming. I use my Mi Box most often while traveling, as it is much more compact.
I have 3 Xiaomi Mi Boxes and 1 NVIDIA Shield for 2 years. Mi Box is absolutely good device. NVIDIA Shield is the best. And actually they are very similar … price is different ?
Love them both!