If you own a fairly recent official Android TV device, you should probably expect an update to Android TV 9.0 in due time, but for TV boxes running Android instead, I was not aware of any models running Android 9.0 so far.
Having said that, with Android 9.0 support announcements from Amlogic and Rockchip made earlier, we knew Android 9.0 boxes would eventually become reality, and according to listings on Geekbuying, there are at least two Rockchip RK3328 TV boxes running Android Pie: A5X Max going for $45.49 shipped with coupon A5XMAX9, and X88 MAX+ selling for $49.99 including shipping.
Both boxes come with similar features except X88 Max+ comes with 64GB flash and dual band AC WiFi, so I’ll have a look at A5X Max specifications:
- SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP2 GPU
- System Memory – 4GB DDR3
- Storage – 32GB eMMC flash + full size SD card slot
- Video Output – HDMI 2.0a port up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR support + 3.5mm AV port (composite video)
- Audio Output – HDMI, AV (stereo audio), and coaxial S/PDIF
- Video Codecs – 4K @ 60 Hz decoding for H.264/AVC Base/Main/High/High10 profile @ level 5.1, H.265/HEVC Main/Main10 profile @ level 5.1m and VP9
- Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (2.4GHz) and Bluetooth 4.1
- USB – 1x USB 3.0 port, 3x USB 2.0 host ports
- Power Supply – 5V/2.5A
- Dimensions – 115 x 115 x 25 mm
The box ships with a remote control, a power adapter, an HDMI cable, and a user manual.
A5X Max networking options are a bit weak with Fast Ethernet, and single band WiFi, so you may consider spending an extra ~$5 for X88 Max+ if dual band WiFi 5 is important in your environment, and/or want the extra storage. Both boxes come with 10/100M Ethernet. Also note that X88 Max+ has a different set of USB ports with one USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 port, and one USB 2.0 type-C port.
Via AndroidTVBox.eu
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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Well great. Would just love something more powerfull than the S905-RK332X Series. Seems like the TV Box Market stands still or everybody is happy with their weak S905…
s905x2 and s912 are available. S922x out soon hopefully
Waiting for a s922x with 32gb/4gb/gigabit ethernet and android TV 9.0 to pop up. I want something that went it gets old I can install libreelec/kodi and extend lifetime. Or does libreelec have good support for RK now?
Any thought when this might appear in the wild?
A 4K TV box with limited communication and connectivity is like a sports car with an econo-box engine. What’s the point?
I’ve given enough up using these Android TV boxes, never going to buy any again. Windows is a much better option and everything just works.
I’ve got another rk3328 with Android 8 and it’s sooo slow. Even playback with the rk xbmc consumes almost all cores at 100%. I don’t know if it’s something wrong with the box or it’s just the rk3328 that sucks so much for android TV box.
I’ve bought another with the 905 and it’s much much faster. So now I need to hack the rk box and do something useful with it.
These android boxes are all rubbish. Just try browsing a web site with them, popups everywhere, half the time browsers cant play embedded vids, You tube app full of ads and aljazeera live tv broadcast has a chat overlay on the stream which needs to be closed every time, No updates, no support when there are obvious problems,, windows is a lot better and everything works.
Well, it depends on your needs. The alfawise A8 for me it was rubbish for any use, but the X96mini it does the trick. I’m having 3 hdmi devices on my TV. A Chromecast, to use with our mobiles for Netflix, YouTube, etc. The x96mini TV box, which is only used to run a specific TV IP android app to watch TV channels from my country and a raspberry pi 2 running retropi and Kodi. I bet others have more complicated needs, so you can’t have everything in one box.
A windows device costs more to run and more to buy.
Millions use Android TV boxes, just as millions use Android phones.
Amazon, Xiaomi have used Amlogic SoC in their devices, Google even works with Amlogic.
I see Amlogic is still trying to spread lies. Astroturfing B.S.
My door handle is more clever than you.
I ordered the 88 Max+ as well, so I’ll leave my thoughts when it shows up and after some time using it.
Primarily I want it to provide Miracast/AirPlay and TVB features for my gf, but I’ll experiment with running Debian and Google Home, and see how it handles some games at 1080p, then I’ll open it up and see if there’s any easy mods to be done.
For the folks who are complaining about the horsepower of these devices… there are more powerful devices for sure, and your retired laptops for example will do a fine job as a Kodi host. Good luck getting your Windows box to act as an AirPlay host though… and good luck powering it off the TV’s USB port, lol.
I posted a review on the GeekBuying site for the 88 Max+, starting with a review of the website’s ordering and the delivery logistics, while I wait for the product to arrive, so that people have a full picture of all aspects of what they’re paying for.
To my complete surprise GeekBuying wrote me an email thanking me and crediting my account $1 for an article with lots of unique content. With pictures for an item over $30 they would have credited me $3, and with video and an order over $50 they would have credited me $5. I thought that would be interesting for you all to know… you can get a little extra discount by writing up a review lol.
But today they pulled my review and have created a customer support claim number to talk with me… the plot thickens lol.
Finally received it. Between Xmas and the Canadian Postal Strike it didn’t even clear Customs until the 29th of December.
So far the performance and apparent compatibility of this device are painfully underwhelming.
I’m posting this using the installed version of Google Chrome, and with a real keyboard it is typing at maybe 6 characters per second with a significant lag between when I type and when it appears on the screen.
The performance reminds me of my Q9 tablet before I disabled 2G in the settings. That laptop didn’t have a SIM but the firmware it shipped with supported mobile data… so it was burning the CPU constantly trying to set up the non-existing mobile data unless you put it in Airplane Mode.
Audio seems to be hit and miss. 99% of the keys produce no click even though the stock Android keyboard has click feedback configured. Every now and again I get one or two key clicks.
The first thing I did was attempt to open the Play Store after finishing the initial Setup screens. It hangs indefinitely. It’s not the internet… I can browse just fine… as demonstrated by this post.
Anyhow, I’ll play with this thing more later when I have more time and the lag bothers me less than it does after a long day at work. 😉
Netflix has pulled their app from Google Play for this device. 🙁
Does it just show “incompatible with this device”, or Netflix won’t just show up in Google Play at all?