Amlogic S905X3 is the first Arm Cortex-A55 processor from the company, and we’ve seen it does not differ that much from the previous generation in our S905X3 vs S905X2 comparison. The Cortex-A55 cores have similar performance compared to Cortex-A53 cores., but S905X3 SoC does provide support for DDR4 memory up to 3200 MHz which may improve 4K HDR video playback and 3D gaming, as well a 1.2 TOPS NPU for AI workloads such as voice recognition.
The first Amlogic S905X3 TV box launch we covered was Beelink GT2 Mini with price starting at just under $50 for the 2GB/16GB version and $70 with 4GB and 64GB RAM. Prices have now somewhat come down, but if you’re looking for a cheaper model X96 Air is now offered on Aliexpress for $29.39 including shipping with 2GB RAM, 16GB flash, while the 4GB/32GB variant is sold for $38.01, and up to $40.95 with 64GB storage. You can also spend a bit more if you want a wireless keyboard or voice remote control.
X96 Air TV box specifications:
- SoC – Amlogic S905X3 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @ 1.9 GHz with Arm Mali-G31MP2 GPU
- System Memory, Storage & Networking configurations:
- 2GB DDR3 / 16 GB eMMC flash + microSD card slot + 2.4 GHz WiFi (no Bluetooth), 10/100M Ethernet
- 4GB DDR3 / 32 GB eMMC flash + microSD card slot + dual-band 802.11ac WiFi 5, Bluetooth 4.1, 10/100M Ethernet
- 4GB DDR3 / 64 GB eMMC flash + microSD card slot + dual-band 802.11ac WiFi 5, Bluetooth 4.1, 10/100M Ethernet
- Video & Audio Output
- HDMI 2.1 up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDCP, CEC, HDR
- 3.5mm AV jack for composite video (480i/576i) and stereo audio
- Optical S/PDIF
- Video Playback
- 10-bit H.265 up to 4K @ 60fps, VP9 Profile-2 up to 4K @ 60fps, AVS2-P2 up to 4K @ 60fps, H.264/AVC up to 4K @ 30fps, H.264 MVC up to 1080p60, MPEG-4 ASP up to 1080p60 (ISO-14496), etc..
- HDR – Dolby Vision optional, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, and Technicolor PRIME HDR processing
- USB – 1x USB 3.0 port, 2x USB 2.0 ports
- Misc – LED display on front panel, IR receiver, power LED
- Power Supply – 5V/2A
- Dimensions & weight – TBD
X96 Air runs Android 9.0 and supports OTA firmware upgrades. The marketing materials on Aliexpress also claim the box plays YouTube 4K, but I would not count on it unless a review proves otherwise.
The device ships with an IR remote control, a power supply, an HDMI cable, and a user manual. The wireless backlit keyboard is optional with a choice of English & French, English & Spanish, English & Russian or English only. The voice remote control, also optional, comes with a gyro function, so that’s actually an air mouse.
Via AndroidPC.es
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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