MINIX NEO U22-XJ Media Hub with Dolby Vision & Audio Support Launched for $170

MINIX NEO U22-XJ Android 9.0 media hub was first unveiled at IFA 2019 last September. It is the first TV box that I know of equipped with Amlogic S922XJ processor that adds Dolby Vision and Dolby Audio licenses to the more common Amlogic S922X processor.

The company has now announced the device will launch on Monday, March 2nd 2020 but without providing any price information. As usual, we know need to wait until the official launch date to find out as MINIX NEO U22-XJ can already be purchased on “MINIX Official Store” in Aliexpress for $169.90 including shipping.

MINIX NEO U22-XJ main specifications haven’t changed since the initial announcement, but we do have a few more details::

SoC – Amlogic S922XJ hexa-core processor with four Arm Cortex-A73 cores, two Arm Cortex-A53 cores, Arm Mali-G52MP4 GPU
System Memory – 4GB DDR4
Storage – 32GB eMMC 5.1 flash, microSD card slot
Video Output – HDMI 2.1 output up to 4Kp60 with HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision support
Audio – 3.5mm audio jack, optical S/PDIF, HDMI digital audio
Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band 802.11ac WiFi 5 2×2 MIMO with external WiFi antenna, Bluetooth 4.1
USB – 3x USB 3.0 ports, 1x USB-C OTG port for data transfer only
Misc – Power button & LED, Kensington lock ready, IR receiver, reset pinhole
Power Supply – 5VDC/3A via power barrel jack
Dimensions – 128 x 128 x 28 mm (Same form factor as MINIX NEO-U9H and NEO U1)

The fanless TV box runs Android 9 (i.e. not Android TV), and ships with a power adapter, MINIX IR remote control, and a user manual. There are also bundles with either MINIX A2 Lite ($184.90) or MINIX A3 ($189.90) air mice which makes using Android much more enjoyable, but your mileage may vary as it’s also a matter of taste.

MINIX NEO U22-XJ will deliver much better overall performance compared to MINIX NEO U9-H released in 2017 with an Amlogic S912 processor and Andriod 6.0 OS. Video playback may be only slightly better although it’s the first Amlogic box to support Dolby Vision HDR format, but the difference will especially be seen for other tasks such as browsing the web or playing games.

If you’re not a fan of purchasing goods on Aliexpress, MINIX NEO U22-XJ will eventually be found on Amazon and other resellers of MINIX devices.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

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.