Review of the Xiaomi Mi Box S Android Box

The Xiaomi Mi Box S (MDZ-22-AB) is the direct successor to the Xiaomi Mi Box (MDZ-16-AB). In terms of hardware, no significant changes have been made. Both the box and the remote were modified to reduce production costs. However, on the software side, the box came with the Android TV 8.1 system at launch.

Overall, despite its obvious drawbacks, which you’ll learn about in this review, the Xiaomi Mi Box S remains a unique (not to be confused with “good” or “bad”) device on the market without clear competitors in its price range—a box with a certified Android TV system and Netflix certification.

Package Contents and Appearance

The box comes in a bright cardboard package.

Inside: the console, remote control, HDMI cable, power adapter, and a brief manual in multiple languages.

The power adapter is branded (AY11BA). The plug is Type A (American/Chinese). Voltage is 5.2 V, with a maximum current of up to 2.1 A. The cable length is about 110 cm. Connector: DC 4 x 1.7 mm.

The remote is neat and operates via Bluetooth. It is powered by two AAA batteries, which are included in the package.

The materials are different from those used for the Xiaomi Mi Box remote — it feels like a cheaper product in hand. The D-pad rattles, meaning it does not sit tightly. The D-pad is also less tactile (due to its flat shape) compared to the previous version.

The microphone hole is located on the edge.

The box itself is very compact. The body is made of matte plastic. It weighs about 150 grams. Dimensions: 95x95x17 mm.

On the front, there is a barely noticeable white LED indicator that lights up when the device is in operation.

The sides are plain, with no features. On the back: an analog audio output combined with optical S/PDIF (Mini Toslink/Miniplug), HDMI, USB A 2.0, and a power connector (DC 4 x 1.7 mm).

The bottom cover has only plastic feet.

Disassembly and Cooling System

The bottom cover fits very tightly on latches. It can be removed using any flat plastic tool.

All key components on the bottom side of the board are hidden under a metal shield. The shield is soldered to the board.

After unscrewing 4 screws, you can remove the board.

On the front side of the board, all key components are also hidden under soldered metal shields. The location of the SoC is thermally connected to a large metal plate on the top of the case via a thermal pad. The Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna is integrated directly into the board. The analog audio amplifier is based on the SGMicro SGM89000 controller. It’s worth noting that the Xiaomi Mi Box S lacks the IR receiver, which was unofficially present in the Xiaomi Mi Box. Overall, there’s nothing to criticize — the design is extremely minimalist (but sufficient).

A 15-minute stress test runs without throttling, maintaining consistent maximum performance. The maximum temperature does not exceed 50°C.

Software and Overall System Stability

The Xiaomi Mi Box S comes with Android TV 8.1. This is the standard Android TV system based on the Amlogic SDK with some modifications from Xiaomi.

For those unfamiliar with the differences between Android TV 8.1 and the regular version of Android 8.1, here’s a brief summary of the distinctions:

• No navigation bar or status bar.
• The launcher (home screen) is fixed — Google Home Launcher. It only displays apps and games adapted for Android TV. Under certain conditions, Google allows manufacturers to replace the launcher.
• Global voice search across installed apps / Google Assistant.
• Several unique features, such as special channels (formerly recommendations), special notifications, picture-in-picture on the home screen, and more.
• The interface is optimized for TV screens and control via remote (D-pad and voice) or gamepad.
• Google apps and services are also adapted for TV screens and remote control.
• The Google Play Store for Android TV only contains apps and games optimized for Android TV (interface and remote/gamepad controls).
• Google Cast support is available (on certified boxes).

You can install any apps. However, note that the Google Play Store for Android TV only includes apps and games adapted for Android TV. All other apps can be installed via APK, Aptoide TV (unofficial software), etc. For apps not optimized for Android TV, you might need a mouse. Additionally, some apps requiring a mouse may behave incorrectly on the Xiaomi Mi Box S due to system bugs. For example, phantom cursors, incorrect left-click processing, and so on.

The philosophy of Android TV is based on simplicity. If you try to “fight” it (“I want it to work like a smartphone, and I want to control everything with a mouse”), you’ll likely have a negative experience. However, if you embrace its philosophy and your apps are adapted for Android TV, you’ll enjoy the system’s performance.

It’s also important to understand that Android TV is currently the only official system for TV boxes from Google. Certification for the regular Android system on TV boxes was discontinued over two years ago. In the near future, you won’t see A-brand or operator boxes with the standard Android system.

Xiaomi has reworked and unified the Settings menu (in the Amlogic SDK, settings are split into two apps). Localization to Russian is incomplete. Elements of the core Android system (translated by Google) and some Amlogic settings are localized. However, most of what was added by Amlogic remains untranslated. For example, screen and audio output settings are in English.

The firmware version with all updates at the time of review publication is OPM1.171019.011.430. The firmware uses a 64-bit kernel version 4.9.61. However, the Android layer itself is 32-bit.

The behavior of Global Search / Google Assistant differs slightly, for example, from the Nvidia Shield TV. This is likely due to differences in the version of the Google app (responsible for search) installed on the box. A specific example: in the Google Play Store, pressing the Global Search button and searching for “Kodi” on the Nvidia Shield TV prioritizes results from the Google Play Store app (giving priority to the active app’s results), which is logical. On the Xiaomi Mi Box S, global results are prioritized instead. Only after pressing Down can you see other results, including those from the Google Play Store. However, in some apps, priority is still given to results from the active app.

It’s also worth noting that Google Assistant still doesn’t fully support the Russian language in Android TV. Only basic search and basic commands are available, despite it working fully on smartphones for almost a year.

There’s no root support in the system, and it cannot be added.

Overall, the system performs stably. There are no critical widespread issues or bugs. Online, you may find complaints about HDMI CEC, sleep mode, Wi-Fi, etc. However, it’s worth considering that the Xiaomi Mi Box S has sold a comparable number of units to all “Chinese” boxes combined over a similar time period. The more units sold, the more potential complaints there will be.

Remote Control, Gamepads, and HDMI CEC

The remote control can be described as very good, with only one notable drawback: the flat shape of the D-pad. Tactilely, the central button is difficult to distinguish from the surrounding ring. The remote operates via Bluetooth. The microphone has excellent sensitivity — there’s no need to hold the remote close to your mouth, as voice recognition works accurately. To activate the microphone, you don’t need to hold the Global Voice Search / Google Assistant button; a single press is sufficient. The microphone is activated programmatically by the system when needed.

One issue with the Global Voice Search is a lag in the volume level indicator when you speak. This may cause confusion — you start speaking, but the volume indicator initially shows silence and only begins to react after a delay.

The Netflix and Live Channels buttons are handled non-standardly by the system. This means you cannot remap them to other apps, such as with Button Mapper or Key Remapping tools.

The button with nine dots opens the window with all installed apps in the system.

It’s worth noting that the system does not enable the “recently opened apps” menu, which allows for convenient switching between apps, quickly returning to the previous app, or force-closing apps when needed. This menu, although available in Android TV, is not activated here. It cannot be accessed by double-pressing or long-pressing the Home button, which might inconvenience some users.

Pressing the Power button on the remote puts the box into sleep mode. A long press brings up an awkward power menu with a single command (this menu is inherited from the Amlogic SDK, which seems to have questionable design and management decisions).

The box can only be woken from sleep mode using the Power button on the original remote. If necessary, you can enable the “Keep screen on” option in Developer Settings. This will activate a partial sleep mode, allowing the box to be woken up with any RF remote.

HDMI CEC Support

HDMI CEC functionality varies from one TV model to another. I’ve never encountered an Android box with perfect HDMI CEC support across all TVs, even among different models from the same brand. On Amlogic-based boxes, HDMI CEC support has never been great, primarily due to the selective functionality of power controls and the lack of volume control support. HDMI CEC can be enabled in the settings.

HDMI CEC behavior with a test Samsung TV (as an example — your results may vary):

• Putting the box to sleep using the box’s remote also turns off the TV (into standby) — yes.
• Waking the box using the box’s remote also turns on the TV — yes.
• Turning on the TV using the TV’s remote wakes the box — yes.
• Turning off the TV using the TV’s remote puts the box to sleep — yes.
• The TV remote can control the box — yes.

Gamepads

I tested two gamepads with the box: GameSir and Xiaomi. The GameSir G3s could not be paired with the box (this is the first time a specific gamepad has failed to pair); I didn’t investigate the issue in detail, just noting the fact. The Xiaomi gamepad worked as expected without issues.

Performance

The box uses the outdated Amlogic S905X SoC — a 4-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor with a clock speed of up to 1.5 GHz and a Mali-450 MP GPU. This is a budget-level SoC. Overall, the system performs acceptably, provided it isn’t burdened with multiple simultaneous tasks. For example, if the system is updating apps through the Google Play Store, it’s better to avoid using the box, as performance becomes uncomfortable. In comparison, the S912 or S905X2 are significantly faster (“rockets” compared to the S905X). For 3D gaming, this SoC is not suitable due to its weak GPU.

It’s important to understand that the primary purpose of Android TV boxes is media functionality (i.e., VPU and software implementation of its capabilities). However, the processor and GPU must also be sufficiently powerful to ensure a comfortable user experience. While the S905X provides a functional baseline, it operates at the edge of comfort.

The interface is rendered at a maximum resolution of 1920×1080. Even if you select 3840×2160 resolution in the settings, the interface and all apps will continue to work at 1920×1080, which is then upscaled to 3840×2160. As is the case with many boxes, only SurfaceView objects can output true 4K resolution (these are used in media players and some games). In practice, it makes no difference whether test programs and games are run at 1920×1080 or 3840×2160 — the results will be identical.

For clarity, here’s a performance comparison with boxes running the Amlogic S905X2:

Most 2D games run acceptably.

Streaming games via Nvidia GameStream (Moonlight) at 1080p60 with a 30 Mbps bitrate results in a decoder delay of up to 40 ms for H.265. However, visual inconsistencies can be seen roughly once per second. While this is noticeable, many games are still playable under these conditions (note: the Keenetic Ultra router was used, details can be found in the network interfaces test).

Internal and External Storage

In a fresh system, the Xiaomi Mi Box S offers about 4 GB of internal storage available to the user. While this is limited, it’s sufficient for most tasks if you don’t install games. Furthermore, you can use a USB drive (e.g., a flash drive) in “internal memory expansion” mode if needed.

The linear and random write speeds of the internal flash memory are low, while the read speed is at a good level for TV boxes.

File system support for external drives is limited:

During testing, there were no complaints about Wi-Fi performance. It was stable, with no disconnections or reconnections.

The system lacks any built-in network file services (server or client).

Audio Passthrough and Audio Decoders

The Xiaomi Mi Box S supports decoders (for decoding and mixing into stereo) for Dolby Digital and DTS. These are available in both MediaCodec and StageFright.

For audio passthrough tests, an Onkyo receiver was used.

Video Decoders, Playback, and Auto Framerate

The Xiaomi Mi Box S is equipped with HDMI 2.0b output, supporting up to 3840×2160 at 60 Hz, 10-bit with HDR10. Color coding can be selected in the settings. However, the interface is rendered at a maximum resolution of 1920×1080, even if 3840×2160 is chosen in the settings. All apps continue to operate at 1920×1080, which is then upscaled to 3840×2160. As with many boxes, only SurfaceView objects can output true 4K resolution with HDR, which is used in most media players.

The system includes a non-disablable noise reduction filter for video, which is noticeable to the naked eye without testing.

HDR

HDR10 playback (e.g., in UHD Blu-ray) worked flawlessly during testing. The system also supports HDR-to-SDR conversion, allowing you to view HDR content on SDR TVs if needed. Amlogic’s HDR-to-SDR conversion is not perfect (and likely cannot be), but it is one of the best implementations available.

Deinterlacing

Deinterlacing does not work in either StageFright or MediaCodec. Only one field of two is displayed, meaning the output from the decoder for interlaced video streams has half the original frame rate and half the vertical resolution.

Video Playback

The box handled nearly all modern content in Kodi (17.6) from a NAS without issues. UHD BDRemux played without problems (connected via Keenetic Ultra). Files and streams in 2160p60 encoded with H.265 Main10 also played without issues. However, streams in 2160p60 encoded with H.264 (e.g., from some action cameras) performed poorly, as the H.264 decoder in the S905X does not support such parameters (it only supports 2160p30 or 1080p60 H.264).

Auto Framerate

The Xiaomi Mi Box S does not support any form of automatic framerate switching. Recently, Xiaomi released a test update for Mi Box with support for so-called modern auto framerate switching, so there’s a chance that the Xiaomi Mi Box S may eventually receive this feature.

3D Playback

MVC MKV and BD3D ISO files in Kodi are only played in 2D.

DRM, Google Cast, and Legal VOD Services

The Xiaomi Mi Box S supports Widevine DRM Level 1, HDCP 2.2, Microsoft PlayReady DRM, and CENC. This ensures compatibility with many legal VOD services.

The device has official Netflix certification, supporting 4K playback with HDR10.

It also offers full Google Cast support.

Illegal VOD Services and Torrent Playback

Content from HD VideoBox (various sources) played without issues in ViMu.

For direct torrent playback, TorrServe was tested. Ignoring general issues that might occur when streaming via TorrServe, almost all UHD BDRemux files tested played smoothly using a Keenetic Ultra router. With a Xiaomi Mi Router 3G, all BDRemux and BDRip files tested also played without problems.

IPTV

IPTV services such as EDEM, OTTClub, Rostelecom (Wink), Beeline, and others worked flawlessly. Perfect Player with the HW+ decoder switched channels in fractions of a second.

For torrent TV services (interlaced video streams in original quality), performance was poor due to the lack of deinterlacing support in both StageFright and MediaCodec. As a result, playback quality was degraded, with halved frame rate and vertical resolution. Additionally, there were frequent stutters caused by the box itself, not the torrent TV service.

YouTube

Videos in 2160p60 played without problems. However, for videos with 5.1 audio (AAC), only stereo was output. HDR support is still not available in the official YouTube client for Android TV (Google has yet to implement this for some reason).

Conclusion

Is the Xiaomi Mi Box S a good TV box? The answer is more “yes” than “no.” For a low price, you get a functional out-of-the-box solution that doesn’t require firmware modifications or hardware tweaks. Just take it out of the box, plug it in, and start installing the apps you need.

The box is suitable for users who are not demanding about video and audio quality and are looking for simplicity and convenience. It works well for:

• Watching IPTV (with progressive video streams)
• Using legal and illegal VOD services
• Playing videos from NAS
• Casting videos and photos to a TV
• Casual 2D gaming

However, it is not suitable for:

• Cinephiles who need advanced media functionality (auto framerate switching, audio passthrough, UHD Blu-ray, etc.)
• Torrent TV enthusiasts (a free IPTV alternative with great quality but low stability)
• Gamers (3D gaming or game streaming)
• Users who like to browse the web on a TV (this use case is outdated but still relevant for some).