29 January 2018 - After a long time (about a year and a half), the latest generation of Xiaomi's TV set-top boxes, the Mi Box 4 and Mi Box 4c, have finally been unveiled. In the press photo that was released a few days earlier, it looked like there would be a major change in both hardware and software, but unfortunately this was not the case. Although the international version of the Mi Box 3, which is still available at the moment, is popular in our country, it already had some shortcomings compared to the competition. Since I have been using one for almost a year, I had to make the following compromises:
2GB of RAM - Unlimited, but memory management on a busy system is not optimal for everything.
8GB ROM - This is perhaps the Mi Box 3's most glaring shortcoming. The Android TV system itself takes up nearly 3GB on first power-up. If you install extra apps, Facebook video, Kodi, or a more demanding game, you're already out of storage (i.e. a "full" Kodi, can take up 2.5 GB of my already not ample storage).
1 USB 2.0 - This can be bypassed with a USB hub, but 1 more would have fit in the back. It's also not superfluous because with two ports, one of them could be used for expanding the storage (supposedly it's possible to trick it to install applications on external storage)
Lack of microSD slot - If 4K and HDR are supported, how much easier it would be to insert the card directly from your action camera and enjoy your video in full resolution. Yes, but there's WiFi, you can use a separate adapter/card reader...
Lack of an Ethernet port - To me this is an unnecessary "extra", but it is the only reason why many people give up on Mi Box. Many people like to watch movies from a NAS or stream FHD/4K movies, they may have problems with the service provider's router or with bandwidth bottlenecks due to thick walls.
But why am I writing this down when I'm talking about the Mi Box 4 and 4c? Simply because these shortcomings remain unaddressed at Xiaomi. Either they have completely different habits or they wanted to keep the price low. It's no coincidence that both devices can be seen - as things stand - as Chinese domestic market TVs. So what's new about the Mi Box 4, and why did they have to introduce two models at once? This is what we are trying to find out from the specifications below. The biggest "buzzword" is AI, or artificial intelligence. At first glance, that's how much the manufacturer has come up with. The Patchwall system has been improved and enhanced, with the addition of voice command support using AI, which can be used with the included remote control.
Just like the AI speaker, we can connect Mi Box 4 to our smart home system, so we can control our various devices with voice commands. For example, we can control lights, power strips, or even the air conditioner or air purifier with speech recognition support. So we get a smarter gateway to even watch or record our favourite movies (smart set-top box). Don't expect English.
Mi Box 4
From the outside, Mi Box 3s looks like a spitting image, but a closer look shows the change. Hardware-wise, there's little new. In fact.
HDMI 2.0, USB 2.0, 3.5mm composite AV, USB adapter support
As you can see, there are substantial differences between the two boxes. What is shocking to me is that there is no ac WiFi, i.e. 5GHz support. The Mi Box 4c lacks Bluetooth, has half the memory and no Dolby audio support.
Prices:
Mi Box 4: at the time of writing on the Banggood site 20.500 Ft that's a lot
Mi Box 4c: at the time of writing on the Banggood site 16.700 Ft this is downright ridiculous
The starting price is definitely a lot, and without EU Express, there may be other charges. With Hungarian tax charges, both can be listed above 25.000 HUF in domestic distribution, for which there are already other alternatives. In addition, the current system version can only be fully used in China. Outside Asia, there are already significant limitations. As long as Android TV is not available, it could be an alternative for a narrow group of people. And a "cooked ROM" could lead to a complete or partial lack of AI system. At the moment the only positive is AI voice command. Although it only understands Chinese properly for the time being, we can even expect support for English, which could be a useful addition with Smart Home integration. While it's still available, go for the international version of Mi Box 3.
