The Mi Box Mini is a compact device that will make your ordinary TV ‘Smart’. It comes with a single HDMI port, all you need to do is connect this Xiaomi Mi box Mini with your HDMI TV and then you will be able to stream media content from other device and also stream online content.
Mi Box Mini Unboxing
Inside the box you will get the Mini Box that actually looks like a charging adapter, you will also get a 1.5m HDMI cable, a Bluetooth remote (with single button cell) and user manual in Chinese.
Design
The box mini looks awesome (very good build quality and finishing) and it will blend well with the surround environment. It is compact and has got a glossy look (white colour). The Mi Box Mini is available in different color option but that hardly makes any sense as the rest of the body is white and the colour part will get hidden once you connect it to the power source.
The remote looks even more attractive, beautifully designed and compact. It comes with 11 keys and gets power from a button cell battery – the battery will last for up to 1 year.
Mi Box Mini Features and Specifications
The Mi Box Mini is powered by MediaTek MTK8685 quad core processor with Mali 450 GPU. It supports H.265 decoder and up to 1080p resolution. It is running Android 4.4 unfortunately without Google services. There is 1GB RAM and 4GB of internal storage space.
This device can play/process multiple video (MOV, TS, FLV, MPEG, MP4, M2TS and MKV), audio and image files.
Installation
The process is simple, just connect the HDMI cable from the box to your TV and that’s it. The software is in Chinese – menu and content. You will need to connect the device to your primary network. The WiFi setup process is in Chinese but you can easily guess – you just need to select the WiFi and enter the password.
There is an option to change the menu / language to English, here are the details on how to do that (you can also check the video review listed below). Process is simple you need to enabled APK and then install the special APK file to enable English option. But even after you change the language you will get the menus in English, the content will still be in Chinese.
For International users
International users who are not familiar with Chinese language, at the most can use this device to stream media contents from their smartphone, tablets, laptop and desktop connected on the same network. You need to share the media files on the network and then you can play it via the Mi Box.
That’s the only thing you can do, rest of the online contents are in Chinese. I tried installing Youtube (APK) and for that you need Google services, I tried installing that too but it did not work as Google Services were not supported.
Verdict
The Mi Box Mini looks good and does a pretty decent job, however it comes with limited language functionality. At the most non-Chinese users can do is stream media on the TV, shared on the same network.
Xiaomi Mi Box Mini is available on Banggood for $44.59.