Chinese e-shops have recently added a new addition to the TV boxes on ARM architecture. SAMMIX X88 Pro costs only a few tens of dollars, but it can handle 4K UHD and uses the latest version of Android.
If you are looking for a truly inexpensive multimedia center that is suitable for basic purposes such as movie playback, internet TV or simple games, there is a truly rich offer in Chinese online stores. Innovations include the SAMMIX X88 Pro, which you can recognize by its unusual two-color design. However, we are especially interested in what is hidden inside this compact body. It is the new Rockchip RK3318 low-end processor featuring four ARM Cortex-A53s running at up to 1.5 GHz and the Mali-450 MP5 graphics accelerator that natively supports 4K H.265 and VP9 video decoding at 60 fps and HDR image enhancement.
All of the above should be handled by the player without much difficulty, but with Netflix, you will need standard definition. Higher video quality will not be achieved (at least officially) as this device was not Netflix certified, but this is a problem for virtually all TV boxes from Chinese manufacturers. The SAMMIX X88 Pro is available with 2GB or 4GB DDR memory, and with internal storage, you can choose between 16, 32 and 64GB. None of the configurations has a microSD card slot that allows you to expand your storage.
In order to squeeze the price, you need to prepare for several concessions on wireless connectivity. Wi-Fi is only available with b / g / n standards, although it supports the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. In vain you would then look for Bluetooth. On the body of the device we find connectors HDMI 2.0a, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, Ethernet, SPDIF digital output and 3.5mm analog jack. The basic package contains a remote control that uses infrared. Android 9.0 Pie, which is still the latest released version, was pre-installed as the operating system, as the future Android Q (Android 10) is only available in beta. Users can access a wide range of applications thanks to Google’s operating system.
The SAMMIX X88 Pro is available in Chinese e-shops at prices ranging from $40.93 to $52, depending on memory, usually with free shipping.