- Xiaomi has launched the first 8K-capable Mi Box in China.
- The streaming box also offers 16GB of storage compared to 8GB in the 4K variant.
- Xiaomi says they don’t have global plans to share right now.
Update: November 5 2020 (6:35AM ET): Xiaomi revealed the Mi Box 4S Pro yesterday (see original article below), packing 8K playback capabilities for the first time in the series. It got us wondering about international availability too, but it sounds like we shouldn’t hold our breath.
“About the Mi Box 4S Pro, we have no global plans to share at the moment,” a Xiaomi representative told Android Authority in response to an emailed query. This doesn’t mean that the streaming box isn’t leaving China at all, but it does suggest that you shouldn’t expect it in your market any time soon.
Original article: November 4 2020 (6:17AM ET): Xiaomi’s Mi Box series is among the most popular Android TV boxes around, coming in at a cheap price and offering a fair amount of features. We’ve already seen the Mi Box 4S and Mi TV Stick launch in the last few months, but the firm is aiming even higher with its latest product.
Xiaomi revealed the Mi Box 4S Pro today, and its key selling point is that it supports 8K video playback. This makes it one of the few 8K-capable streaming boxes on the market right now.
The Mi Box 4S Pro also sports HDMI 2.1 support, 16GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, and Bluetooth voice controls. As is the case with many Xiaomi TV products in China, this latest device ships with the MIUI for TV platform. There’s no word on other specs just yet, but if it’s anything like the standard Mi Box 4S, then we can expect a USB port as well.
Expect to pay 399 yuan (~$60) for the new streaming box when it goes on sale in China, with pre-orders kicking off from midnight on November 5. This means it’s a little more expensive than the ~$43 Mi Box 4S, which tops out at 8GB of storage and 4K playback.
We’ve asked Xiaomi about availability outside China and will update the story if/when they get back to us. But presumably it’d swap out MIUI for TV in favor of standard Android TV if it comes to Europe, North America, and other regions.
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