According to a recent leak from German-speaking tech news site Golem.de, a Nokia-branded Android TV set-top box is expected to land by the end of the year. Called the Streaming Box 8000, the new device won’t actually have anything to do with Nokia or HMD Global, who makes the Nokia-branded Android phones we’re all used to now. It’ll reportedly cost 100€ when it lands, but it comes with a faster chipset and more ports than most cheap Android TV devices.
The Streaming Box 8000 has the expected HDMI connection for plugging into your TV, but it also has built-in Ethernet, a USB 3.0 Type-A port, and a USB Type-C port, plus an optical audio and AV-out socket. According to @androidtv_rumor, it will have an Amlogic S905X3 chipset and run Android TV 10. It will support dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, and 4K display resolutions. There’s no word on Dolby HDR/audio standards support, but the hardware should theoretically be able to handle it.
The remote packs more buttons than we’re used to seeing in Android TV set-top devices these days, with a full number pad, separate volume and channel controls, the full suite of playback controls, a D-pad flanked by navigational controls, four seemingly customizable color-coded keys, plus dedicated buttons for YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play all included. (Those apps plus Disney+ will reportedly be pre-installed.)
More info on the new Nokia Set-top box.
Sold for 100€, Amlogic S905X3 & ATV 10. Bit more expensive than other #AndroidTV devices in Europe, but it comes with a nice selection of ports, a much better SoC & a cool remote. No info on Dolby Vision/Atmos support.
OEM is @SEIRobotics https://t.co/54svm6LImY pic.twitter.com/V4v15GBSTy— Android TV Guide (@androidtv_rumor) November 4, 2020
The Streaming Box 8000 will be made by Streamview, an Austrian company, who has licensed the Nokia name (in the same vein as HMD Global) for streaming devices, so we may see more models land in the future. The Streaming Box 8000 will reportedly land sometime before Christmas this year for €100, though there isn’t any word on if/when it might land in the US — I suspect it won’t.
