Me, I have a very old Beelink Mini MXIII (thanks to the HUKDer who promised this would have regular Android updates, it's had precisely zero, though Beelink are great, have one of their Mini PCs).
Over a year ago, I bought the Tanix X4 (S905X4, 4GB RAM, 64GB) and I've been really happy with it. Think this is the review I read way back then. Some allege there are unlabelled models with 10/100 vs gigabit Ethernet*, though (?).
My partner took on my orphaned Beelink Mini MXIII but is now looking at the Fire TV Cube (though it's 'only' 2GB RAM and has 100M Ethernet).
There are newer Android TV boxes out there that trumpet about being "Google Certified" (perhaps fraudulently?) and S905X5 is supposedly on the way this year, so it may be worth holding out a bit longer.
*Pretty sure I saw two Ethernet options of the Tanix X4 being sold on Aliexpress, not long after release. Mind you, CoreELEC Forums say differently: Tanix X4 TV S905X4 1Gbit Lan - Help & Support / Installation & Booting - CoreELEC Forums - can't stand manufacturers who lie about their specs, so I wouldn't recommend the Tanix (I only use it for a few streaming apps. Urgh). (edited)
OP has no obvious requirement for gigabit LAN, otherwise it would have been referenced in the request. Similar observation for CoreELEC. But if "S905X4, 4GB RAM, 64GB" is seen as the base expectation, OP need spend no more than mid-£20s, unless all suppliers inc UK-based ltd co's are liars:
Base of S905X4 having min 4GB+64GB with preferences of with/without on-box informational display, remote type, rectangular, circular, etc and max 7 days inclusive delivery ** via an order email address Ali has not seen before **: £24.61 aliexpress.com/ite…tml and an existing fused shaver adapter £26.00 aliexpress.com/ite…tml (or cheapout to £21.55 for 4GB+32GB) £27.10 aliexpress.com/ite…tml and an existing fused shaver adapter
Anyone comfortable with the £26.00 example above can consider long-standing UK-based co shifting one unit "like new" £27.99 fulfilled Amazon amazon.co.uk/gp/…N6Y it might even be Samantha's return, where Samantha wants a perception of greater quality, regardless of greater quality. amazon.co.uk/gp/…JV/
Amazon 4k Max stick would be my recommendation, cracking little things and you can power them via your TVs USB so no need to plug in the wall
OP did say wanting to avoid Fire TV. As for the power thing, it depends - the stick can refuse to do system updates if not mains powered.
What's your budget? Good ones run up to £150+, but they start around £20.
Author
No more than £60 mate
Nowt wrong with fire stick. Cracking hardware for the price.
I've played around with a few Fire Sticks and they're really easy and fluid to use (unless you're trying to sideload, that bamboozles the likes of my mum). Haven't tried the Max, though.
I'll probably go with a (newer) Nvidia Shield (when they appear - who knows) or Fire TV Cube next time as the Chinese boxes have so many compromises - or are downright misleading - someone recommends the upcoming Dune HD Pro One 8K Plus (way out of the OP's budget) but don't do what I did and leap on something as soon as it's released, wait for legitimate reviews.
About malware - it's good practice anyway to scan all apks outside of the Google Play store. Though Linus is implying some cheap Android boxes have malware pre-installed! Example on Reddit.
...In total the researchers confirmed eight devices with backdoors installed—seven TV boxes, the T95, T95Z, T95MAX, X88, Q9, X12PLUS, and MXQ Pro 5G, and a tablet J5-W. (Some of these have also been identified by other security researcherslooking into the issue in recent months). The company’s report, which has data scientist Marion Habiby as its lead author, says Human Security spotted at least 74,000 Android devices showing signs of a Badbox infection around the world—including some in schools across the US.
Of course not all Android TV boxes are bad, just choose wisely.
Edited to add: Just like cheap(er) Android head units in cars, as well as scanning for malware it doesn't hurt to check a cheap Chinese TV box isn't displaying fake specs. (Device Info FW and CPU-Z are two apps I used). (edited)
Shield Pro if high budget, Chromecast otherwise, easier to “mod” it than a FireStick I have right now.
mi box or mi stick is a good option too if your an android lover. ive had box the box and stick, id recommend getting the mi box just for the bigger ram. in terms of the function both work great, however stick is easy to port around. both work great even with multiple apps open. easy to use, and its all android. only thing youll have to do is enable unknown sources/apps and your good to go.
Fire sticks are trash.
Under £60 options would be either the Google TV Chromecast or import a TiVo Stick from USA.
Tivo stick won't have any UK streaming apps, so if that's going to be an issue, go for the Chromecast
Don't even bother with any of the Chinese boxes - there's just no need to go looking for trouble
36 Comments
sorted byMe, I have a very old Beelink Mini MXIII (thanks to the HUKDer who promised this would have regular Android updates, it's had precisely zero, though Beelink are great, have one of their Mini PCs).
Over a year ago, I bought the Tanix X4 (S905X4, 4GB RAM, 64GB) and I've been really happy with it. Think this is the review I read way back then. Some allege there are unlabelled models with 10/100 vs gigabit Ethernet*, though (?).
My partner took on my orphaned Beelink Mini MXIII but is now looking at the Fire TV Cube (though it's 'only' 2GB RAM and has 100M Ethernet).
There are newer Android TV boxes out there that trumpet about being "Google Certified" (perhaps fraudulently?) and S905X5 is supposedly on the way this year, so it may be worth holding out a bit longer.
*Pretty sure I saw two Ethernet options of the Tanix X4 being sold on Aliexpress, not long after release.
Mind you, CoreELEC Forums say differently: Tanix X4 TV S905X4 1Gbit Lan - Help & Support / Installation & Booting - CoreELEC Forums - can't stand manufacturers who lie about their specs, so I wouldn't recommend the Tanix (I only use it for a few streaming apps. Urgh). (edited)
Similar observation for CoreELEC.
But if "S905X4, 4GB RAM, 64GB" is seen as the base expectation, OP need spend no more than mid-£20s, unless all suppliers inc UK-based ltd co's are liars:
Base of S905X4 having min 4GB+64GB with preferences of with/without on-box informational display, remote type, rectangular, circular, etc and max 7 days inclusive delivery
** via an order email address Ali has not seen before **:
£24.61 aliexpress.com/ite…tml and an existing fused shaver adapter
£26.00 aliexpress.com/ite…tml (or cheapout to £21.55 for 4GB+32GB)
£27.10 aliexpress.com/ite…tml and an existing fused shaver adapter
Anyone comfortable with the £26.00 example above can consider long-standing UK-based co shifting one unit "like new" £27.99 fulfilled Amazon amazon.co.uk/gp/…N6Y
it might even be Samantha's return, where Samantha wants a perception of greater quality, regardless of greater quality.
amazon.co.uk/gp/…JV/
Cracking hardware for the price.
From November 2023: Seen ONN boxes on UK amazon. And I want to ditch Amazon : AndroidTV (reddit.com)
Not sure the ONN is a great idea, though Would there be any reason why I'm unable to get UK apps working on Onn 4k? : AndroidTV (reddit.com)
(December 2023): Best cheap (<$35) reliable chinese Android TV box on the market? : AndroidTV (reddit.com)
I'll probably go with a (newer) Nvidia Shield (when they appear - who knows) or Fire TV Cube next time as the Chinese boxes have so many compromises - or are downright misleading - someone recommends the upcoming Dune HD Pro One 8K Plus (way out of the OP's budget) but don't do what I did and leap on something as soon as it's released, wait for legitimate reviews.
About malware - it's good practice anyway to scan all apks outside of the Google Play store. Though Linus is implying some cheap Android boxes have malware pre-installed! Example on Reddit.
From May 2023: The situation with malware on Android TV ROMs is ridiculous : Android (reddit.com)
From October 2023: Your Cheap Android TV Streaming Box May Have a Dangerous Backdoor | WIRED UK
...In total the researchers confirmed eight devices with backdoors installed—seven TV boxes, the T95, T95Z, T95MAX, X88, Q9, X12PLUS, and MXQ Pro 5G, and a tablet J5-W. (Some of these have also been identified by other security researchers looking into the issue in recent months). The company’s report, which has data scientist Marion Habiby as its lead author, says Human Security spotted at least 74,000 Android devices showing signs of a Badbox infection around the world—including some in schools across the US.
( Written for the Average Joe, ie, me, from Malwarebytes' Blog, January 2023: Analyzing and remediating a malware infested T95 TV box from Amazon (malwarebytes.com) )
- from this TechCrunch article (May 2023): Popular Android TV boxes sold on Amazon are laced with malware | TechCrunch
(TechCrunch allege Allwinner and Rockchip models are the culprits, in this case, and some on Reddit agree. This Redditor doesn't, though.
Some on Reddit also state Allwinner and Rockchip are less reliable than Amlogic, and may overheat, can't vouch for this)
'Click fraud' is a new one on me! From 1:01:
Android TV Streaming Devices - Android TV Guide (androidtv-guide.com)
Of course not all Android TV boxes are bad, just choose wisely.
Edited to add: Just like cheap(er) Android head units in cars, as well as scanning for malware it doesn't hurt to check a cheap Chinese TV box isn't displaying fake specs. (Device Info FW and CPU-Z are two apps I used). (edited)
ive had box the box and stick, id recommend getting the mi box just for the bigger ram.
in terms of the function both work great, however stick is easy to port around.
both work great even with multiple apps open. easy to use, and its all android. only thing youll have to do is enable unknown sources/apps and your good to go.
Under £60 options would be either the Google TV Chromecast or import a TiVo Stick from USA.
Tivo stick won't have any UK streaming apps, so if that's going to be an issue, go for the Chromecast
Don't even bother with any of the Chinese boxes - there's just no need to go looking for trouble