We previously saw a new Xiaomi TV Stick back in September through an FCC filing but now it’s official. We’re soon getting a Xiaomi TV Stick 4K and it will come with Android TV 11 out of the box. Based on its name, the main upgrade for this device is that it has 4K playback, an improvement over the 1080p video support of the previous Mi TV Stick. The new Chromecast-like stick has also dropped the Mi branding as Xiaomi has previously announced.
The Xiaomi TV Stick 4K is basically almost the same device as the Mi TV Stick, using the same stick form as well as having the same microUSB for power and HDMI port built-in. This time around though, it supports 4K playback which is important for those who have TVs that can support it. It is also pre-loaded with Android TV 11 which is understandable since the more updated Android 12 was only released earlier this month. There’s also Netflix and Amazon Prime Video certification on this device, with shortcuts to the streaming services on the remote as well.
The chipset has been upgraded to Amlogic S905Y4 and it has 2GB RAM and 8GB storage, same as the previous one. It doesn’t have an SD card slot or extra USB port so there’s no way to add storage. This is a similar problem that the Chromecast has been facing so hopefully the next generations of tv sticks will be better in terms of storage. The remote for the Xiaomi TV Stick 4K has also been slightly redone with the aforementioned streaming service shortcuts added. The branded buttons may vary by location/country.
Xiaomi previously said that their future devices will no longer be carrying the Mi brand so this is one of the first products that is simply branded as a Xiaomi device. With the addition of support for 4K, this TV Stick can now compete with the likes of the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and Chromecast with Google TV. It also has hardware decoding support for AV1 and VP9. With the improved chipset matching the Quad-core Cortex-A35 description, then this is of course better than the Mi TV stick.
The Xiaomi TV Stick 4K is now live on the website but is still not for sale. The price and availability details are still not indicated but it will probably be around $50 and should come out in the next few days or weeks.
