[REVIEW] Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd Gen: The improved version of the TV box comes this time with Google TV

TV sticks and TV boxes with an Android operating system are a great upgrade for older TVs—or even those that have their own closed system with a small number of available apps. This time, we tested the latest version of this smart device from the Chinese giant, Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd Gen.

This is the second generation of the Xiaomi TV Box S model, which brings—compared to the older generation—Google TV, a newer processor, and several other changes. In the review, we’ll test it in detail.

Where to buy Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd Gen?

At the time of writing this review, the Xiaomi Mi TV Box S 2. generation was available at the best price from our partner DHgate. The seller offered it there from a European warehouse with a discount coupon. You can find the current coupons by clicking the button below.

Current coupons for Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd Gen

Technical specifications

Package contents

The new Xiaomi TV box comes in a compact box, traditionally with an orange color scheme. The box dimensions are 17 x 10 x 5.2 cm, and its weight is 392 g.

Inside, you’ll find the TV box itself in a silicone film, a power adapter, a remote control, and an HDMI cable. Two AAA batteries for the remote are missing—they aren’t included in the package. This is similar to most TV boxes and TV sticks.

The seller packed this TV box in a silicone pouch with reinforced bubble wrap, so it’s standard packaging for smaller products. The package was delivered by the courier without any damage.

Design and placement of elements

Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd Gen is truly compact and discreet, with dimensions of 95.25 x 95.25 x 16.7 mm and a weight of only 142 g. It’s made of matte plastic and overall has a very minimalist, simple design. The build quality is top-notch, so the plastics don’t flex, and we have no reservations about the quality.

On the other hand, we appreciate that Xiaomi still sticks to this simple yet modern design, unlike some other Chinese manufacturers of similar TV boxes.

As for the individual elements on the TV box, it doesn’t have any display or buttons. On the front there’s only a status LED, and on the back you’ll find several ports. Specifically: HDMI 2.1, USB 2.0, an audio connector for a standard 3.5 mm jack, and a power port.

Unfortunately, in this regard it isn’t the best-equipped box. There’s no optical port for connecting a soundbar, and no faster USB, or a memory card slot.

Great remote control

The remote control is an issue with many cheap TV boxes. It’s often low quality, which then leads to buying a new one and, at the same time, increases your total costs. Xiaomi, however, includes an excellent remote control with its Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd Gen.

It measures 3.6 x 16.2 x 1.3 cm, is made of matte plastic, and feels very comfortable in your hand. The buttons are rubberized, have great responsiveness, and overall we rate the remote control as excellent.

As for the buttons, there aren’t many of them, but they are completely sufficient. At the top you’ll find the button to turn the TV box on/off. Under it there’s a button for voice control, followed by the four-direction navigation buttons with a confirmation button in the center.

Under them, we also have a button for the Xiaomi TV+ service, back, the home screen, and separate buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and bringing up the menu with all apps. In the end, there are also buttons “+” and “-” to control the volume.

It’s important to note that the remote control works via Bluetooth, so you don’t need to aim it at the TV box while using it.

First power-on and initial setup

When you turn on the TV box for the first time, a setup guide welcomes you. There’s also a Slovak language option, so the setup is something that everyone can handle. You can choose to do the settings on the TV or using the Google Home app on your smartphone.

We went with the second option, which is always faster, because you don’t need to enter any passwords using the remote control. Here we scanned a QR code from the TV screen, selected our Google account to sign in with, and chose our Wi‑Fi network.

The system introduced us to some of the new TV box’s features and also gave us the option to control the TV and its volume using the TV box remote. The whole process took less than 5 minutes and went completely trouble-free.

New Google TV system

As we mentioned above, unlike the older version of the TV box, the Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd Gen comes with the Google TV system, not Android TV like it used to.

These systems are very similar to each other, and at first glance they differ only in small design details and the placement of certain elements. For comparison, you can check the Android TV system’s home screen from the Mi TV 4S below, and the Google TV system from the Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd Gen.

On the Google TV home screen, the top area contains shortcuts for quick access to the home screen, all apps, and libraries.

Next, you’ll find notifications, search, and settings. The largest part of the home screen is taken up by selected apps and channel subscriptions like YouTube or Netflix. They appear as kind of stacked tiles.

Apps and Xiaomi TV+

A new feature in Xiaomi’s TV box is their own Xiaomi TV+ service, which lets you watch online TV programs for free. The catch is that it’s only foreign channels that are completely unknown to us. Examples include Smurf TV, World Billiards TV, KoZoom TV, DocuBay, and Rakuten Viki.

As for the preinstalled apps, besides the mentioned Xiaomi TV+ you’ll also find Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, Prime Video, Apple TV, HBO Max, YouTube Kids, YouTube Music, Media Player, Gallery, and Miracast.

In the apps menu, which is accessible from the home screen, there’s also an integrated Google Play store that shows selected apps. You can easily reinstall them, but the link to the entire Google Play itself is somehow missing here. We managed to open it only via the voice command “Open Google Play Store”.

Here you’ll find plenty of apps optimized for TVs, including various services for watching or playing content like Magio Go, VOYO, SkyShowTime, Skylink, Orange TV, Kodi, VLC, and many others.

Personally, we watch TV programs through the Antik TV app, and it worked without any problems.

Performance and storage

The Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd Gen is powered by a quad-core Cortex-A55 processor, complemented by the ARM Mali G31 MP2 graphics chip. It has 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage. Personally, we don’t really need built-in storage, but for those who would like to use it, 8 GB might not be enough.

The TV box can decode up to 4K video at 60 fps and supports Dolby Audio, DTS-HD, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+ technologies. It also handles the latest HEVC / H.265 codec, but it isn’t ideal. Videos with this codec aren’t quite smooth during playback.

However, the system runs almost flawlessly and smoothly. We noticed minor stutters during app installation—especially if, during installation, you wanted to go back to the main menu or do something else.

The second issue sometimes showed up during searching in the app store, where the search failed to find an app several times, even though it was listed.

Settings and connectivity

In the settings, you’ll find display resolution customization (up to 4K 60 Hz), account setup, apps, system information, or even keyboard and ambient mode settings (screen saver).

If we look at the connectivity, we already mentioned the physical ports. Specifically, it’s HDMI 2.1, USB 2.0, and an audio port for a standard 3.5 mm jack. For wireless connectivity, the Xiaomi TV box offers Bluetooth 5.2 and WiFi in both bands – 2.4 and 5 GHz.

There’s no built-in Chromecast feature, so you can simply cast content from your smartphone to the TV box.

Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd Gen: Final verdict

The Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd Gen is a small, compact device that adds new Android-less possibilities to your TV. It comes with Google TV, offering a wide range of apps tailored for TVs. Popular streaming platforms like Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+ and VOYO are also included, along with apps for watching TV content such as Magio Go, Skylink, and Antik TV.

The second-generation Xiaomi TV box features a Cortex-A55 processor, 2 GB of RAM, and 8 GB of ROM, plus Bluetooth 5.2 or 2.4 / 5 GHz WiFi support. For wired connectivity, you get HDMI 2.1, USB 2.0, and an audio jack. The RJ45 port for a stable connection directly to the router or switch is missing.

Overall, it’s a modern, discreet device with a minimalist design. The Google TV system is smooth and easy to navigate, and we also appreciate the high-quality remote control.