Need an Android TV box? Xiaomi Mi Box 4, Mi Box 4C now official

The Xiaomi Mi Box 4K (review) represented great value for money, but what if you want something a little more up-to-date? Fortunately, Xiaomi has heard you loud and clear, launching two new Android TV boxes in the form of the Mi Box 4 and Mi Box 4C.

For RMB349 (R655 as a straight conversion without duties etc), the Mi Box 4 delivers 4K HDR capabilities (much like the previous model), an AI-powered “Pathwall” voice system, smart home integration, Dolby Audio and H.265 support.

The Xiaomi Mi Box 4 and 4C look to continue the affordable Android TV box trend popularised by the company

As for specs, you’re looking at 2GB of RAM, an Amlogic quad-core A53 chipset and 8GB of expandable storage — very similar to the last version then. Meanwhile, look at the ports and you’ve got an HDMI 2.0 port, USB 2.0 port, power port (obviously) and 3.5mm composite port.

Meanwhile, the RMB249 (R467) Mi Box 4C offers similar 4K HDR and AI voice features, but drops the RAM count to 1GB. The cheaper Mi Box also drops Bluetooth support.

The Mi Box 4 and 4C are China-only for now, it seems. But here’s hoping local distributor MIA Group brings it to South Africa.

We’re also holding out hope that, if the devices do have a wider launch, that they pack the latest version of Android TV, with the Google Assistant. As it is right now, Xiaomi has been slow to update the previous Mi Box.