We already have in stores the new Amlogic S905X2 SoC the heir of the popular S905X, a Quad Core SoC that includes ARM Cortex-A53 processors but that updates its GPU to a more current one as it is the Mali-G31 MP2 with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+ , H.265 and VP9 among others and that will have better video playback quality than S905X and S912 SoC’s. The model in which this new SoC is released is the X96 MAX, a device that can be reserved at the moment and which, as we can see, includes a USB 3.0 port, another of the new features of this new AMlogic SoC that we hope to analyze soon.
SoC, RAM and storage
The TV Box X96 MAX includes the commented S905X2 SoC a Quad Core that theoretically reaches up to 2GHz and integrates a GPU Mali-G31 MP2 quite more powerful than the classic Mali-450, as a novelty it seems that the apart of video playback we have a new VPU with Amlogic Video Engine (AVE) that integrates specific hardware to encode and decode. In the only model on sale we now have 2 GB of LPDDR4 RAM memory and 16 GB of eMMc storage memory that can be extended from the microSD card reader that this equipment includes.
Other specifications
The TV-Box X96 MAX includes wireless connectivity Wifi dual band and bluetooth 4.1. In the connectors included in the plastic box we find a USB 2.0 port, another USB 3.0, analog audio and video port, a 10/100 Ethernet connector for the 2/16 GB model and Gigabit Ethernet for models with 4GB of RAM, SPDIF digital audio connector, an IR port and as a novelty it seems to be HDMI 2.1 video output with support for Dynamic HDR.
The installed system is Android 8.1 in its classic version, for now there are no clues about Android TV or the Android 9 Pie version, something that surprises us, this TV-Box has option to have voice remote control, we may see versions of this same hardware with Android TV and Google Assistant in the future. For now we have serial remote control IR and HDMI cable.
Price and availability
- The TV-Box X96 MAX with S905X2 SoC can be purchased on Geekbuying.com, Gearbest.com or Aliexpress.com from $65.99 (€56.15) including shipping, according to the information of the store is expected to be on sale on October 30.
