It seems that the Amlogic S905Y4 SoC is becoming more and more popular in the cheap Chinese Android Boxes because lately you can find many options for less than $27 as in the Q96 M2.
A Box with its Amlogic Quad Core SoC of which you can read our review as the main attraction and that comes with Android 11 as operating system. A box suitable for use in local video playback up to 4K resolutions, as it includes native decoding of the AV1 codec, among others.
As we always tell you, for this type of cheap box you should not expect updates, and it is not ready to be used with apps from paid streaming platforms, for this see our list of the best TV-Box.
Q96 M2 Specifications
The Q96 M2 Android TV Box includes as its backbone an AMlogic S905Y4 processor manufactured in 12nm. This chip is a Quad Core with low power consumption ARM Cortex-A35 processors and an ARM Mali-G31 MP2 GPU that reaches 850 Mhz. An SoC that includes AV1 codec decoding, support for video output up to 4K@60fps resolutions and compatibility with HDR 10, HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision technologies.
This Smart Box has 1/2 GB of DDR3 RAM soldered on its motherboard. Naturally, we recommend only the model with 2 GB of RAM. We have options with 8/16/32 GB of eMMc storage memory that can be expanded from the micro SD card reader included on the side of the plastic box.
Other highlights
The Q96 M2 has for Dual Band Wi-Fi aC wireless connectivity with internal antennas and Bluetooth 4.1, not bad for its price. The connectors included in the plastic box are two USB 2.0 ports, analog audio and video output port, a RJ45 10/100 Ethernet connector and an HDMI 2.1 video output.
The operating system is Android TV 11 and included is a Bluetooth remote control that includes microphone and direct access keys to streaming platforms, although you can see that the logos are crossed out in advertising.
Price and availability
- The Android Box Q96 M2 with AMlogic S905Y4 SoC can be purchased on AliExpress starting at about $27 with free shipping using coins and the seller’s discount code.
