Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks and Roku’s popular streaming devices remain at the forefront of the market, enabling numerous households to stream movies, live sports, and TV series. However, a new contender has emerged in the UK in the form of Xiaomi, a Chinese tech brand, with the launch of its new TV Stick HD (2nd Gen), providing an affordable option for enhancing any television.
The Xiaomi TV Stick HD (2nd Gen) sports a familiar design reminiscent of Amazon’s Fire TV and Roku Sticks, featuring a compact design and a built-in HDMI connector for easy connection to a TV without the hassle of additional cables.
Similar to its competitors, the Xiaomi TV Stick HD (2nd Gen) comes with a dedicated remote control equipped with shortcut buttons for popular streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, and YouTube, simplifying access to favorite content without the need to navigate through lengthy menus.
Priced at £39.99, the Xiaomi TV Stick HD (2nd Gen) offers a competitive price point compared to its rivals, with its distinguishing factor being its utilization of Google TV instead of Amazon’s Fire OS or Roku’s software. This integration provides users with Google’s smart interface, Google Assistant functionality, and access to a plethora of apps via the Google Play Store.
Featuring a dedicated voice button on the remote, viewers can conveniently search for movies, shows, and apps using voice commands. The device offers over 10,000 available apps, including games, and numerous free channels for entertainment without requiring multiple paid subscriptions.
Additionally, Android users can benefit from the built-in Google Cast feature, enabling wireless streaming of videos, photos, and other content from their smartphones or tablets to the TV.
Internally, Xiaomi has outfitted the streaming stick with a fast processor, dual-band Wi-Fi for seamless playback, and support for HDR10+, Dolby Audio, and DTS to enhance picture and sound quality.
However, the main drawback of the Xiaomi TV Stick HD (2nd Gen) is its limited resolution support, as it only offers HD playback and does not support 4K Ultra HD content streaming.
For individuals seeking an affordable Google TV-powered streaming device, the Xiaomi TV Stick HD (2nd Gen) is now available in the UK for £39.99.
