Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks and Roku’s popular streaming devices remain top choices for households seeking entertainment options. However, a new contender has emerged in the UK market, offering a valuable alternative. Xiaomi, a Chinese tech brand, has unveiled its latest offering, the TV Stick HD (2nd Gen), providing an affordable solution to enhance any TV viewing experience.
The Xiaomi TV Stick HD (2nd Gen) features a sleek design reminiscent of Amazon’s Fire TV and Roku Sticks, complete with a built-in HDMI connector for easy setup directly into the TV. Additionally, it comes with a dedicated remote control featuring shortcut buttons for popular streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, and YouTube, ensuring quick access to preferred content.
Priced at £39.99, on par with its competitors, the standout feature of the Xiaomi TV Stick HD (2nd Gen) lies in its operating system. Instead of Fire OS or Roku’s software, this device runs on Google TV, granting users access to Google’s smart interface, built-in Google Assistant, and a vast array of apps via the Google Play Store.
The remote control includes a voice button for convenient voice commands to search for content and apps. Users can choose from over 10,000 apps, including games, and enjoy numerous free channels for entertainment without extra subscriptions. Moreover, Android users can utilize built-in Google Cast to stream content wirelessly from their mobile devices to the TV.
Equipped with a powerful processor, dual-band Wi-Fi for seamless playback, and support for HDR10+, Dolby Audio, and DTS, the Xiaomi TV Stick HD (2nd Gen) delivers superior picture and sound quality. However, it is limited to HD playback, lacking support for 4K Ultra HD content streaming.
For those in search of a budget-friendly Google TV-powered streaming device, the Xiaomi TV Stick HD (2nd Gen) is now available in the UK for £39.99.