Xiaomi launches Mi Box 4K streaming device and Mi True Wireless Earphones 2

The new streaming box, as the name suggests, supports 4K video content along with HDR 10, Dolby Audio with DTS 2.0 digital out as well.

Running the Android TV interface, this piece of hardware has a built-in Chromecast and Google Assistant as well so you can easily search for content and control the connected Mi Home devices as well. (Xiaomi)

Boosting its Mi TV product portfolio, Xiaomi today unveiled what can be called as the Amazon FireTV Stick 4K rival called the Mi Box 4K. The product has launched in India at ₹3,499 and will be available from May 11. With this product, Xiaomi aims to make 'dumb' TVs smart by letting you connect it and stream TV shows and movies from Netflix, Amazon Prime and others. In addition to the Mi Box 4K, the firm has also launched its Mi True Wireless Earphones 2. Tuned for India, these earbuds are priced at ₹4,499 in India. However, if you buy it between 12th May to 17th May, you can get it in ₹3,999.

Xiaomi Mi Box 4K

The new streaming box, as the name suggests, supports 4K video content along with HDR 10, Dolby Audio with DTS 2.0 digital out as well. Running the Android TV interface, this piece of hardware has a built-in Chromecast and Google Assistant as well so you can easily search for content and control the connected Mi Home devices as well. All you have to do is to press the dedicated button on the remote controller and give voice commands like 'Turn on Mi Air Purifier'.

The Mi Box 4K also comes with a 'Data Saver' feature that lets you watch more videos while consuming less internet data. You can also place reminders when the streaming box crosses a certain data limit set by you. In addition, the 'Cast to TV' feature lets you stream content from your smartphone to TVs using Mi Box 4K without any internet connection. These features will be coming as an OTA update.

Some of the codecs supported are MOV, MP4, AVI, MKV, MP3, AAC, WMV, FLAC, JPG, BMP, GIF, PNG and TIF.

On the connectivity front you get HDMI 2.0b, USB 2.0, Bluetooth v4.2 and digital out to connect your external speakers. (Xiaomi)

On the connectivity front you get HDMI 2.0b, USB 2.0, Bluetooth v4.2 and digital out to connect your external speakers. (Xiaomi)

As for the specifications, the Mi Box 4K is powered by a 64-bit 2GHz processor, Mali 450 GPU (750MHz), 3GB DDR3 RAM and 8GB eMMC storage. On the connectivity front you get HDMI 2.0b, USB 2.0, Bluetooth v4.2 and digital out to connect your external speakers.

Xiaomi has kept the design of the remote controller nearly the same as what you get with Mi TVs. Besides as dedicated Google Assistant button, it has dedicated buttons to trigger Netflix and Amazon prime videos as well.

Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earphones 2

The highlight of these new earbuds by Xiaomi are that they support 14.2mm dynamic driver, which is more than Google Pixel Buds 2's 12mm drivers, Sennheiser Momentum TWS's 7mm driver and Jabra Elite 65t wireless earbuds' 6mm.

the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 are claimed to deliver up to 14 hours of battery life with multiple additional charges from the case. A single earpiece is said to deliver up to 4 hours of battery life. (Xiaomi)

the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 are claimed to deliver up to 14 hours of battery life with multiple additional charges from the case. A single earpiece is said to deliver up to 4 hours of battery life. (Xiaomi)

Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 also support LHDC (Low Latency High Definition) audio codec that aims to deliver better wireless audio quality without any loss. This comes in addition to 90% environment noise reduction ability and dual microphones on each earbuds for better call quality.

As for the battery, the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 are claimed to deliver up to 14 hours of battery life with multiple additional charges from the case. A single earpiece is said to deliver up to 4 hours of battery life.

Xiaomi has made its earbuds compatible with not just Android smartphones but with Windows OS and Apple's iOS as well. So, whenever you open the charging case, it will show up with an animation on the connected Android phone, iPhone or Windows laptop.

Here's how the gestures work:

Double tap on right earbud - Play or pause the music.
Double tap on any earbud - To answer an incoming call.
Double tap on the left ear - Activate voice assistant (supports Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa)