$61 Xiaomi Mi Box 3 2016 Enhanced Edition is Powered by Mediatek MT8693 Hexa-core Cortex A72 + A53 Processor

There are few ARM Cortex-A72 “class” mini PCs available on the market, and the only one I can think of is Amazon Fire TV 2015, powered by Mediatek MT8173 hexa-core processor, and priced decently at $99.99, but hard or expensive to source if you don’t live in the US. There will soon be one more choice, as Xiaomi has upgraded its Mi Box 3 to use Mediatek MT8693 processor with two Cortex-A72 cores, and four Cortex-A53 cores combined with PowerVR GX6250 GPU.

Xiaomi_Box_3_Enhanced_EditionXiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced / 2016 Edition specifications:

  • SoC – Mediatek MT8693 hexa-core processor with two Cortex-A72 cores @ 2.0GHz, four Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.6 GHz, and Imagination PowerVR GX6250 GPU
  • System Memory –  2GB 64-bit LPDDR3 memory
  • Storage – 8GB eMMC 5.0 flash
  • Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K/2160p @ 60 Hz
  • Video and Audio Features – 10-bit H.265, Dolby and DTS audio
  • Connectivity – 802.11ac 2×2 MIMO WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
  • USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports
  • Power Supply – 12V/1.5A
  • Dimensions – 100 x 100 x  25 mm

The device will run Android 5.1 operating system with Xiaomi customizations. There’s very little information about MT8693 processor, and the new Mi Box 3 TV box appears to be the first to use it, and since while Cortex-A72 core powerful they also emit a lot of heat, so a large heatsink and a fan are used inside the device.

Xiaomi_Mi_Box_3_2016_Heatsink_Fan

Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced Edition will start selling for  399 CNY (about $61) on March 18 in China. Online e-retailer will likely sell it shortly after the launch, probably between $80 to $90 including shipping, but it will likely require some hacking for people outside of China at least to change the language, just like for their previous models.  [Update: GeekBuying has just listed Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Pro for $85.99, with shipping scheduled for March 18] [Update 2: GearBest has it for $84.42, currently marked as out of stock, and they call it Xiaomi 3s Mi TV box]

Via AndroidPC.es and Benchlife (Chinese)

Share this:

Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress

ROCK 5 ITX Rockchip RK3588 mini-ITX motherboard
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
The comment form collects your name, email and content to allow us keep track of the comments placed on the website. Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment.
14 Comments
oldest
newest
hoangdinh86
hoangdinh86
8 years ago

Quite cheap and powerful box Cortex A72 but hard to use

eamonne@gmail.com
8 years ago

It’s so tempting to grab one of there to mess around with but the fact of the matter is that those chips will be available in other, FAR easier to play with device in the time it takes you to get such a device. IF Xiaomi was capable of shipping any hardware in any meaningful amount this would be different, but it still remains difficult to source their tuff regarldless.

Curmudgeon
Curmudgeon
8 years ago

It’s interesting to see MT8693 match the RK3399 by using 2 x Cortex A72 with 4 x A53 cores to achieve a good power/efficiency compromise. It begs the question: when AMlogic finally get into production with an S912 product, can they possibly succeed if it only has 4 (or 8) Cortex A53 cores? I doubt it. In fact I’ll be surprised if S912 does not include Cortex A72 cores and I’ll be amazed if it does not include USB 3.

birdog
birdog
8 years ago

Could be a great deal but to many unanswered questions. The GX6250 is listed on Vulkan wikipedia page but will Xiaomi upgrade to add it or does it already? Can you get Remix OS or Linux to run on it? Still this could be a good deal even if it is just able to run Kodi with full 10bit Hevc and Dolby or DTS audio. Does it have CEC support?

m][sko
8 years ago

they use fan but I don’t see any holes in case 🙂
only small holes around USB/HDMI

Anybody think that we can get source codes for this box from Xiaomi ? 🙂

ade
ade
8 years ago

@m][sko
Xiaomi – albeit being a big vendor who publishes /some/ kernel source-codes when they are in a good mood – is not very serious (like most chinese vendors) regarding source-code publishing… I have a redmi 3, and there is still no way to get any sources (despite I would have a very good reason to ask for them : this phone is vulnerable to the Stagefright vulnerability !)

poro
poro
8 years ago

hey
where amazon fire tv 2 review?
and need compare MT8693 vs MT8173

Adem
Adem
8 years ago

I have mibox don’t know witch version but I waited and waited and can’t get English language on it without eng language it’s hard to use

Dommels
Dommels
8 years ago

@Adem
It’s very easy to change to English actually.

albert
albert
8 years ago

please help !
how to change the language to english?

raducutzu
raducutzu
8 years ago

It works great, the hardware is a beast! The only important issue I encountered so far is that sometimes it exits the video player, some other times just pauses the playback on Netflix, every 10 minutes or so. On You Tube it exits fullscreen mode, which can be quite annoying. The only solution I could find is this: – In Settings (not the Chinese app, but the one that comes inside Shafa Market, or even better, go to https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B16bkj0QSkYnfjc1YXQ1YU1sSGVGOHZqY3FjWUNabUVJd1dSTFpSb1BZbnU4cVZQMi1hMUk&usp=sharing and download the startSettings.apk, then install it on your Mi Box, this way you´ll no longer need Shafa Market), go to… Read more »

Boardcon Rockchip RK3588S SBC with 8K, WiFI 6, 4G LTE, NVME SSD, HDMI 2.1...