Allwinner H618 processor has started to show up in several TV boxes running Android 12, and capable of playing 6K/4K VP9 and H.265 videos with devices such as T95Z Plus and T95 Max, which may be confusing, as companies are reusing those model numbers over and over.
Featuring a quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, an Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU, and 6K video support, the Allwinner H618 looks exactly like the Allwinner H616 processor except it can run the more recent Android 12 operating system.
There’s not much public information about Allwinner H618 at the time of writing, but let’s check T95Z Plus specifications to see if we can find any other new hidden features:
- SoC – Allwinner H618 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.5GHz with Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU
- System Memory – 2GB or 4GB RAM
- Storage – 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card socket
- Video Output
- HDMI 2.0 up to 4Kp60 or 6Kp30 with HDR10, CEC and HDCP 2.2 support
- AV port (video composite)
- Audio Output – Optical S/PDIF, analog stereo via AV port, digital audio via HDMI
- VPU
- VP9-10 Profile-2 up to 6Kp30
- H.265 HEVC MP-10 @ L5.1 up to 6Kp30
- H.264 AVC HP @ L5.1 up to 4Kp30
- H.264 MVC up to 1080p60
- Connectivity
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- Dual-band WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0
- USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports
- Misc – Integrated front panel display, RGB LEDs
- Power Supply – 5V/2A via DC jack
- Dimensions – 119 x 106 x 23 mm
Besides Android 12 support, there could be at least one more difference, as noted on linux-sunxi wiki, the Allwinner H616 lacks the PCIe and USB 3.0 interfaces from the Allwinner H6 processor. But considering the T95Z Plus comes with WiFi 6 you’d normally want at least one such high-speed interface unless they went with a 480 Mbps USB 2.0 module… The specifications and photos of the T95 MAX model on Aliexpress show a USB 3.0 port, but I’m not sure the information can be trusted since most of the description for that TV box is a copy/paste from a previous model based on Allwinner H6. [Update: I’ve seen the Allwinner H618 datasheet (sorry, I can’t share it), and there’s no USB 3.0 or PCIe interface. The main difference appears to be the larger 1MB L2 cache. It also shows WiFi+Bluetooth is typically connected to SDIO 3.0, UART, and I2S]
The T95Z Plus Android 12 TV box with Allwinner H618 processor can be purchased on Aliexpress or Banggood for $39 to $54 depending on configuration (one seller even offers 50 pieces bundle), while the T95 MAX (with inaccurate specs) starts at around $33.
Via AndroidPC.es
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
