We keep talking about smartphones but, at the same time, forget to mention that there are more than 40 crore mobile phone users who use feature phones. It’s a figure that’s fading but it won’t disappear quickly. At the same time, there is a sizeable base of users who have old television sets, yet they want to access the latest streaming apps. Then there are those users whose television sets are smart but the OS on it is no longer receiving updates. How do they use the latest apps? This is where digital media players come in.
Amazon Fire TV Stick is a very popular option. Then there is the latest Xiaomi TV Stick 4K, which we have for review. A question that you may ask is why buy the device from Xiaomi over the many that are already in the market. A simple answer is PatchWall or a customisation layer that Xiaomi uses on its television.
The media player can be powered by the USB port on the TV or connected to a power source
AT A GLANCE
Device: Xiaomi TV Stick 4K
Price: Rs 4,999
High notes Easy to install, Good performance ,Supports PatchWall
Muffled note Only 8GB storage
EASY TO INSTALL
Xiaomi’s biggest strength is offering excellent products at reasonable pricing. It can also be seen here. Xiaomi TV Stick 4K offers a number of upgrades over its previous Mi TV Stick. First, it now supports 4K output, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and Patchwall experience. The setup process is simple. Plug the device into the HDMI port of your TV and then connect the power cord from the micro-USB port on the stick to either your TV’s USB port or to a charging point on the wall using the power adapter given in the box. We suggest that you connect it to a wall socket because at times the USB port on the TV doesn’t offer enough power, which makes the media stick to slow down or reboot.
Also in the box is a sleek Bluetooth-enabled remote control that’s compact and you will use it to operate the TV. It has all the buttons you need — Google Assistant, Patchwall, hotkeys to access Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and apps, besides the usual volume and power keys.
The device itself has been greatly improved because of its Quad-core Cortex-A35 CPU, 2GB RAM and 8GB storage. The operating system is Android TV 11. The only drawback of the remote control is its 8GB RAM of which a part of it is used by the OS, so you will have enough space to keep all the streaming apps. But if you are someone who likes to play games using the TV remote, then a few more GB would have helped. Had Xiaomi given 16GB, it would have scored full marks. Apart from this one quibble, the media stick is snappy and works well.
The PatchWall interface while using Xiaomi TV Stick 4K
BUY IT FOR PATCHWALL
As soon as you connect the device, many of the apps that you need for streaming will appear preinstalled. The rest can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.
This is a 4K streaming stick, so ensure you have a fast and stable Internet connection for a good experience. The Android interface is simple and it’s an experience that you are probably familiar with. Xiaomi TV Stick 4K supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos but remember… your TV also needs to support these features. That brings us to another question: Why then offer these two features? There are old TVs that may support Dolby Visionand Dolby Atmos but these TVs may run on a slow or outdatedOS. Here the TV Stick helps. In case your TV doesn’t support it, the device will work like a normal 4K smart TV Stick.
The biggest distinguishing feature as we said is PatchWall. Once you are used to the interface, it will be tough to go back to the Android TV interface because of the way it groups content — you can easily search by language, category, live content and whatnot. There is also a kids section and to ensure children have access to only age-appropriate matter, there are child safety features. There is also MiTV+, which offers a range ofcontent that’s mostly free. In case you want to cast your smartphone on the smart TV, use an app like Miracast. Could Xiaomi do anything better? Well, most smart TVs have moved to Android TV 12 but the OS on the Stick is Android TV 11. But it won’t make much of a difference to your usage. Overall, Xiaomi TV Stick 4K is a snappy performer that gives your old TV a new lease of life and there is enough joy in way of support for PatchWall