The X96 is a low-cost Android TV Box built to play and stream videos from online sources or at home media.
It runs the Amlogic S905W CPU with 2GB of RAM making it a low-end unit.
This would make it a good box for those on a budget, or a location such as a kids room were a more expensive unit may get broken.
*This unit was sent to me to review with my honest opinion and results below.
Specifications
CPU: Amlogic S905,Cortex A53 1.2GHz
GPU: Mali-450 MP
RAM: 2GB DDR3
ROM: 16GB
Extended Capacity: TF card up to 64GB
Operating System: Android 7.1
The package comes with the X96 box, HDMI cable, user manual, power adapter, and IR extender.
The back has a power port, optical, HDMI, Ethernet, AV, and IR.
The side has 2 USB slots and 1 SD-Card slot.
Starting the X96 it comes up to a basic Launcher with all the common Apps installed such as Netflix and YouTube.
It came with a version of Kodi called KD Player which I uninstalled and installed a standard Kodi version.
Kodi installed and ran with no problems.
I setup some top add-ons such as Exodus which also installed and ran fine.
The box used very little system resources to run Kodi leaving a lot to run add-ons and stream videos.
Next I tested it with Netflix which it played only standard definition and not HD or 4K resolution.
This is to be expected with most Android TV boxes due to Netflix restrictions on HD or 4K-UHD.
Next I ran a WiFi speed test using OoKla App from SpeedTest.net which gave the results 37Mbps Download, and 21Mbps Upload.
The results while not extremely fast is OK for a low-end box and will stream videos from online sources.
The minimum to stream HD 1080p videos is 10Mbps Download, and the new 4K Ultra HD needs 25Mbps Download.
The X96 works only in the 2.4Ghz range and not the new 5Ghz band.
To test the CPU, GPU, and RAM I ran AnTUTU Benchmark test which gave the results of 25776.
Other results were 3D: 1328, UX: 10673, CPU: 10388, and RAM at 3387.
Summary
The X96W is a good low-cost Android TV Box that works well enough for the price.
It is on the low-end of boxes and about what to expect from an Amlogic S905W CPU with 2GB of RAM.
It will run Kodi, Netflix, or YouTube fine and stream videos from online sources .
There will be no problems running HD 720p or 1080p videos, but it will have problems playing the new 4K Ultra HD videos.
I am still testing the unit so far with good results and will update if anything changes.
As always be sure to read the reviews on Amazon, forums, or elsewhere to be sure a unit is a good fit for you.
Just a Question:
Can I adjust the speed of the cursor (when the remote control is in the little arrow mode)
Because , every time I want to change the subtitle language, the top bar where the subtitle icon is situated, disapearse so foast that I`m always to late.
Or perhaps is it possible to make the top and bottombars stay a bit longer?
Can a mouse and keyboard be connected to the USB ports of this TV Box?
@Lito – yes, you can hook up a mouse and keyboard via the USB ports. I actually have a wireless mouse/keyboard combination hooked up to mine and it works great.
i want to buy an iptv android box but i never bought one
from your description this one is low end model
so if you want a good box what you recommend
Hi, thank you very much for the review. Can you give the below clarification please??
1. Does it bitstream lossless audio to have??
2. Can it play lossless audio like Dolby true hd, Dts HDMA
Thanks & regards
Naveen
@Naveen – yes, it can but it could also potentionally depend on the app your using to play your media. For the most part, I use Kodi and some other streaming apps on mine and so far have not had any issues (hooked up to my dolby digital 7.1 surround sound). The x96 has a digital optical receiver port on it to plug your sound system directly into the tv box itself.
Can i play games like pubg in it?
When the screen resolution shows 1920 x 1080p or less, how these boxes will show 4K resolution?
can it be rooted?
Can I update to the latest kodi version, is still at 16.1 and I can’t use the add ons in kodi
It might be a little slow on wifi, but over my power plugs i had a speedtest by OOKLA over the 100Mbit network card that is built in a download speed of 58Mbit and upload of 59Mbit which was rather slow as I have a Gigabit connection and over the 500 Mbits power plugs I can send around 270 Mbit each, but the speed is fast enough for 4K too . Over Wifi the speed was at times too slow for HD, but the wireless router is located three rooms further. so that might cause the problem. I really enjoy the box because of its wall mount possibility, so I really can hide it behind my screen. As mentioned, The KD player and the launcher were the first things to remove as the ripped KODI version is really worth nothing. As a real TV box, I only wanted to see Media icons on my start screen, so I replaced the mediabox launcher with tvlauncher from the play store. It was a little work to find how to get rid of the original launcher, but with titanium backup it went just fine, so I ended up with a homescreen with only my stb emulator, KODI with plenty of addons and the playstore, as Kodi has everything a tv box can use, except that I prefer the mag software for the best tv experience. As live TV is the most important, I setted it up with Launch On Boot from the play store, to automatically start my stb emulator and show my chains. If I want to go to Kodi, I just have to hit the home button and hit Kodi. It really can’t be easier
I had UKTVNOW installed on my X96. Recently, a screen appeared about an update. I clicked on the update but nothing seems to happen. I let it sit for a whole day once, nothing. So googling the issue I found a page that said to update UKTVNOW, you have to first delete it, which I figured out how to do and did. But when I go to the download page in the browser on the box, click download, nothing happens. There was a notice about a name change (tvtip or something, I forget) but it seemed to apply to mobile devices not the box. How might I get the updated version UKTVNOW or whatever its called now, back on the box? I use it mainly to access some of the major news (CNN, BBC, others). Thanks
@John – try a factory reset on your android box to under the settings. This will make it like the day you bought it.
Can I connect this device to my old crt tv, without HD cable, my TV not comp. To HD cable, is there any option to connect to old tv, plz reply
@Kamlesh – yes, as long as your older tv has AV (the yellow, red, and white jacks). The x96 has a AV jack which takes 3.5mm (like a headphone jack) which extends out to the AV connections. Without that specific cable, you would not be able to use it on an older TV though.