How does Xiaomi demonstrate its innovativeness? Experience using the Xiaomi Mi Box

At the beginning of 2015, Xiaomi launched four new products, which first caused quite a stir in the technology industry. Just when people thought that there was nothing much to say about headphones and the price of Xiaomi Note mobile phones was no longer affordable, many people seemed to have overlooked the fourth role in Xiaomi's new products - Xiaomi Box.

Really small enough

Compared with the previous Xiaomi box, the word "small" is particularly highlighted in the name of Xiaomi Small Box, and the product itself is indeed small enough. The overall width of the cube shape is even narrower than an IKEA single-row socket.

But the small size also brings corresponding limitations. Apart from the foldable power plug, the Xiaomi small box only has one HDMI interface. It is impossible to connect an external USB flash drive or use some USB devices.

Apart from the box itself, the product's random accessories are not much different from ordinary Xiaomi boxes. The Bluetooth remote control is still in the same simple style, but the white color scheme has a fresh feel.

Some people may ask, since the product is so small, why not connect it to the TV directly via USB like Google Chromecast? But if you consider the quad-core CPU, 1GB memory, 4GB flash memory and other components inside the Xiaomi small box, you will know that sufficient internal space and sufficient power supply are still necessary for the stable operation of the device.

Small but not small

As a smart TV product, Xiaomi Mi Box has reduced the size of the hardware. Will there be any changes in the software content?

If you have used Xiaomi Box before, you will definitely feel familiar with it when the TV is connected to the Xiaomi Box. The UI interface is still the same as before. The large tile design similar to Windows 8 is not only convenient for operation on a large TV screen, but also has the same fluency as previous products.

Xiaomi has also paid great attention to some details of the system design. For example, the up button on the remote control can call out the quick operation settings. Just like the mobile version of MIUI, long pressing the HOME button is a multi-tasking option and supports one-click clearing. This seems to be a function that many smart TV product systems do not have.

Even in the processing of some interfaces, frosted glass background effects are added. Xiaomi MIUI's years of accumulation undoubtedly makes it better know how to please users' eyes.

In terms of content, Xiaomi's cooperation with Galaxy Internet TV has immediately enriched the viewing part of the Xiaomi Mini Box, and the browsing interface of the video content is highly compatible with the Xiaomi Mini Box system itself. The operation process will not give people the feeling of breaking into another App or video client.

The video content provided by Galaxy Internet TV for Xiaomi Box is very comprehensive. Taking TV series as an example, it covers almost all the currently popular dramas, whether it is "The Deer and the Cauldron", "The Return of the Condor Heroes", "The Empress of China" or "Fall in Love with You". Even the new dramas that have just been aired are almost updated synchronously with the TV station, and the number of other categories of content such as movies and variety shows is also quite rich.

For users who have high requirements for viewing quality, Xiaomi Mi Box also has built-in Blu-ray and 3D areas. Under the 10M bandwidth network conditions in our test environment, ultra-clear content can be played without difficulty, while 3D movies and TV use the more adaptable left and right 3D format, which is limited to movie clips and does not provide subtitles for foreign films, so the 3D area can only be used for experience at this stage.

Small is fun

Intelligence has given terminal devices more functional scalability, which has also led to more diversified demands for smart TV products.

Xiaomi Mi Box supports application expansion, and the number of applications is relatively rich for a smart TV device. However, all App icons are scattered on the right side of the main interface. If too many applications are installed, it will look a bit messy.

It is a pity that even for Xiaomi, the quality of the TV version of the application cannot be guaranteed. The official Xiaomi Mall still recommends Xiaomi Mi 3, and office software such as Adobe Reader are still tablet versions.

Fortunately, some practical gadgets are quite well made. For example, the floating display form of the "Network Speed ​​​​Up" App is tailor-made for large-screen TVs.

The Xiaomi Mi Box is also equipped with a variety of gaming items. Popular games such as "Ski Safari" can be controlled directly through the remote control.

For some games with more complicated operations, you need to use peripheral equipment such as game controllers. The controllers are bigger than the console. This is the first time I have seen such a thing.

There are no compatibility issues when using Xiaomi's own Xiaomi handle to connect to the Xiaomi small box via Bluetooth, and it does not conflict with the box's own Bluetooth remote control. The two external devices can be connected and used at the same time.

In terms of actual gaming experience, taking Riptide 2 as an example, the delay of the Bluetooth controller is not obvious, and the hardware performance is not as powerful as that of the Xiaomi small box, but the expressiveness of the game screen and the smoothness of the game are satisfactory.

Is the small box Xiaomi’s innovation?

From "no design is the best design" to "the artistic journey of a piece of steel plate", Xiaomi, which started out as a mobile phone maker, always gives people the impression that it is obsessed with being enthusiastic or accustomed to "paying tribute" to others, and lacks its own ideas in product thinking.

But the Xiaomi small box gave us a different feeling. While every TV box manufacturer was busy running for the "XX file", Xiaomi gave us a surprise in appearance.

It is very small, but the user experience is no different from that of a large box. Although the Xiaomi small box may be the least eye-catching new product at the press conference, Xiaomi's rare innovation is reflected in this product.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.