Xiaomi's new TV Box S (3rd Gen) has been put through a series of tests alongside $100 rivals like the Google TV Streamer and RockTek GX1. The Xiaomi box comes out on top, as it delivers the most features, while also being the cheapest. https://www.notebookcheck.net/Xiaomi-TV-Box-S-3rd-Gen-comes-out-on-top-in-tests-versus-Google-TV-Streamer-and-RockTek-GX1-streaming-boxes.1009111.0.html
"It's important, of course, to point out that the Xiaomi TV Box S (3rd Gen)'s hardware may be considered outdated at this point. The TV box only features 2 GB of RAM, for example, as well as a single USB 2.0 port. A LAN port is absent as well."
At this point, it's clear to me that this low-ball tech specs for this device, and other streaming devices (exception of the Shield... and it still lack features too) are intentional. It's like the industry has decided that only one streaming device should be superior and IF true, that definitely hurts consumers and competition.
I mean... just think about it. The NVIDIA's Shield, and the alike, is over 10-years-old (NV Shield 2015 and others) but regardless that the NV Shield can still outperform many of today's streaming devices, it only have 3gb of RAM, no AV1 support, still handcuffed to Android's limitation ect.
Apple, Google, Xiaomi and others, knows very well what most streamers have been complaining about for years but they still refuse to listen and act on their customers requests and that is to MODERNIZED these streaming devices relic specs and add ALL today's features (support ALL HiRez audio codecs, DV profile 7, fluid multitasking, ect.) for their streaming devices to today's services and local demands. Just sad!
well commented response. thank you
Those streaming boxes target a low price. This is why a lot of Chinese manufacturers get discounted old CPUs that only run older Android versions. The same goes for projectors and their built in UI.
It is ultimately a cost cutting measure. But this does lead to those boxes not supporting modern codecs/features.
Maybe manufacturers just don't see a market for a streaming box with an 'up-to-date' hardware.