Mecool M8S Pro L Review
So today we have another M8S Pro, and this one is the Mecool M8S Pro L Android TV 7.1 4K TV box. So why are there so many M8S pro models and what’s the difference with this one? Well to be quite frank the difference in the models really is more RAM here, more internal there, different shape here, and different price there, you get my point! In this review I have the usual rundown of the device and what makes this model different from the others.
Mecool M8S Pro L Hardware
The box come with hardware similar to other S912 models such as, Amlogic S912 octa core Cortex A53 CPU 1.5GHz. It has 3GB DDR3 RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. It has 802.11 dual band 2.4GHz + 5.8GHz WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1. It has Ethernet LAN speed of up to 1000 Mbps.
The box is made of a black plastic, and the IO ports are as follows:
- 1 HDMI
- 2 USB
- 1 RJ45 Ethernet LAN
- 1 AV
- 1 SD Card
- 1 Reset
Difference in the Mecool M8S Pro L Software
What differs in the Mecool M8S pro L is the software, while other models run on Android 7.1 Nougat, the M8S Pro L runs on Android TV (Android TV 7.1.1 Nougat). For those of you who don’t know what is Android TV, it’s a custom version of the Android operating system optimized for media streaming boxes and gaming consoles, unlike the full regular version which is meant for mobile phones. However it does come with some pros and cons. Well for cons you are limited on what apps you can install directly from the Google play store, however, in the M8S Pro L the box is fully rooted and can install any app you like via APK downloads
Another difference under the Android TV OS is that you now have access to 4K resolution on YouTube videos. I am not sure if this is directly related to the OS used on this box, is the way they optimized the box. However, you can access 4K now which was never possible on other TV boxes till now.
Benchmarks
- Antutu – 36399
- GeekBenck4 – (503 single-core) (1800 multi-core)
- IceStorm Extreme – 4674
- Ram Copy – 2709 MB/s
- Internal Storage – 55 MB/s read 12 MB/s write
- Rooted – Yes
- WiFi Speed – Maxed out in 5.8GHz
Conclusion
The Mecool M8S Pro L is not a super TV box, it is just optimised differently like we have never seen before. The Android TV OS version, doesn’t give ease of access to many apps that you would usually install directly off the Google play store, forcing you to download and install them instead via APKs, which you are free to do by the way with the box being fully rooted, and with an included app called appinstaller for installing APKs.
