A95X Pro Android 4K TV Box Review
So I was sent the A95X Pro Amlogic S905W Android 4K TV box for review from the fine folks over at Gearvita.com. I didn’t choose this box, it was suggested that I have a close look at and I did just that. For a vlogger like me in the TV box arena I can spot a budget TV box from a mile away, however, there was something kinda strange looking about the A95X pro. In this review I will share with you my findings of this box, or you can watch my entire YouTube video on this box.
Hardware 32bit?
I thought by now we would have seen the last of 32bit boxes, but it appears that the A95X Pro is one that still uses it. The question is, how will it affect the performance of the box? This is the specs of the box.
- CPU: Amlogic S905W Cortex A53,Quad Core
- GPU: Penta Core Mali-450
- RAM: 2G
- RAM Type: DDR3
- ROM: 16G
- WiFi: Single Band 2.4GHz
- Max Extended Capacity: TF card up to 64GB (not included)
In the AIDA64 hardware information app showed that the CPU runs up to 1.2GHz and it has support for only 32bit ABIs which this box can only run 32bit applications. But the question is, how many apps are there out there that a 64bit?
Features Voice Search
If you look at the top of the A95X Pro, you would notice a large microphone icon which is there to indicate that the box has voice search and voice command features. Included in your purchase is a wireless Bluetooth voice remote control with no air mouse feature. The voice remote works really well because it comes with its own USB dongle receiver. The user interface is built on Android TV OS 7.1.2 Nougat, which brings together the whole voice search and voice commands feature.
Features Root switch
Now here is where the A95X Pro gets innovative. TV boxes are usually rooted or not rooted, but the A95X pro can enjoy the best of both worlds. In the advanced setting area, there is a manual control to switch the root access on or off if you so please. This opens up a door for a host of things you can do on this box .
Root and DRM Support Netflix HD
To explain this, first I would like to state that the A95X Pro has Google Widevine Level 1 support with HDCP encryption. This is necessary for Netflix to play in HD and 4K quality. Out of the box Netflix does not work, but after the 4 or more wireless updates, Netflix which is locked in the root of the box, plays in HD quality. But you cannot have root access and DRM support for Netflix at the same time, or can you? I don’t know how they’ve done it, but the A95X Pro is rooted and at the same time it has the necessary DRM support for Netflix to play in HD.
Streaming side-loaded APKs
The A95X Pro TV box and play YouTube videos in 4K quality, and you can install any amount of movie streaming APKs and stream free movies and TV shows for unlimited streams of entertainment. The only issue I had with the APKs is that toy cannot find these APKs on the Android TV OS play store. You have to search and download the APK file format of these apps either directly to the box via Chrome browser, or download them on your PC or MAc and install them on the box via flash drive or SD card. I installed the latest set of movie streaming APKs and they all worked well. I also installed Kodi, but Kodi is not what it used to be. I prefer the APKs.
Performance Benchmarks
- Antutu – 25532
- GeekBench 4 – 496 single-core / 1382 milti-core
- Ice Storm Extreme – 3253
- Ram Copy – 2280MB/s
- Rom Speed – 31MB/s/16MB/s
- WiFi Speed – WiFi 25MB / LAN 35MB Download on 40MB Internet Package
- Temperature – 45°C Really low of a TV Box
4K playback
The were however, some areas where the 32bit issue kicked in and this area was in 4K video playback. I tested the box with the highest form of 4K video quality which is 4K videos at 60fps 10bit HDR in either mpeg4, mkv, and ts formats. At this very high frame rate the box could not play any of them. I then play 4K videos at half the frame rate at 29.97fps, and the box was able to play them with ease.
3D Gaming with Keymapping
The the 3D gaming graphics rendering test the A95X Pro pulled out another trick. It somehow managed to play the games Mortal Kombat X, GT Racing 2, and FIFA 16 soccer better than the box in my previous review. Now if you know me and Android games I love to use a key-mapping apps to play touchscreen gamed on Android TV boxes. I was really pleased to see that my key mapping app worked perfectly on this box, and hence my gaming experience was great.
Final Thoughts
The A95X Pro in my opinion is a great budget TV box to buy. It does not have all the super high-end hardware, but it does have cool innovative programming to make up for that. I personally like the at the box has a root access switch and it can play games with key-mapping capability. The 4K video playback is not a big issue for me, I cannot say for others, however, I was able to watch movies upon movies in this little box and it does not overheat. I think that has to do with the fact this is one of the thinnest TV boxes on the market. I’m seeing a Plus version to box so I guess it’s going to be something to look forward to.
