Mecool KM2 Plus Review
Today Mecool released their latest model the Mecool KM2 Plus, and anytime there is something knew introduced into a TV Box even if it’s a minor improvement we should celebrate, because over the last couple of years advancement in SOC development for TV boxes have slowed down dramatically.
In this latest model they implemented a new CPU cooling design which is a dramatic shift in the way the manufacturer designed the SOC to Mecool from on top instead of below. Also the increased the size of the heatsink and extended externally using an aluminum plate to deliver a certain percentage increase in cooling.
The box on the whole has great performance resulting in high benchmarks even on its limited RAM and internal storage. Its one of those models that is fully Google certified with Netflix ESN certification. Something that has plagued them in the past but now they seemed to be releasing more and more models with the required certification.
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Mecool KM2 Plus Hardware
As a standard in most Amlogic S905X4 models, its CPU is an ARM cortex A55 processor and in this model it’s clocked at 2.0 GHz. It’s a 32bit architecture which means it can only run 32bit apps and games. It has 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 16GB of internal storage. While this may appear to be limited to most users I believe they will sooner or later release a 4GB 32GB model. It has dual band 2.4GHz + 5GHz Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0 technology.
KM2 I/O ports
- 1 HDMI
- 1 RJ-45 Ethernet LAN 100 Mbps
- 1 Optical audio SPDIF
- 1 AV
- 1 USB 3.0
- 1 USB 2.0
Mecool KM2 Plus Premium Streaming
The main selling point of this model is its Google certification to play premium movie streaming services in HD and 4K. Its firmware comes with Google Widevine L1 with HDCP 2.3 protection.
For those who don’t know what this means, it’s a certification gained by Google which gives the box the the rights to stream these movie services such as Netflix, Amazon prime video, and Disney+ whereby protecting these services via HDMI encryption from piracy.
Performance and Benchmarks
This model of the Mecool KM2 Plus has only 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. This means you are limited in the quantity of apps and games you can install, and what apps or games you can run depending on its RAM requirements. However surprisingly it its performance benchmarks it managed to place 27th on my chart based on its Antutu benchmark score.
- Antutu – 92,641
- Geekbench 4 – 901 single-core | 2,256 multi-core
- Ice storm extreme – 6,039
- Slingshot extreme – 381
- RAM copy speed – 3,480 MB/s
- ROM read speed – 118 MB/s
- ROM write speed – 43 MB/s
- Wi-Fi speeds – 5 GHz band 100% | 2.4GHz band 46%
- Ethernet LAN speed – 37%
Mecool KM2 Plus Pro features
- New and improved top cooling aluminum heatsink design.
- Android Google TV 11 OS Certified.
- Netflix ESN to play movies in HD/4K.
- Amlogic S905X4 4X CPU 2.0GHz DDR4 RAM.
- Mali G31 GPU w/Vulkan HDR Open GL ES 3.2.
- AV1 Video decoding.
- Built-in Google cast and Google assistant.
- Bluetooth voice remote w/ Google assistant.
- YouTube in 4K HDR AV1 Smart YouTube TV app.
- Good performance benchmarks.
- 4K HDR/AV1 videos play smoothly.
- Dolby Atmos/DTS Classic/Dolby surround.
- Google TV launcher with full playstore.
- 3D Gaming good with Vulkan support.
- Kodi and streaming APks work OK.
- Remote navigate Netflix and Apks also.
Cons
Temp sensor disabled
Limited 2GB RAM and 16GB eMMc storage
No DTS-X/HD MA/TrueHD
Lots of apps have to be sideloaded
Non GB LAN port
Final thoughts
While very pleased and excited to see its new cooling design and the implementation of a top heatsink, I am a bit disappointed the left the temperature sensor is disabled. So how are we to see how this new design affects its heat management.
I am also very pleased that the box is a fully Google certified allowing you to watch all premium movie services in HD and 4K. The limited RAM and internal storage I cannot understand why in this day and age you would still produce a box with that limitation, where the standard minimum should be 4GB 32GB.
