H96 Max H616 is a new budget TV box for 2021 under $35, equipped with a new H616 chipset and Android 10, which provides comfortable operation of most applications and live broadcasting services and allows you to output video at a resolution of up to 6K at 60 fps, also comes with a design Modern and elegant, so if you are tired of your old TV and want to make it a smart TV at the lowest price or are looking for a TV box with new specifications and an attractive price, you have found what you want with the H96 Max H616. let us continue the review for depth analysis of the pros and cons of this TV Box.
H96 Max H616 TV BOX Features
- CPU: Allwinner H616 Quad Core ARM Cortex A53
- GPU: G31MP2 Supports OpenGL ES 3.2/2.0/1.0, Vulkan 1.1, OpenCL 2.0
- Memory: 2GB/4GB DDR3
- FLASH: 16G/32GB/64GB eMMC
- Wifi: 2.4GHz+5GHz with BT4.0
- OS: Android 10
Design And Build Quality:
The design applied in the H96 Max H616 is ordinary and not impressive comes in a full square plastic box in black color with a smooth surface and H96 Max logo on the top with some embellishment, in the front, we find an LCD panel with LED lamps Blue displays the time and network status, and from the bottom, there are the vents for better air circulation.
For connectors on the side, there are not many: 2x USB 2.0, TF cards slot, HDMI 2.0, AV Audio port, RJ45 Ethernet port (10 / 100M), DC 5V / 2A, AV port, It’s disappointing not having a USB 3.0 for high speed.
Under The Hood:
H96 Max H616 Tv Box powered by new H616 SoC chipset for more efficiency with Quad-Qore Cortex-A53 at 1.5GHz and good manufacturing quality at 12 nm. Regarding the GPU, come with Mali-G31 MP2 which supports H.265 decoding up to 6K 60fps and OpenGL ES 3.2/2.0/1.0, Vulkan 1.1, OpenCL 2.0 its means that is not good for gaming in 2021.
However, it will be good at running games with low or medium settings and can play video content up to 4K, and this is done with the help of 2GB or 4GB DDR3 RAM for greater multitasking capabilities and provides excellent results in navigating and running applications. And storage capacity, it has 3 options of 16GB / 32GB / 64GB eMMC, is not the best thing, but can be expanded with a TF card up to 64GB or linked directly with an external hard disk.
Connectivity:
For connectivity, this box contains 2.4GHz / 5GHz WIFI IEEE 802.11 b / g / n / ac dual-band, the network is acceptable but not the most stable, and has a 100MB LAN port best and more reliable than WI-FI and provides even better data transmission. And have Bluetooth 4.0 is acceptable at this price point, not the latest generation but its works well to connect joysticks, audio systems, headphones, and other devices. Also, you can connect any wireless keyboard and mouse.
Remote can’t navigate on some Apps, It is a common issue for almost all android tv boxes that hard to navigate on some Apps with the remote, as these Apps are mainly provided for tablets and phones that have a touch screen. I suggest purchasing the iPazzPort mini Wireless Keyboard/Remote, It will make it much easier navigating the screen in apps that aren’t remote-control friendly.
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Software:
H96 Max H616 TV Box equipped with Android 10.0 OS to provide you with more efficient and safe operation and better compatibility with latest apps, thus better user experience, OS is pre-rooted to access more permissions and install apps that require root activation with the ability to switch enable/disable.
In the beginning, it’s fast to boot up, it will not take more than a few seconds to take you directly to the launcher with no setup wizard. The launcher is clean with a flat design that is familiar to many devices, On the home screen, you look at 6 shortcuts that are: Chrome browser, Youtube app, built-in APPS, Play Store, Settings, My files, that you cannot remove, which is a downside since android is all about being customizable according to what the user likes and what makes him comfortable. But, you still get an area for customizable shortcuts right above the previous one, where you can add as many shortcuts as you please, there also is a big and clear widget for date and time display.
Unfortunately, What I find missing is the lack of a navigation bar and status bar for easy navigation and multitasking but, you can try an alternative application for this matter. Also, does not contain Google Assistant for the voice control function.
Applications:
H96 Max H616 supports Google services and Android 10 it allows to you install some app that is available in the play store because is not a certified Android TV box don’t get access to the full Google Play Store, has pre-installed Apps like the Chrome browser, file manager, Firefox browser, Miracast, Netflix, Aptoide app store, KDPlayer, Google Play Store, and YouTube.
Even if you do not find some of the applications that you need on Google Play, you can use a third-party store like Aptoide app store, all you have to do is search for them on Google from any browser and download them in APK format, and the matter is done.
Also, for those who like to send their cell phones and tablets, the box supports that but the transmission quality is not the best.
H96 Max H616 TV BOX Performance:
The H96 Max H616 TV Box offers you a good solution if you are a fan of series and movies and like to enjoy the highest possible resolution, then this device will give you a resolution of 6K and compatibility with most programs that display video content with the ability to play games for a great experience.
Playback:
H96 Max H616 Supports a 6K 60FPS video out via HDMI 2.0 port which provides you high definition viewing and fluent video playing, making it the highest resolution signal available for home movies to let you watch the 6K movie smoothly, every detail of the screen is lucidity and with high Color Saturation and excellent image quality, no latency, or stuttering, that is the power of this device.
When playing some 4k video samples from a USB Drive on a USB 2.0 port via the included Media Player, it is shown on 4k 60 FPS, it little struggled to play smoothly, however, on 2k at 30 FPS played ultra-smooth and very nice.
H96 Max H616 Streaming Service:
As it’s known, it’s not possible to watch paid services like Netflix and amazon prime in 4k because these applications requiring specific licensing, This means it don’t have the DRM support required to stream HD or 4K from Netflix or other streaming services. And this is where the strength of Android TV OS, which you cannot find in the Chinese TV box.
Nevertheless, you can still enjoy Netflix or Amazon Prime and all other streaming services at a smooth 480p. However, IPTV services remain one of the solutions that you will find on this tv box and support any high resolutions you want, and there are also other programs similar to Netflix for free.
YouTube Quality:
When you go to YouTube, you can play videos on 1440P 30FPS, and this is the maximum limit to enjoy high quality without freezing and with smooth performance, although playing videos on 1080p will be more than enough. However, this box has a maximum refresh rate ranges from 40 to 60 fps on average in HD / FULL HD.
By the way, the YouTube app is pre-installed with a version compatible with this TV Box, so you should avoid updating or removing it. And the box does not have an HDR display, Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmos, or DTS audio output.
Play Games:
The H96 Max H616 has a Mali-G31 MP2 GPU, even though it is a relatively weak GPU, tests confirm that it runs games that require little to medium graphic processing very smoothly and with no noticeable lagging. Despite the results, this TV Box is not for gaming, and because of that, you will notice high temperatures, this will reduce its lifespan in the long run, and may also negatively affect the overall performance of this device, so I would recommend not to use it for gaming, precisely not high graphics demanding games such PUBG or Call of Duty.
When you put this H96 Max H616 under pressure its temperature can be reached 65ºC or more, causing a performance little drop. But on normal use like watch movies, the temperature is acceptable between 55ºC – 60ºC And I find that the cooling system is unpretentious on this box because the body has some ventilation holes, which provide the necessary cooling of the tv box. I recommend using a cooling fan on the bottom for better performance.
Note: The version used in the review is 4GB Ram and 64GB eMMC, and 2GB of RAM is not enough.
Conclusion:
Finally, for watching movies and TV shows, the H96 Max H616 TV Box will not disappoint you. But for Android games, it is not the most recommended box, since its GPU is not very powerful and is not suitable for use in applications for paid streaming platforms such as Netflix. This is expected in most Chinese devices. With that, you can enjoy 480p quality in addition to it being found in simple games, The launcher remains fast, but it lacks a lot of things, the most important of which is the status bar and the navigation bar, However, the specifications and features were at the required level compared to a cheap TV box. so I wouldn’t say it is the best budget TV box ever, but at such a price you get a fair offer.
H96 Max H616 Price And Where To Buy:
The H96 Max H616 is currently available on Banggood and Gearbest and Aliexpress store for a very good price So, don’t miss out on this great deal. And to view its price or buy it, you can access the offer by clicking on the store icon.
There are Three Options for H96 Max H616:
- 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM.
- 4GB RAM + 32GB ROM.
- 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM.
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Package Include
- H96 Max H616 TV Box
- IR Remote Control
- HDMI Cable
- Power Adapter
- User Manual
H96 Max H616 Specification
| CPU | Allwinner H616 Quad Core ARM Cortex A53 | |
| GPU | G31MP2 Supports OpenGL ES 3.2/2.0/1.0, Vulkan 1.1, OpenCL 2.0 | |
| RAM | 2/4GB DDR3L | |
| ROM | 16/32/64GB eMMC | |
| WiFi | 2.4GHz + 5GHz | |
| Bluetooth | BT4.0 | |
| I/O | ||
| 1 x HDMI | HDMI 2.0a up to 4K@60fps | |
| 1 x AV | 480i/576i standard definition output; CVBS output, supporting PAL/NTSC | |
| 2 x USB | USB 2.0 | |
| 1 x IR Reciver | Remote Reciver Connect | |
| 1 x RJ45 | Ethernet Interface; Support 10/100M | |
| 1 x TF Card | Support 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB | |
| OS | Android 10.0 | |
| Power | DC 5V/2A Power ON: blue | |
| Support | Support USB, pre-install APK | |
| Certification | CE, Rohs, Fcc and Health test reports, safe shipment reports, etc. | |
| Accessories | Power Adapter, HDMI cable, IR Remote controller, Gift box | |
| Language | English French German Spanish Italian etc multilateral languages | |
| Image | JPG, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIF | |
| Video | Video Engine (AVE) with dedicated hardware decoders and encodersSupport multi-video decoder up to 4Kx2K@60fps+1x1080P@60fps Supports multiple “secured” video decoding sessions and simultaneous decoding and encoding Video Decoding – VP9 Profile 2 up to 4Kx2K@60fps – H.265 Main10@L5.1 up to 4Kx2K@60fps,or 6K@30fps – AVS2-P2 Profile up to 4Kx2K@60fps – H.264 BP/MP/HP@L4.2 up to 4Kx2K@30fps – H.263 BP up to 1080P@60fps – MPEG-4 SP/ASP@L5 up to 1080P@60fps (ISO-14496) – MPEG-2 MP/HL up to 1080P@60fps (ISO-13818) – MPEG-1 MP/HL up to 1080P@60fps (ISO-11172) – Xvid up to 1080P@60fps – Sorenson Spark up to 1080P@60fps – VP8 up to 1080P@60fps – AVS/AVS+ JiZhun Profile up to 1080P@60fps – WMV9/VC1 SP/MP/AP up to 1080P@60fps – JPEG HFIF file format up to 45MPPS – Multiple language and multiple format sub-title video support – MJPEG and JPEG unlimited pixel resolution decoding (ISO/IEC-10918) – Supports JPEG thumbnail, scaling, rotation and transition effects – Supports *.mkv, *.wmv, *.mpg, *.mpeg, *.dat, *.avi, *.mov, *.iso, *.mp4, *.rm and *.jpg file formats | |
| Audio | Supports MP3, AAC, WMA, RM, FLAC, Ogg and programmable with 7.1/5.1 down-mixing Audio Codec -Two audio digital-to-analog(DAC) channels -Support 16-bit and 20-bit sample rate -8kHz to 192kHz DAC sample rate -95+/-2dB SNR@A-weight, -80+/-dB THD+N, output Level more than 0.55Vrms -One 128*24-bits FIFO for DAC data transmit built-in TDM/PCM/I2S ports with TDM/PCM mode up to 384kHz x 32bits x 8ch or 96kHz x 32bits x 32ch and I2S mode up to 384kHz x 32bits x 8ch Digital microphone PDM input with programmable CIC, LPF & HPF, support up to 8 DMICs Built-in stereo audio DAC Supports concurrent dual audio stereo channel output with a combination of analog+PCM or I2S+PCM | |
| Dimensions and Weight | Product weight: 145g Product size (L x W x H): 9.00 x 9.00 x 1.70 cm |
