In recent years, TV BOX devices have become indispensable in every home and have become with different shapes, specifications, and prices, and the X96 series is one of the most famous as it offers you the best value between powerful hardware and the cheap price, and one of the latest TV boxes in this series is X96 MAX Plus, which comes with some great features, such as the new Amlogic S905X3 processor, which offers good performance in watching video content up to 8K resolution and by supports from 2 or 4 GB RAM and a storage memory 16/32/64 GB and there is more than this At a price not exceeding $ 30, in short, MAX Plus is designed to turn your regular TV into a smart one. this why I wrote this review for you to know the rest of the details.
X96 MAX Plus Features
- CPU: Amlogic S905X3 64-bit Quad-Core ARM® Cortex™ A55.
- GPU: G31™ MP2.
- Android 9.0 OS.
- RAM/ROM: 2/4GB, 16/32/64GB.
- Support HD: 8K@24fps, 4K @60fps, UHD, HDR+.
- 2.4G+5.8GHz Dual Wifi, BT4.1.
- Support Firmware Online Upgrade.
Design:
The design of the X96 MAX Plus is simple and elegant, just a square black plastic box with a curvature at the corners, is very compact with dimensions 7.70 x 7.70 x 1.70 cm for 150 g, and although its plastic, it has a good manufacturing quality and looks solid, and it has a logo of the X96 MAX Plus in white on the top, As for on the front, there is a blue LED display that displays the time and status of the Wi-Fi, HD resolution, etc.
On the right side, there is nothing, the rest of the two sides there the ports that include: 1x USB3.0 port, 1x USB2.0, 1x Micro SD slot, 1x Optical, 1x AV jack, and 1x HDMI2.0.
Under the Hood:
The SoC used in the X96 MAX Plus is the Amlogic S905X3 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex A55 1.9GHz, which is known for its good manufacturing quality, so we see it in many modern TV box devices such as the HK1 X3, VONTAR X3, X99 MAX Plus, either the Mali-G31 MP2 GPU, which delivers good performance in such devices without forgetting the 2 GB RAM DDR3 or 4 GB for greater multitasking capabilities and provides excellent navigation and application launching results. As for the storage capacity, it has 3 options 16GB / 32GB 64GB eMMC If not enough, there is a TF card slot for expansion up to 128GB.
As for the connectivity, this box has 2.4Ghz/5.8Ghz dual-band WIFI IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac in a version with 4gb RAM and the 2 GB version he has just 2.4Ghz, But there is still Gigabit wired LAN on both versions, Which performs very well.
in addition to Bluetooth 4.1 is not the latest generation but is acceptable at this price point, And it is only found in a version with 4gb RAM and the 2 GB version he does not have.
Software:
The X96 MAX Plus android tv box equipped with the Latest Android 9.0 OS to offers you a more efficient, safer operation, better compatibility of the latest applications, so better user experience, and the OS is pre-rooted to access more permission and install applications that require root activation but don’t have root switch.
The UI ( interface ) is beautiful, simple, and fast And it has Android TVs look, what I find missing is the absence of a navigation bar and status bar for easy navigation and multitasking. this firmware allows for the changing of wallpapers but on the default home page, the wallpaper cannot be changed.
Max Plus is compatible with alternative launchers like ADW launches 2, its the most popular the alternative launcher that is compatible with the Amlogic S905X3 chipset, it is fully functional with all features working like drag and drop shortcuts and long click menu popups.
Also, the tv box comes with pre-installed apps you are going to need such as the browser, Netflix, Miracast, KD Player, Youtube, etc. And supports Google services and allows you to install any app that is available in the play store or in a third-party store or you can use Google browser to search the apk app, then download and install the app you want.
And some applications are pre-installed once updated it might not work, so we do not recommend updating it.
Note: Miracast doesn’t support airplay on IOS.
The firmware update is necessary to solve some possible problems or upgrade the system. When you turn on this tv box at the first time, after connecting to the internet, please click the “FOTA Update” app on the home page, if it’s not the latest firmware, please follow the prompts to update it.
X96 MAX Plus Performance:
The X96 MAX Plus 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 4K and compatibility with most programs that display video content with the ability to play games for a great experience.
Video playback:
When playing some 4k video samples from a USB Drive on USB 3.0 port via the included Kodi Media Player, it is shown on 4k 60 FPS, it little struggled to play smoothly, however, on 4k at 30 FPS played ultra-smooth and very nice, And this result applies to YouTube, And if you encounter a problem that the highest quality is 1080p, I suggest that you update the application.
As it’s known, it is not possible to watch paid services like Netflix and amazon prime in 4k because these applications requiring specific licensing, and this TV Boxes don’t fall into one of these three device categories: Streaming media players, Smartphones, and tablets, and android TVs. This means it don’t have the DRM support required to stream HD or 4K from Netflix or other streaming services. Nevertheless, you can still enjoy Netflix 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 high resolutions, and there are also other programs similar to Netflix.
Gaming:
The graphics processing unit in the X96 MAX Plus is based on the Mali-G31 MP2, which offers modest performance on medium games like Asphalt 8, and this is at a resolution of 1080p because at 4K the situation will be disastrous, as for powerful games like PUBG you will be able to play but on low settings. This is why I do not recommend trying strong games because it will cause a greater load on the processor, which will release more heat, reaching 80ºC or more, causing a huge performance drop. But on normal use like watch movies, the temperature is acceptable between 40ºC and 60ºC.
And I find that the cooling system is weak on this TV Box, but this is expected at such a price, but this problem can be solved by providing a cooling fan for the TV box
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.
X96 MAX Plus Price And Where To Buy:
The X96 MAX Plus is currently available on Gearbest for $69.00 and Aliexpress store for just $27.88, And this price for the TV box version with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, and of course, you can choose the storage capacity and RAM you want from the available versions:
- 2GB+16GB+2.4G Wifi+100M( No Bluetooth).
- 4GB+32GB+2.4G&5GHz Dual Wifi+BT4.1+1000M.
- 4GB+64GB+2.4G&5GHz Dual Wifi+BT4.1+1000M.
So, if you are looking for a TV Box that meets great overall performance at a budget price, without the need to run licensed streaming services in HD quality, the X96 MAX Plus is a great choice. To view its price or buy it, you can access the offer by clicking on the store icon.
And I will be grateful to you if I purchase through this link because the company will give me a commission on that and this helps me to bring more devices for review and development from the site and improve the quality of the reviews and thank you in advance.
Package Contents
- X96 MAX Plus TV Box
- Power Adapter
- HDMI Cable
- Remote Control
- User Manual
X96 MAX Plus Specification
| General | Model: X96 MAX+ Type: TV Box |
| Hardware | System: Android 9.0 CPU: Amlogic S905X3 64-bit quad-core ARM® Cortex™ A55 GPU: G31™ MP2 RAM: 2GB/4GB DDR3 eMMC: 16GB/32GB/64GB |
| Communication | WiFi: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac, 2GB 16GB-2.4G Wifi or 4GB-2.4G&5.8GHz Wifi Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.1 only for 4G+32G/64G Model, not for 2G+16G Model LAN: 10/100/1000Mbps |
| Media | Decoder Format: H.263,H.264,H.265,HD MPEG4 Video format: AVI,DAT,ISO,MKV,MP4,MPEG,RM,WMV Audio format: AAC,FLAC,MP3,OGG,RM,WMA Photo Format: BMP,GIF,JPEG,JPG,PNG,TIFF Support 5.1 Surround Sound Output: Yes |
| Interface | AV: 480i/576i standard definition output DC: 5V/2A; LED indicator, Working: Blue; Standby: Red HDMI 2.1: Support HD CEC, Dynamic HDR, and 4Kx2K@60 max resolution output LAN: Ethernet Interface, Support 10/100M OPTICAL: IR: Remote Receiver Connect TF card: Support 4GB/8GB/16GB/32GB/64GB USB: 1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0 |
| Other Features | Power Supply: Charge Adapter Antenna: Yes Camera: Without Other Functions: DLNA, ISO Files, Miracast Power Consumption.: 6W Applications: Online: Browse all video websites, support Netflix, Hulu, Flixster, Youtube, etc. Apps: Apps download freely form the android market, amazon app store, etc. Medium: Local Media playback, Support HDD, U Disk, TF Card. Talk online: Support SKYPE video call, MSN, Facebook, Twitter, QQ, etc Others: Email, office suit, etc. Support DLNA function Support 2.4G wireless mouse/keyboard |
| Power | Power Type: External Power Adapter Mode Remote Controller Battery: 2 x AAA Battery ( not included ) |
| Dimensions&Weight | Product weight: 0.150 kg Product size (L x W x H): 7.70 x 7.70 x 1.70 cm |
