After a long absence since our review of TV Boxes, we are back with the new upgrade of X96 Max Plus under the name X96 Max Plus Ultra, For those who don’t know X96 Series is one of the leading brands in the manufacture of budget TV Box that provided us with many devices in different shapes and specifications and at cheap price.
This Tv Box comes with an improved look, better hardware, and features. It’s equipped with a new generation of Amlogic S905X4 quad-core SoC and Mali-G31 MP2 GPU, in addition to 4GB RAM and up to 64GB storage, and powered by Android 11, all of this allows you to watch and enjoy thousands of 8K movies and series and even games, so it’s time to talk about this TV Box and see if it is worth investing in it and what are its advantages and disadvantages.
X96 Max Plus Ultra Features
- Amlogic S905x4 Quad-Core
- ARM Mali G31 MP2 GPU
- OS Android 11
- 4GB SDRAM & 64GB eMMC
- Video Output 8K With AV1
- 100Mb Ethernet Port
- WIFI Dual-band 2.4GHz/5.0GHz
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Design And Build Quality
The design of the X96 Max Plus Ultra is simple and elegant, just a square black plastic box with a curvature at the corners is very compact with dimensions of 7.70*7.70*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+ Ultra 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.
For connectors on the side, Typical types included in most boxes, are the DC port output, 100M Ethernet, 1x USB3.0 port, 1x USB2.0, 1x Micro SD slot, 1x Optical, 1x AV jack & IR, and finally, an HDMI 2.0 that allows you to output video with a resolution of up to 8K at 60 fps.
Under The Hood
The SoC used in the X96 Max Plus Ultra is Amlogic S905X4 64-bit Quad-core ARM Cortex A55 2.0GHz, This processor is known for its good manufacturing quality at 12nm and gives you 30 percent more performance than the previous generation compared to the S905X3 found in most TV box devices. Also, It’s designed for high-performance devices and supports AV1 decoding which is now mandatory for popular streaming services.
The Mali-G31 MP2 graphics chip with a maximum frequency of 800MHz and a power of 2.6 Gpix/s. It has OpenGL ES 3.2 support and can handle games like PUBG. without forgetting the 4GB RAM for greater multitasking capabilities and provides excellent results in navigating and running applications. And storage capacity, it has 2 options of 32GB, or 64GB eMMC and there is a TF card slot to support expansion up to 64GB.
Connectivity
For connectivity, the X96 Max Plus Ultra box contains a 2.4GHz / 5GHz WIFI IEEE 802.11 b / g / n / ac dual-band for faster data transmission, and a better streaming experience also comes with 100Mb LAN, So the network is acceptable but not the most stable. So I recommend 5GHz which is more reliable and provides even better data transmission. And has Bluetooth 4.1 is not the latest generation but works well. However, a TV box at this price would have been better if it had version 5.0.
Remote can’t navigate on some Apps, It is a common issue for almost all android tv boxes that are 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 to navigate the screen in apps that aren’t remote-control friendly.
Software
One of the strengths of X96 Max Plus Ultra TV Box is that it is equipped with a new Android 11 operating system to provide you with a more efficient and secure operation, better compatibility with the latest applications, and thus a better user experience, the operating system is pre-configured to access more permissions and install applications that require root activation with the ability to 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 such as A95x F3 Air II, in which the environment is adapted to the TV screen, offering a similar arrangement of elements as Android TV. On the home screen, you look at many shortcuts that are: Google Play, Netflix, Youtube, Google Chrome, AirScreen, and more. which that you can remove or replace, and this is the positive side of android for the possibility of customization according to what the user likes and what makes him comfortable. However, has the option to change the background, and there also is a clear widget for the date and time. And 3 buttons on the bottom, for Settings, Apps, and WIFI.
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. The overall performance is very good, we can move smoothly and quickly between menus.
Applications
Android 11 allows the installation of apps from Google Play Store and contains pre-installed apps like Chrome and Firefox browser, file manager, Tubi, Miracast, Netflix, Prime Video, Google Play Store, YouTube, and more.
X96 Max Plus Ultra supports Google services and allows you to 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, or you can use a third-party store or use Google browser to search the apk app, then download and install the app you want.
X96 Max Plus Ultra Performance
The X96 Max Plus Ultra 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
X96 Max Plus Ultra supports 8K 60fps video output via HDMI 2.1 port which brings you high definition viewing and fluent video playback, making it the highest resolution signal available for home movies to let you watch 4K movies smoothly, every detail of the screen is clear and with high color saturation and quality excellent picture, no lag or stuttering, that’s the strength of this device.
When playing some 4k video samples from a USB Drive on a USB 3.0 port via the included Media player, it’s shown on 4k at 30-60 FPS with ultra-smooth, and High quality.
X96 Max Plus Ultra Streaming Service
As it’s known, it’s not possible to watch paid services like Netflix and amazon prime in 4k because these applications require specific licensing, This means they 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 the Android TV OS, which you cannot find in the Chinese TV box.
Nevertheless, you can still enjoy Netflix and all other streaming services at a smooth 480p (Basic Quality). 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 for free.
YouTube Quality
When you go to YouTube, you can play videos on 2160P 60FPS, and this is the maximum limit to enjoy high quality but with freezing and with smooth performance, although playing videos on 1080p will be more than enough. However, this box has a maximum refresh rate ranging from 40 to 60 fps on average in HD / FULL HD.
Play Games
The graphics processing in the X96 Max Plus Ultra is based on the Mali-G31 MP2, which offers good performance on medium games like Asphalt 9, and this is at a resolution of 1080p because at 4K the situation will be disastrous, as for powerful games like PUBG or Call of Duty you will be able to play with Medium settings, that is why I think that the rest of the games will not face any problems and the gameplay will be smooth for the best gaming experience.
When you put this tv box under pressure its temperature can be reached 75ºC or more, causing a performance little drop. But on normal use like watching movies, the temperature is acceptable between 55ºC – 65ºC And I find that the cooling system is fine on this box because the body has a big number of ventilation holes, which provide the necessary cooling of the tv box. and you can make it even lower by using a cooling fan for this purpose.
Final Verdict
In general, the X96 Max Plus Ultra is one of the best TV Box with Amlogic S905X4 release to date under 60 dollars with a great performance, especially in playing 4K videos without any problems, as for YouTube, 4K resolution may have some delay, perhaps its downsides are the lack of DRM for Netflix in 4K and this is normal, playing games was ok, The launcher remains fast and it’s good but without a status bar and the navigation bar, However, the specifications and features were at the required level compared to another TV box. So, For those confused about which TV Box to buy, or as many would ask which is the best TV Box to buy, The X96 Max Plus Ultra is deserved to be a good TV box in 2022.
X96 Max Plus Ultra Price And Where To Buy
The X96 Max Plus Ultra TV BOX is currently available on 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.
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What’s in Box?
- X96 Max Plus Ultra TV Box
- HDMI Cable
- IR Remote Control
- Power Adapter
- User Manual
X96 Max Plus Ultra Specifications
| CPU | Amlogic S905X4 |
| Architecture | Quad Core ARM Cortex A55 |
| GPU | ARM Mali-G31 MP2 |
| Architecture | OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1 support |
| RAM | 4GB |
| ROM | 32GB/64GB |
| External storage | USB2.0, USB3.0 Support |
| Micro SD card | Supported |
| Software | |
| Operating system | Android 11 |
| Language | Multi-Language |
| Multimedia | Amlogic Video Engine (AVE) with dedicated hardware decoders and encoders Support multi-video decoder up to 4*1080P@60fps Supports multiple “secured” video decoding sessions and simultaneous decoding and encoding Video/Picture Decoding VP9 Profile-2 up to 8Kx4K@24 fps H.265 HEVC MP-10@L5.1 up to 8Kx4K@24 fps AVS2-P2 Profile up to 8Kx4K@24 fps MPEG-4 ASP@L5 up to 1080P@60fps (ISO-14496) WMV/VC-1 SP/MP/AP up to 1080P@60fps AVS-P16(AVS+) /AVS-P2 JiZhun Profile up to 1080P@60fps MPEG-2 MP/HL up to 1080P@60fps (ISO-13818) MPEG-1 MP/HL up to 1080P@60fps (ISO-11172 RealVideo 8/9/10 up to 1080P@60fps Multiple languages 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, FLAC, and Ogg. |
| Image | HD JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIF |
| Network service | |
| Wi-Fi | Support WiFi IEEE 802.11 b / g / n / ac |
| Frequency | Support 2.4G and 5G |
| Antenna Type | Two external antennas |
| BT | Support BT4.X |
| Interface | |
| Charge | DC IN(5V/2A) |
| Video output | 4K*2K UHD Output, HD 1.4/2.0 |
| IR Receiver | 3.5mm Earphone jack |
| Micro SD | Support |
| USB port | 1*USB3.0 1*USB2.0 |
| Ethernet | 100M Ethernet |
