The Matricom G-Box was the first Android TV box that I ever saw, and boy did it make an impression. They continue to make Android TV boxes and accessories to this day.

Currently, I won’t consider purchasing an Android TV Box if it doesn’t include Android 8 Oreo. The X96 Max comes with Android 8.1. (not Android TV). Mecool makes several different versions of Android boxes including the KM1 which is a Google Certified TV box running Android TV.

X96 Max Plus 2 Stock Firmware (Flash File)

MXQ was an entry level Android TV box that sold extremely well in many countries. However, their support after the sale was frustrating to many of their fans. At the time of this writing, their latest device is several years old and there is no official firmware support.

At the level of WiFi connectivity the X96 Max Plus has quite good performance with its Dual Band Wifi aC adapter and its Gigabit Ethernet port that allows us to get the most out of our local network. As shortcomings we have a very basic IR control, which does not have Android navigation bars and also has a basic cooling system that does not help much to get better thermal performance.

X96 Max Plus Stock Firmware ROM (Flash File)

We start the X96 MAX by connecting it to its power adapter, it starts up automatically and we have an input animation. We arrived at the launcher by default based on squares where we can customize only the top row and the position of icons in the middle part (see video review). We have the classic apps installed by default, some streaming apps and KD Player which is a KODI version, we recommend reinstalling the official one. In this model the system works fine moving the apps, the hardware performance is correct thanks to the 4GB DDR4 RAM and the S905X2 Quad Core SoC. Before diving into this review, you should understand how a box like the X96 Max differs from other Android-based streaming devices. Himedia has always had great designs for their Android media centers. They were one of the first to have an all-metal case and connections for external hard drives in addition to their internal storage. They also have a Google-certified Android TV device.