Xiaomi Global Vice President Hugo Barra has revealed that the Chinese company and Google will be teaming up at the I/O Conference. The former Google executive also tweeted an image that hinted that Xioami will be unveiling an Android TV box.
The speculations turned out to be true, as Xiaomi unveiled a new version of the Mi Box that looks to challenge other set-top boxes such as the Apple TV.
The new Mi Box will be powered by Google's Android TV 6.0, can support 4K at 60 frames per second and, perhaps most importantly, will be coming to the United States. Earlier versions of Xiaomi's Mi Box were only made available overseas, did not run Android TV and only supported HD video and not 4K video.
The Mi Box will pack a quad-core ARM Processor, a Mali 450 GPU, 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of expandable storage through USB. The device will also have Google Cast capabilities built-in that will allow users to display content on their TVs from Android and iOS devices.
Included with the Mi Box is a Bluetooth remote equipped with voice recognition technology, which will allow users to use their voice to search for content, ask questions about what they are watching and launch apps. It also functions as a game controller for Android games, though Xiaomi will also be releasing a separate Mi Game Controller that will be compatible with the Mi Box and other Android-powered devices.
The planned launch of the Mi Box in the United States highlights Xiaomi's global ambition, as it offsets the slow down in smartphone sales with smart home devices.
Details on when the Mi Box will become available and the price that it will be sold at have not yet been revealed, though, but Xiaomi did say that it is working closely with Google for the launch of the device in the U.S.
