NEO U9-H With Voice

I live in an Apple ecosystem, so the best way to fully enjoy home entertainment with library (music/photos/movies) integration, loads of free and paid online streaming content, and a customized user experience was with an Android TV box.Amazon and Apple media boxes just didn't cut it for me.Lots of research led me to Minix Neo U9-H, and for the price and high specs, it was an easy leap of faith from the confines of Apple. I soon discovered a few methods of combining the two platforms. For example, a Google Store app called AirPin(Pro) was preinstalled and once activated, integrated nicely under Apple's AirPlay tab. There are many very familiar and some cross-platform mostly free apps available, and if you know anything about home networking, then ES File Explorer (preinstalled) will help you get connected. There's even cloud service options and access to your own personal cloud (NAS) if you research further in the explorer app.The Minix has some unique hardware features, and there is an online forum, YouTube content, and website reviews that will help with the learning curve.Be mindful that Minix features a new voice control remote (A-3), that does not come with the box. You will receive the basic remote, which will not serve your needs in the long run. Be absolutely certain of your purchase and spring for the A-2 or the A-3 later, if you just want the box. Trust me, you will be glad you did.

I am a regular user of Minix. I know that they deliver the best TV boxes in the market right now. I own a Minix x8-h plus and a Windows 10 Minix z83-4. Now I got this U9-h because I wanted to replace the x8-h plus.I received the box 1 week ago and I have been using it heavily with complete satisfaction.I am a cord cutter. I use kodi and multiple Apk's on this device and everything is running smoothly. I have a 4k TV and I compared this device to the other 2 Minix devices.This device is the best one I have ever seen especially in running 4k content.As compared to the u1 this U9-h has Android 6 is also super cool cause u can install apps on the SD card. So I inserted a 64 GB Sd card into the slot and now I have an android machine with 2gb of Ram and 80 gb of storage for the apps (native 16 + 64 sd card)I also used the A3 remote and I compared it to the A2 lite I already have. I really enjoyed the A3 with its voice commands.So to summarize let's see what are the pros and cons:-Pros:- Fast- Easily updated- Best 4k ever- Android 6- A3 mouse with voice commandsCons :- Missing USB 3 port- 4GB of Ram would be nice.- Minix should get rid of the antenna

Bought this unit and the Minix Neo A3 a couple weeks back. Right out of the box the supplied remote did not work. Disappointment! Fortunately I purchased the A3 which I quickly got use to; works like a dream. The U9-H itself has been a bit of a let down. It locks up and freezes often and the only way to restart it is to unplug the power cable then reconnect. I may have to do a factory reset and try again reloading everything. If the unit still locks up after that, I will be shipping it back to Amazon for replacement. It is supposed to be a great unit from all the reviews I've read so will give it another chance. Will keep everyone updated on how this develops.Six month update: After some firmware updates from Minix, the unit works almost flawlessly. The only issue currently being experienced is an intermittent issue with the wireless connection. I've not yet tried a static IP as recommended in the Minix forum but will experiment later. Overall, I am very happy with the Minix unit and would definitely recommend it!!!

I'll start with a reality check, even if my comments come out unpopular to the fanboys out there: curve your expectations; most android boxes manufacturers use forked Android versions that are not fully optimized and their firmware is not always the best (and since their bootloaders are unlocked and the Android versions not certified by Android, the device will NOT be certified under Google Play Store, so you won't have access to certain apps like Netflix, although you can side-load Netflix, but sometimes the apps go down and you have to re-download new versions to solve errors). Although, I must say, out of all Android boxes I've tried this is definitely the best: constant firmware releases fixing bugs and a very active online community always on top of glitches and helping the MINIX software developing team release quick and constant patches that continue to improve device performance so that's a major plus for any new emerging technology. I used the device for a while with the stock firmware and I could definitely notice performance improvements as I updated to new firmware versions (you can do that with a nice app made by MINIX that automatically installs the firmware OTA packages so you don't have to mess around with Android ADB). That said, you will notice some apps crashing (especially during 1st startup right after installing them) and getting long loading times. For example: Flipboard (news app), ASUS AiCloud, most weather apps (1Weather and Weather timeline work well but the many other popular ones crash immediately), email, calendar, etc. but after a few crashed they will work a bit better. One thing that I liked is that the launchers usually work well, which was surprising (i.e. I use Nova Launcher Prime and it works flawlessly, especially the widgets and settings shortcuts).In terms of hardware specs, I think this is one of the better Android boxes out there with decent hardware specs for the price. Just wished it had a bit more RAM so that it could compete more with the Nvidia Shield in that aspect (the CPU and GPU are also just a bit behind Nvidia Shield's but performance is ok overall, at a good fraction of the cost of the Shield, and it comes with a much much nicer controller than the Shield). You notice some lag and slow loading times when you have several apps open so at least 4GB of RAM could improve performance (although performance also depends on how well coded the Android fork version is). Also, it could include at least 32GB or even 64GB of internal memory, but since it has an SD card slot for adopted memory, 16GB is not so bad. Gaming performance is not bad but it doesn't compete with Nvidia Shield (although the Shield is aimed for gamers, both PC and Android gamers so better GPU performance in the Shield is expected).USB 3.0 definitely would've been a nice addition (Nvidia Shield has 2 Type A USB 3.0 ports), especially when playing high bit rate, 60fps, 4K movies from external hard drives or when just moving lots of small files around from external into internal and vice versa (copying files from internal memory into PC via microUSB OTG port is pretty slow since it's only USB 2.0).USB-C charging and data port would also be nice but that would be a bit overkill for this price range IMO.The dual band 802.11 ac wifi antena + chip and ethernet chips are really good and provide the fastest speeds compared to other Android boxes out there and is super reliable: the range and reliability is as good as in my Android flagship (LG V20). I can stream 30GB+, very high bitrate, 1080p and UHD Blu-Ray rips (mkv format) via Asus AiCloud app from my Win10 PC to the MINIX and it works super well thanks to the 200+ Mbps downlink speeds.The A3 controller is also very well, feels very premium (material construction)and the buttons are well placed and functional. One thing that MINIX has to add to this controller is the mutlimedia skip forward/backwards button pair. Currently, the play forward/backward buttons DON'T skip songs but only fast-forward or rewind videos in a very limited number of apps (i.e. side-loaded Netflix, Spotify, Hulu), so if you're listening to music in the background you have to switch to the app to change songs (or use the pulldown bar). Also, a mute button would be nice. Another super nice addition would be to add configurable buttons to launch favorite apps (I know that's hard to code in Android, especially with different launchers available but it's certainly doable)Overall verdict:One of the best Android boxes out there with some frequent glitchy performance but issues being solved as new firmware updates roll out. Good price-performance ratio and very nice alternative to the more restricted Android TV OS that comes in Nvidia Shield, which is pricier but does offer slightly better gaming and processing performance since Android TV OS is very lightweight and can handle multi-tasking much better.So, if you want more of a "pure stock android" experience and the freedom to install more functional apps, and don't mind trading off some performance for that freedom, then the MINIX U9-H is a good buy.