Xiaomi Mi Box finally getting major firmware upgrade with Oreo (Update: It's here!)

Update, June 26 2018: It looks like Xiaomi has opened the floodgates for all Mi Box owners, as Android Oreo comes to the streaming box in earnest.

The update was spotted by a U.S. redditor on the AndroidTV subreddit. However, users in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, and Portugal reported that they received Oreo too.

My personal Mi Box imported via Gearbest has also received the update (see above image), weighing in at 615.8MB. Android Oreo for the streaming box delivers the Google Assistant, an overhauled, channel-based homescreen, and a ‘Play Next’ channel for quick access to new TV episodes.

News of the Mi Box rollout comes a few weeks after NVIDIA’s Shield TV saw an Android Oreo update at the end of May. The graphics company paused the rollout, however, due to a few bugs. NVIDIA took to Twitter this week to say “no official announcement” has been made regarding the revised rollout.

Has your Mi Box received the Oreo update? Noticed any other features? Then let us know in the comments section below!

Original article, May 2 2018: The Xiaomi Mi Box (also known as the Mi Box 3) was one of the company’s more successful products in the west, owing to its cheap $69 price tag and availability via Walmart. It’s been stuck on Android 6.0 Marshmallow since its 2016 release, but it looks like the Chinese brand is pushing the update button.

According to threads on XDA-Developers and Reddit (both spotted by Android Police), several users have reported that their Android TV-powered box has been updated to Android 8.0 Oreo. In fact, one redditor reported that they received the April 2018 security update alongside the feature release, posting images as well (below).

It seems like several update recipients were enrolled in the beta programme for the device, so they might be part of an early over-the-air release before an official update hits all Mi Box owners.

This would also mean that Xiaomi has skipped Android Nougat, having only issued betas for 7.0 updates. It’s unclear what kind of features Xiaomi has brought with the new update, but Google has previously confirmed Assistant integration.

For what it’s worth, I haven’t received anything on my personal Mi Box, but I’ll keep checking and update this post accordingly.

The 2016 Mi Box isn’t the last streaming gadget from Xiaomi, having launched the Mi Box 4 and Mi Box 4C earlier this year. These boxes utilize the company’s PathWall interface for AI-based recommendations, albeit in China only. The Xiaomi Mi Box 4 offers 2GB of RAM and a Bluetooth remote, while the Mi Box 4C has 1GB and uses an IR remote instead.