TOP 5: Best Android TV Boxes In 2020

There are plenty of ways to stream movies and shows directly to your TV. One of the best options is to get your hands on an Android TV box — a streaming device running on a bespoke version of Google’s Android OS designed for standalone set-top boxes and TV sets.

Do you often get bored while watching a regular TV due to insufficient or lack of contents, or inactive satellite subscription? Well, I used to be in your shoes as well until I found out an ideal way to get out of that annoying situation. Now, I know I’ll never be bored again because I know a couple of things about Android TV boxes, some smart TVs that allow me to easily stream content to my TV, and enable me to download apps from Google Playstore.

So, if watching a regular TV really bores you and you are looking for something that will bring that extra bit of fun, then my review is for you. Like I said earlier, I have huge experience with Android TV boxes, thus, I will like to use my experience with these devices to help you make the right choice. While there is a plethora of options on offer nowadays, you shouldn’t have a problem choosing the right smart TV provided you read my reviews carefully.

Best Android TV Boxes Amazon

1. THE AMAZON FIRE TV STICK

  

Having tested an Amazon TV box earlier, I expected a lot from this TV as well and boy was I impressed. This T box from Amazon looks like a very large Flashdrive with an HDMI connector hanging on the sides. While it’s OS 5.0 Lollipop isn’t really up to date, its 802.11ac Wi-Fi promises a very reliable streaming and fast downloads. It also employs an 8 GB ROM and 1 GB of Memory.

While viewing the menu on the screen, it is visible that the processor has made the Stick very fast as everything I tried loaded quickly. The Stick also has an amazing Voice assistant- Alexa that can tell you the weather report, news and any useful information. Interestingly, you can also command alexa to skip your videos or rewind them and she does it happily.  I had a lot of fun playing with this feature really. Don’t tell anyone I was that childish..lol

The fire TV stick also supports the Dolby Digital plus and with the right sound systems, I really enjoyed it. The video playback is also impressive as I tried to play a variety of videos on it; it played the 480p and 720p perfectly though it lagged a little while playing 4K with it.

The only feature I dislike about the stick is that the 8 GB storage cannot be increased so there is a limit to what you can save at a time.

2. Amazon Fire TV Streaming Media Player

  

Amazon is a company we all know for their uniqueness and excellence. However, I wasn’t really sure of what to expect from their Amazon Fire Streaming Media Player, as I didn’t really know the company to be a terrific manufacturer of devices. Surprisingly, I couldn’t believe the high picture quality this device delivered, which made me hopeful of being impressed further. On the Amazon Fire TV streaming Media Player, I really enjoyed watching unending 4K and 1080p HD videos.

This device comes with the amazing Alexa voice remote which will make life a lot easier. With this voice command feature, you’ll be able to control your TV box in a fun way. You’ll just have to say the words and it will obey you. She can perform some normal everyday tasks any smart voice assistant should be able to do like setting reminders, cracking horrible jokes and answering questions. I also have noticed that Alexa is able to fascinate you visually than reading out as she tells the weather by showing it to you.

The TV box comes with over 10,000 apps, a lot of games and you will have access to hundreds of thousands of movies and TV shows. You will literally never run out of fun things to watch. Another fantastic characteristic of the Amazon Fire is that a cable is not a necessity as you can watch live channels of your choice.

This Streaming Media player has a very fantastic processing power that ensures amazing speed and performance that beats a lot of other android TV boxes available on sale. With a 2GB RAM and an 8GB storage, I was able to store local contents on it. Amazingly, the storage can be upgraded to as high as 200 gigabytes.

The interface of this gadget is also very nice as I found that as soon as I turned it on, I found my favorite videos on the home screen, this saved me the stress of trying to search all over for my best videos. The whole fire TV experience becomes much more interesting if you have a prime subscription as you will enjoy unlimited access to the prime video. With the subscription, you will get a pass to watch thousands of series and movies. You will also have access to a lot of quality channels and you will not have the need to subscribe to any other video or channel provider.

Personally, the only negative features I found out about this product in the short while I ran it through some tests is the fact that this TV Box tends to promote Amazon content extensively which might be annoying sometimes. Also, the remote does not come with Volume controls for the TV which means you need to have your TV remote on standby if you want to reduce or increase the volume. Finally, I noticed this box also needs a different adapter to make your Ethernet connections.

Best Android TV Boxes For Netflix

3. SkyStream TWO Streaming Media Player

 

To be honest, I wasn’t really particularly excited about using this Android TV box as I hadn’t heard much about the manufacturer. However, this box comes with a number of impressive features, and I think my impression about the manufacturer drastically changed after I used this product.

The android TV box comes with an android version of 7.1.2 Nougat, so it had an enormous collection of applications that allowed me to stream effortlessly. I was able to watch different shows online without having to pay to any cable provider. In addition to streaming effortlessly, I was also able to download and install countless apps from the google playstore, which I found really interesting

One of the fantastic features that made me love the Skystream two is that connection to your TV is absolutely easy. All I needed to get was an HDMI cable and as soon as it was connected, I had access to boundless contents from CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC and lots of other fantastic channels, in addition to seeing TV shows and interesting movies.

Furthermore, with the 3GB RAM of the skystream two, I had a superb gaming experience on this TV, and if you are a gamer like me, this is something that might catch your interest. Besides, due to the 3GB RAM, I was able to watch 4K UHD videos which greatly enhanced my TV watching experience. The first time I used this gadget, I was wowed by its amazing picture quality. On this apparatus, you can get to use Youtube, Netflix, and other great streaming services.

In conclusion, the Skystream Two is a personal favorite that is very easy to install, allows you to eliminate the hassles of connecting cables while also allowing you save a lot of money and stream millions of movies effortlessly with little or no buffering

Best Android TV Boxes For Gaming

4. NVIDIA SHIELD TV

   

Naturally, whenever I imagined how a streaming media player looked like, I always pictured a rectangular or flat square in my head, but I was extremely surprised when I saw the Nvidia’s traditional design, which is a beautiful combination of lines criss-crossing and unique angles. Because the Nvidia looks so much different than every other android boxes I have seen, I just could not wait to unbox it and run my tests.

The Nvidia Shield TV has amazing 4K HDR graphics and voice command function, which made me get a lot of quality from this device. The Nvidia Shield TV is really easy to set up. All I had to do was plug it, then set it up with a google account, which was easy to do with the aid of my android phone.

In addition, this apparatus comes with the 7.0 Nougat OS which enables me to navigate and access apps easily and faster.  Another feature I really admired in this product is the Shield 5.0 update which replaced the last Hub app and the Amazon video app that gave me unlimited access to lots of movies and TV shows.

As we all know, Netflix is one of the best providers of video streaming services today and in as much as it supports Ultra High Definition video playback, not all devices are given the priviledge to be able to view Netflix but Nvidia is given the permission to play Netflix contents. Another good feature of the Shield TV is its 3GB RAM which basically makes games run smoothly. The only problem I have with the Nvidia TV is that the universal remote may not work with it because the device doesn’t have an IR receiver.

The Nvidia Shield TV Streaming Media Player can perform as a gaming system that allows you to play both android games and games that are with qualities of the personal computer. The Nvidia shield also allows you to play games with an entirely new gamepad which according to the manufacturers have about 60 hours of battery life. I really haven’t used the pad 60 hours straight so I can’t really say if it really lasts that long because the controller turns itself off after some time in order to conserve power.

Annoyingly, as amazing as this box is, before you can access Geforce Now, you will need an active subscription and some other purchases to be able to play amazing games on it. I also had troubles streaming games as this device requires a super strong internet connection in order to enjoy your games.

Best Android TV Boxes For Streaming

5. MINIX NEO U1

   

I like trying new things, perhaps that was why I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this TV box. The minix Neo U1 is an android TV box with a 64-bit Quad-core 1.5GHz processor. This box also comes with a 2GB RAM and an android 5.1.1 Lollipop OS which allows you download and install apps and games from the Google APP store.

The Minix Neo U1 is a device that allows you surf the internet and enjoy streaming with no buffering provided there is a good internet connection. It has a 4k ultra HD video that plays at 60 frames per second. Its video quality is extremely clear and I was able to watch videos of 1080p without any problems.

Additionally, the Minix Neo is a very silent device. It makes no noise at all while running that I was at a time wondering if I was using an android TV box as from my experience, most Android TV boxes tend to make some noises when using it and it might ruin the entire experience of using the media stream player.

Furthermore, the Minix Neo helps in saving electricity costs as it goes into power saving mode when you don’t use it after a long time. It also comes with an external antenna that beats most of its counterparts with internal wifi receptors. Truth be told, seeing the Antennas the first time almost put me off as I have always preferred my TV boxes with no visible receptors but with my experience using it, I could not help but marvel at its wireless connectivity performance.

Finally, the product has been designed in a way that the usage is very easy to grasp and most of the features to learn take little or no time to learn. I had no trouble getting used to the features of this device at all as the interface has been made to suit everybody.

After testing for some time I had issues connecting it with devices using the Bluetooth. Without using an external antenna, the device loses connection when they are about 2 feet apart from the box. This defeats the whole Bluetooth enabled experience they are trying to sell, also the Minix does not stream Youtube and Amazon prime in HD. This turned me off a lot but maybe some other people won’t mind.