Unless you’re still regularly forking over a hefty monthly fee just to have your content dictated to you by South Africa’s legacy broadcasters, smart TVs have proven themselves to be invaluable in this era of streaming. There’s just one problem: the price. What if there were a way to hang onto your ageing TV – and keep up with whatever new HBO series is dominating the conversation at your workplace? Enter the Xiaomi TV Box S (3rd Gen).

Dolby is… free!

In a single stroke, you can spare that decade-old TV from a terrible fate and give it a new lease on life with a modern user interface that’s capable of keeping up with the often-confusing, content-packed landscape customers are now expected to navigate. Whether you’re a newcomer to the market or an old head repping Xiaomi’s 2nd Gen TV Box S, the 3rd Gen TV Box S presents itself as the definitive streaming solution in South Africa.

You can thank Xiaomi’s diligent attention to detail for that. It’s got everything that made the 2nd Gen TV Box S a revolutionary entry when it first hit shelves in 2023, and then some. Two years on, and Xiaomi’s 3rd Gen model features extensive upgrades all around while holding onto a lightweight form factor (91.2g) that makes travelling with your content a breeze.

With four times the storage (32GB) and a chipset that’s at least 25% faster than the 2nd Gen TV Box S, you can expect a blistering experience that you’ll struggle to match on any TV, smart or not. That’s not to mention the new ARM G310 V2 GPU, delivering exceptionally better graphics performance (130%) to kick your gaming ambitions into overdrive.

If tech specs typically make your eyes glaze over, never fear. The Xiaomi TV Box S (3rd Gen) elevates the whole affair with 4K UHD and HDR10+ support – meaning higher dynamic range and a picture that’s far more vivid than this TV Box’s older sibling. And with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision in the mix? You’ve got a truly cinematic experience, complete with immersive surround sound that’s usually reserved for the folks with the big bucks.

And finally, there’s the unsung hero of the Xiaomi TV Box S (3rd Gen) – Wi-Fi 6. Arguably one of the more important upgrades Xiaomi has introduced, Wi-Fi 6 is the epitome of “tech you can’t see”. While it does deliver a faster, more stable connection right off the bat, Wi-Fi 6 offers users a more customisable set-up experience, as the TV Box can be placed further away from the router while maintaining a strong connection.

From Xiaomi to you

Don’t get it twisted. These upgrades aren’t only beneficial to those looking to turn any screen they own into a flagship streamer, far from it. You might technically have a ‘smart’ TV tucked away in your lounge or guest bedroom, but subjecting visitors to that old hardware is almost as unkind as saddling them with a TV without a power cord.

Without the latest developments to the processor and GPU that Xiaomi provides, you’re stuck with a TV that’s technically capable of booting up Netflix (though this may not be the case forever) and takes a couple of minutes to do it. With Xiaomi’s advancements at hand, you can expect a fast, modern, and intuitive UI that’ll put Samsung and LG’s efforts to shame.

In that same vein, the Xiaomi TV Box S (3rd Gen) features an ergonomically sound remote that doesn’t just conform to the contours of your hand – but also provides instant gratification when opening your favourite apps like Netflix, Prime Video, or YouTube. Or skip the effort and ask Google to find your next watch for you using the built-in Google Assistant button.

It’s not just Google’s Assistant that’ll get you around. The Xiaomi TV Box S utilises Google TV OS and, more importantly, the Google Play Store. That’ll get you set up with the basics for streaming, but also opens up a world of gaming, benefiting greatly from the big internal upgrades here. Not a gamer? That’s fine. The Play Store can keep you in the social media loop, too, but this time on the big screen.

If you’re ready to give your TV the life it deserves with the Xiaomi TV Box S (3rd Gen) (R1,399.00 RRP), get yourself down to HiFi Corp or Incredible, or skip the queue and get it delivered straight to your front door with Takealot. The choice is yours.