TV boxes have been available long before Google came out with Google TV, or even the Chromecast. Chinese OEMs have been shipping these devices in all shapes and forms — set-top, stick… you name it, they have it.
Tronsmart has been particularly active making some quality TV boxes lately. We even reviewed one recently — the Tronsmart Orion R28 Pro — which came with a quad-core processor and 2GB RAM. The company today announced one with a massive 4GB of RAM — the Tronsmart Draco AW80. To be precise, the TV box will be available in a couple of versions, with 2GB RAM / 16GB ROM (AW80 ‘Meta’) and 4GB RAM / 32GB ROM (AW80 ‘Telos’).
It is claimed that the Draco AW80 will be the world’s first octa-core TV box, however we don’t have any confirmation on this as yet. It’ll come with the Allwinner A80 SoC which will provide the octa-core CPU. It’ll also have 4K and H.265 decoding capabilities built on board, which does make it sound like one powerful box to power your TV.
The 2GB/16GB Meta version is priced at US$149, while the 4GB/32GB Telos version of the Draco AW80 TV box will cost US$199 from retailer Geekbuying.
Most usually use their TV boxes to consume media from the internet on their TV, while some use it as their elementary gaming console and lightweight computer. This is probably the first time we’re seeing a 4GB RAM TV box, but is there a need for one? Do let us know in the comments section below.
Yes we need 4GB. I’m tired of waiting whilst the box loads and unloads apps as I switch between Netflix or YouTube.
I want to switch apps like I switch TV channels.
But does that take 4GB? 2GB should be enough for that IMO.
If only. But we keep coming across bad apps and bad OS memory bugs that means that the OS UI keeps having to be reloaded. We should be shouting from the rooftops that we’ll no longer put up with manufacturers penny pinching and demand fluid operation of our devices.
Agreed!!
BTW this ain’t the first 4 gig ram tv box. There’s a couple out there already rk32.
So…. You’ll need 8GB od Ram! This is what your saying. Perhaps linux would do a better job than droid. On rpi it doess!
Actually, my AT&T Note 4 gets a bit laggy/sluggish at times and I have to run DU Speed Booster/ cache cleaner. Soooo, 4 gig’s of RAM wouldn’t hurt to have as standard. Not to mention a 64-bit Octa-Core CPU… Funny part is, the note 6 coming out 4th Q next year & will have much more!
http://thegalaxynote6.com/
http://galaxynote6info.com/
I do agree with you. Same thing happens to me. In my Android box switching between youtube and some other apps takes long minutes and sometimes restarting the browser is totally necessary if you want to go on.
I was looking forward to these new generation of quad and octacores capable of dealing with the apps fluently enough. I was even considering a much more powerful ZOTAC box if these new ones didn’t come up. But, at what price!!!.
Yes we need as we are streaming HD & 4K content it is must.
Also it would be useful for the readers if writer makes a comparison between Allwinner & Rockchip….
Tronsmart AW80 is Allwinner 80 based TV Box, but R28 is based on Rockchip R3288….
which one should we buy ?
Good question. Yash, you’re the enthusiast. Can you help? 🙂
Yes we need 4GB. I’m tired of waiting whilst the box loads and unloads apps as I switch between Netflix or YouTube.
I want to switch apps like I switch TV channels.
But does that take 4GB? 2GB should be enough for that IMO.
I do agree with you. Same thing happens to me. In my Android box switching between youtube and some other apps takes long minutes and sometimes restarting the browser is totally necessary if you want to go on.
I was looking forward to these new generation of quad and octacores capable of dealing with the apps fluently enough. I was even considering a much more powerful ZOTAC box if these new ones didn’t come up. But, at what price!!!.
If only. But we keep coming across bad apps and bad OS memory bugs that means that the OS UI keeps having to be reloaded. We should be shouting from the rooftops that we’ll no longer put up with manufacturers penny pinching and demand fluid operation of our devices.
Agreed!!
BTW this ain’t the first 4 gig ram tv box. There’s a couple out there already rk32.
So…. You’ll need 8GB od Ram! This is what your saying. Perhaps linux would do a better job than droid. On rpi it doess!
Actually, my AT&T Note 4 gets a bit laggy/sluggish at times and I have to run DU Speed Booster/ cache cleaner. Soooo, 4 gig’s of RAM wouldn’t hurt to have as standard. Not to mention a 64-bit Octa-Core CPU… Funny part is, the note 6 coming out 4th Q next year & will have much more!
http://thegalaxynote6.com/
http://galaxynote6info.com/
I would not even buy a Phone with 2GB ram today, 4GB is minium and would love to see 4GB ram as standard in all TV not only box but also direclty into Television.
Yes we need as we are streaming HD & 4K content it is must.
Also it would be useful for the readers if writer makes a comparison between Allwinner & Rockchip….
Tronsmart AW80 is Allwinner 80 based TV Box, but R28 is based on Rockchip R3288….
which one should we buy ?
Good question. Yash, you’re the enthusiast. Can you help? 🙂
Silly question. RAM is dirt cheap. The more pertinent is why hasn’t EVERYTHING gone to 4GB or more?
In this case there’s only a $50 increment with double the RAM and SSD storage, so imagine what it would be if they didn’t stock the lower end device and applied economies of scale to the 4GB one. They could probably have a single device with the higher specs for $169 or $179, without sacrificing margins.
The main reason for slow adoption of 3GB in phones has been the processor capability to address the memory. This is now going away (with 64-bit processors) so we’ll start to see lots of Android devices with more memory in the next year.
Silly question. RAM is dirt cheap. The more pertinent is why hasn’t EVERYTHING gone to 4GB or more?
In this case there’s only a $50 increment with double the RAM and SSD storage, so imagine what it would be if they didn’t stock the lower end device and applied economies of scale to the 4GB one. They could probably have a single device with the higher specs for $169 or $179, without sacrificing margins.
The main reason for slow adoption of 3GB in phones has been the processor capability to address the memory. This is now going away (with 64-bit processors) so we’ll start to see lots of Android devices with more memory in the next year.
Forget specs. The reason that the see boxes do not perform well if software.
I give up on android boxes. My next machine will be a Nuc or Zotac etc
Forget specs. The reason that the see boxes do not perform well if software.
I give up on android boxes. My next machine will be a Nuc or Zotac etc
4 GB is needed for smooth performance of TV BOX. Gaming is another advantage. I see another TV BOX, called Digimansion on Amazon, DM-V6 based on RK3288.
http://www.amazon.com/DigiMANSION-DM-V6-Memory-Android-Bluetooth/dp/B00Q18RCTM
4 GB is needed for smooth performance of TV BOX. Gaming is another advantage. I see another TV BOX, called Digimansion on Amazon, DM-V6 based on RK3288.
http://www.amazon.com/DigiMANSION-DM-V6-Memory-Android-Bluetooth/dp/B00Q18RCTM