Jide Technology is launching its second Android-powered mini PC. Kind of.
Last year’s Remix Mini was a small, inexpensive box that you could use as a computer thanks to Jide’s Android-based Remix OS software. But this year the company is launching a device that it’s positioning as 3 products in one: a PC, a game console, and a TV box.
The Remix IO is expected to ship in March, but you can reserve one by making a pledge of $99 or more to Jide’s new Kickstarter campaign.
The small box looks a bit like a cross between a Roku and an Intel NUC. It’s tiny, but features a bunch of ports, including HDMI 2.0, VGA, Ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack as well as a microSD card slot for up to 128GB of removable storage.
Under the hood, the system is powered by a 1.5 GHz Rockchip RK3368 octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor with PowerVR SGX6110 graphics. Jide says the system should be able to handle 4K video at 60 frames per second.
The system features 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.
But it’s the software that sets Jide’s products apart. The Remix IO will ship with a new version of Remix OS that’s based on Android 7.0 Nougat. Like earlier versions of Remix OS, there’s support for a desktop-style environment with a taskbar and the ability to run apps in floating, resizeable windows.
There’s also a new TV Mode user interface. You can navigate through apps using the remote control that comes bundled with all Rremix IO models, or with a mouse and keyboard. Opt for a Gaming Edition of the Remix IO and you’ll also get a game controller that can be used with TV Mode.
TV Mode is also coming to last year’s Remix Mini, but due to hardware issues, the older box will not be upgraded to Android 7.0.
Jide says the Remix IO can also run apps developed for Google’s Android TV platform, allowing you to run standard Android apps and Android TV apps on the same device. Note that you won’t be able to get them from the Google Play Store though.
Instead, Jide says you can either sideload Android TV apps or use third-party app store Aptoide to browse and install Android TV apps on the Remix IO.
Jide also provides a “gaming toolkit” that lets users play games that were developed for touchscreens on non-touch devices by mapping certain functions to keyboard, mouse, or game controller buttons.
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I won’t be backing it this time around, support for the Remix Mini was terrible, I haven’t been able to update my device since I got it.
Were you in the previous KS? I’ll buy your BOGO Remix IO for $50
Yet another Android fork, no Google Play store support kills this.
It’s literally 2 clicks to install Play on the Remix. Also, it might be another fork, but currently it’s the best Android fork, better than ASOP or anything you’d get on a TV stick.
The Google Play store support is not native to Remix OS, but is extremely simple to achieve. Any time I have installed Remix OS on a PC or thumb drive, it is taken just a minute or two to add the Google Play store.
Meh. I tuned in for the live stream this morning, which only ran for a few seconds before it crashed and burned..
They had emailed past supporters with promises of a buy one/get one offer. It now appears that’s contingent upon referrals.
Not very impressed with the new TV box, which will be outdated and overpriced by the time it ships… if not already. Extremely disappointed in Jide…
If you bought a mini or a remix tablet last year it’s buy one get one free. Without referrals
I grew to be disappointed in the Remix Mini. The OS is fine, but the hardware wasn’t powerful enough. It always felt sluggish. Running Remix on a regular Intel based laptop is a much better experience. I hope the IO has an upgraded processor and the additional RAM is enough.
The ol’ Remix Mini’s Allwinner SoC had 1.2ghz quad core Cortex-A53. And tis Rockchip RK3368 despite havin ‘8 Cortex-A53 cores at 1.2ghz frequency is also slower than the ol’ quad core Atom Z3735F, lookit https://browser.primatelabs.co… So yeah, expect the same sluggishness also…..
Their Kickstarter was set at $250K and it looks like they are going to get that and more. They have a good track record of raising funds. There is an appetite for the Remix OS.
With so many better jelly bean ARM SoCs to choose from, Jide had to pick Rockchips’ RK3368. Tis part ‘Jide says the system should be able to handle 4K video at 60 frames per second’, reflectin back, lookit https://liliputing.com/2015/08… ‘and it’s supposed to support 4K, 60 Hz video decoding… but the latter doesn’t actually seem to work properly’…..
If you backed either the Remix tablet or the Mini on KS, you get one of these for free if you back one (2 for $99).
Interesting combination of HDMI 2.0 and USB 2.0. I don’t see those two specs together very often.
I backed the mini and I backed this. Contrary to comments here, I’ve found my mini to be responsive and useful, even playing the latest android games. Jide customer service has been incredible and updates frequent. They make mistakes such as removing play store or adding adverts to the start menu, but they listened to the community and resolved these problems quickly and satisfactorily. Really there’s nothing to complain about, especially as backers are getting 2 computers for 99 dollars.
Is there a referral train anywhere? I’ll use someone’s referral if that puts me in line for a referral of my own.