What you need to know
- Specs of Google's upcoming hardware dongle have leaked online.
- It shares similar specs with other TV sticks like ones sold by Xiaomi.
- Alongside native HDR10 and Dolby Vision, the device will also support auto low latency mode, possibly hinting at Stadia's inclusion.
The folks over at XDA Developers have shared more details about Google's upcoming Android TV dongle, codenamed "Sabrina."
From a leaked firmware image, they've been able to glean most of its hardware specs, including the chip that powers it, how much RAM would sit inside, and what sort of features it could be expected to support.
As per XDA:
[W]e can see two key details of the "Sabrina" Android TV dongle device: It has 2GB of RAM (sml_sabrina_2g) and is powered by the Amlogic S905X2 system-on-chip (the reference to g12a below and multiple references to the code-name "meson" not shown below confirm this).The Amlogic S905X2 is fabricated on a 12nm manufacturing process and has a quad-core CPU with 4 ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores clocked at up to 1.8GHz. The CPU is joined by an ARM Mali-G31 MP2 GPU. The SoC supports video decoding for 4Kp75 10-bit H.265 content, video output at up to 4Kp60 over HDMI 2.1, HDR video playback with HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision, and more.The S905X2 is a very popular SoC for Android TV devices, so we're not surprised to see it power Google's Android TV dongle. Here's a partial list of certified Android TV devices with this SoC platform, thanks to our friend @AndroidTV_Rumor. Other hardware features of Google's Android TV dongle hinted at in the DTS file include Broadcom's BCM43569 combo chip for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth and Cadence's Tensilica HiFi 4 DSP.
The upcoming "Sabrina" is also said to feature support for Auto Low-Latency Mode, marketed as gaming commercially, hinting at Stadia support being a marquee feature of this device when it debuts. Of course, it's likely that Google would want to push its gaming solution on a device like this, so this shouldn't be much of a surprise. Google is also planning to revamp and reposition Android TV with this device, possibly with a rebranding on the cards.
It's not clear if there will be a Google hardware event or an online equivalent in the fall considering the circumstances of the year, but that's when we'd expect Google to launch its new dongle.
Android TV: What is it, and should you buy a TV or a box with it?
