Beelink is back with another budget friendly Android TV Box called the A1. This one is powered by the quad-core RK3328 CPU that is paired with 4GB of Ram and 16GB of Internal Storage.
Even though the tv box is running Android 7.1, the launcher is identical with what we’ve seen on previous devices from Beelink and even though that isn’t a bad thing, it would have been nice to see something fresh for this Beelink A1 device.
The device is one of the smallest i have seen and you can literally fit it in your palm.
We have all the regular ports including the HDMI, AV, SD card slot and 2 USB Ports, one of them being a USB 3. Even though we have a slot for an SD card the internal storage can’t be expanded with a card therefore you will be somewhat limited with the 12GB that you have left after the operating system.
You can find the Beelink A1 at the following retailers:
Gearbest: http://bit.ly/2zxGPHn
Amazon: http://geni.us/727x
Banggood: http://fas.st/5qjwA
Performance wise the RK3328 is very similar with the Amlogic S905X therefore all the scores on the Antutu Benchmark, Geekbench 4 and the IceStorm Extreme are very similar. As a quick example, on the Antutu Benchmark the A1 scored 33739.
The device doesn’t come pre-installed with Kodi anymore but you can easily download Kodi 17.5 right from the Google Play Store and this way you can receive updates for Kodi whenever they become available. Speaking of Kodi, DTS sounds and Dolby Digital work great without any interruptions.
The Google Play Store, the official YouTube app and even some other apps like Showbox work great. The maximum resolution that i was able to select on the YouTube app is 1080P @ 60fps, however my TV doesn’t support 4k and i can’t confirm if it would work.
With the 4GB of Ram multitasking works great as well and the TV Box doesn’t kill the apps running in the background and that’s great if you plan on running some VPN apps in the background.
Moving on to Gaming performance, i played Real Racing 3 and i didn’t find the game performing as well as i have seen it on other tv boxes with the Amlogic S905X.
Based on the digital rights management information this device doesn’t support Netflix in HD. You can still watch Netflix at a lower resolution.
The Beelink A1 comes with root access from the factory as well.
Video Playback
I have tried a couple of 4K files, one at 60fps, and another one at 50fps.
The A1 had trouble playing the first file but was able to play the second one without any issues.
All other 1080P & 720P files played without any issues.
If you were planning on getting the Beelink A1 for 4K playback i recommend looking at something a bit more powerful.
Connectivity
The Beelink A1 supports dual band wifi and Bluetooth connectivity.
I was able to connect a bluetooth gaming controller and some bluetooth headphones and they worked great.
The speeds over wifi are decent but the further away the tv box sits from the router the slower the download and upload speeds will be. A wired connection is recommended.
Conclusion
The Beelink A1 will perform great for YouTube videos, light games and 1080P & 720P files.
If you plan on watching 4K content and playing heavy games this tv box may not be for you.
You can find the Beelink A1 at the following retailers: