Is Google working on an Android TV Stick?

It was back in 2016 that an Android TV box was launched. It was Xiaomi's Mi Box 3, which came with pre-installed Android TV. After the Nexus Player, the company has not come up with any other Android TV device till date. Now, it looks like Google and Xiaomi are in plans of joining hands once again after the launch of the Android One smartphone Xiaomi Mi A1. Both the companies are said to be jointly working on a dongle.

A recent report by Android Police has stumbled upon a set of images of a Google-branded dongle with a remote similar to the one bundled with the Xiaomi TVs and Mi Box devices at the FCC database. The dongle appears to be in the shape of a location pin with an HDMI cable attached to one of its ends. There is a reset button and a micro USB port on the other side. Also, we can see the 'G' Google logo at its top. From the design and dimensions as seen in the image above, it looks like this will be a dongle, which will remain at the back of the TV.

One of the images shows a remote, which could be bundled along with this dongle. The remote looks like the Mi Box Bluetooth voice remote and has a few more additions to it such as a new options button opposite to the power button. There is also a microphone and an LED between the power and options buttons.

There is a return key on the remote but the home key has been moved to the left with the previous Android home icon. There is a Google Assistant icon at the middle and a volume rocker too on the remote.

The report suggests that the TV dongle is powered by a quad-core Amlogic S905X processor with 4K @ 60fps VP9 decoding, Dolby Vision, inbuilt DAC, and HDR10. The other aspects of the Google-branded dongle appear to be 2GB of RAM and 8GB of eMMC storage space. There appears to be a 5V/2A adapter too.

The FCC document reveals that the device in question could be referred to as 4K ATV Stick. It has been revealed to be manufactured by Shenzhen SEI Robotics Co. Besides the presence of a Google Assistant icon and Google logo, there is no word regarding the partnership between Google and Xiaomi for this device.

Google Home Unboxing and Setup process - GIZBOT

From the images, it looks like this product does exist and it could be a cheaper alternative to experience Android TV. Though it is said to have similar RAM and storage space as the Mi Box, it appears to have a smaller footprint than the Xiaomi device. We can expect this device to be announced at the upcoming Google I/O conference.